Help Scout

Help Scout runs on a deliberate rejection of the hypergrowth playbook. "We do not subscribe to the hypergrowth playbook," the company writes; it believes in sustainable growth where people and values come first. That philosophy extends to how it describes the team itself: Help Scout is "not a family," but a group of values-aligned people who want to do great work together, then log off and return to their families, friends, side-hustles, and hobbies. It is also a certified B Corporation.

One practice captures the culture better than any slogan: Whole Company Support. Everyone, regardless of role, spends time answering customer conversations in the support queue, adding up to 110 hours across the company this past year. The team of roughly 140 people works from more than 115 cities, trading a central office for a heavily customized Slack that now carries over 1,830 custom emoji.