Values shouldn’t be something you write once and walk away from; they’re something you grow with. At Redbrick, revisiting our purpose gave us more than clarity—it gave us direction.

Traditionally, values are something you define at the start—maybe at launch, maybe when your team is still small—then that part is done, and it’s time for the business to scale.

If you asked us what our values were a year ago, we would have pointed to words like “teamwork” and “innovation” that we settled on more than fourteen years and six companies ago. But over the past year, we realized: if we wanted Redbrick to keep growing meaningfully, our values had to grow with us.

"It’s hard to create values as a startup. I’d be highly suspect that values you create before you launch make it past year one, two, or three."

Marco Pimentel, CMO of Redbrick

For us, there was no single turning point. No crisis. Just an accumulation of signals: more companies, a bigger team, and questions that kept surfacing. One of those signals came from our recent B Corp certification. The process pushed us to think beyond just balancing purpose and profit—it challenged us to clarify the deeper values guiding our growth.

What kind of impact do we want to have, and how do we ensure we're building a company that aligns with that vision? The certification was more than a milestone; it was a mirror, prompting us to ask better questions about where we're headed and why. What are we working toward? What does Redbrick stand for now? It was time to answer them.

A slow, deep transformation

Reworking your purpose and values isn’t a branding exercise. It’s an excavation of who you are and who you’re becoming. For us, it took six months of focused work and honest reflection.

We partnered with Within People to help us go further. Their outside perspective challenged our assumptions, and the process of explaining ourselves to someone not embedded in Redbrick led to more clarity than we expected. We also pulled from years of culture surveys, collected feedback across the Shared Services team and our portfolio companies, and revisited foundational assumptions about Redbrick’s role.

"Your team likely already knows the answers, they just need space to articulate them. And in the end, it gives you a sense of unity and goals to pursue every day."

Marco Pimentel, CMO of Redbrick

We emerged with a new articulation of our purpose, a shared understanding we can all stand behind. The process gave us a renewed sense of alignment that shapes how we show up daily. These are things we always cared about, but they’re now tangible, defined values we can use as a measure for whether we are accomplishing our goals the way we want to.

What changed: from clarity to cohesive action

We didn’t set out to fix something broken. Since 2011, Redbrick has grown from a small startup to a purpose-driven ecosystem of six portfolio companies with an expanding Shared Services team at its center. Our internal framework of values and ambitions just hadn’t kept pace with our external growth. We refreshed our values to better reflect who we are today and who we’re becoming. Here’s what now guides how we work, grow, and show up together:

• Deliver greatness: We set high standards and exceed them through intentional action and a drive for impact.
• Build together: Collaboration is at the core of everything we do. We listen, learn, and grow as one team.
• Invest in people: We empower each other through trust, support, and the space to thrive personally and professionally.
• Ignite possibility: Curiosity fuels us. We challenge norms and embrace the unknown to unlock bold outcomes.

If the last year made us realize anything, it’s that a set of values and a purpose statement do more than hang on a wall. They guide hiring. They shape our relationships with each other and with the companies we acquire. They align with the values and purpose of our portfolio companies. Values inform every decision, big and small.

"Trying to balance the feedback was really interesting. Because we knew we were trying to build this for Redbrick, but Redbrick is Redbrick because of our portfolio companies."

Marco Pimentel, CMO of Redbrick

Now, portfolio companies can see that Redbrick has its own identity, distinct from theirs, but intentionally connected. The Shared Services team has a north star. And we’re clearer about what kind of companies we’re drawn to: high-potential, often-overlooked businesses with strong bones and long-term promise.

Start, even if it's messy

If you’re considering revisiting your purpose or values, here’s our advice: start. You don’t need a crisis, just curiosity and commitment. The process is just as valuable as the final result.

What began as a passing thought turned into “maybe we should write this down?” and then became months of conversation, exploration, and ultimately, a stronger foundation for everything we do. And while it wasn’t always comfortable, it was always worth it.

Purpose is a habit, not a headline

Culture isn’t a checklist, it’s an ecosystem. The environment we exist and work in shapes how we make decisions, how we show up for each other, and what we choose to prioritize. As companies grow more complex, their need for clarity grows too, not just clarity of process, but of purpose, values, and voice.

Refining our purpose and values didn’t just give us something to look back on. It gave us something to strive toward and a framework for how we go about it. Your values and your purpose are your guide to navigating the future. Think about asking yourself and your team: when we walk through those doors in the morning, literally or figuratively, what are we driving towards? And see where it takes you.