Heart of the Brand

Silo Behavior Won't Survive Here: HomeToGo's Cultural Non-Negotiable

When HomeToGo finalized its acquisition of Interhome, the company didn't just double its headcount from 750 to 1,500 overnight — it inherited a workforce carved out of a large corporate parent, operating across multiple countries with fragmented HR systems, no unified performance framework, and deeply ingrained expectations around structure that HomeToGo itself was still building. Stephanie Frenzel stepped into the CPO role in the middle of this integration, and her challenge became one of the most complex people problems a scaling company faces: how do you build a cohesive group culture across brands that need to retain their own identity, while simultaneously establishing the shared infrastructure — leadership principles, performance processes, one HRIS — that makes a group actually function as one? Her approach, balancing standardization where it matters with deliberate restraint where it doesn't, offers a playbook for any people leader navigating post-acquisition complexity at scale.
Topics Discussed
Managing the people workstream of a major acquisition from day one in role
Designing a group-level cultural integration roadmap across subsidiaries of vastly different sizes and maturity
Determining which HR processes to standardize across a group versus which to leave locally autonomous
Implementing quarterly all-hands communications to maintain alignment across a distributed, multi-brand organization
Building performance management frameworks from scratch for entities that have never had them
Consolidating fragmented, country-by-country HR systems into a single group HRIS
Hiring for seniority and external experience as a company scales past the point where internal development alone can fill leadership gaps
Defining and protecting cultural non-negotiables (cross-functional ownership, enabling each other to succeed) during rapid organizational change

Why Static Culture Kills Startup Growth

In this episode of Heart of The Brand, host Roman Kirsch interviews Oana Breen, Director of People Operations and Culture at Interactive Strength. Interactive Strength scaled from 15 to 100 employees in four years while navigating the unique challenge of building culture across two distinct workforces: corporate teams and customer-facing personal trainers. Oana's approach centers on a counterintuitive insight: culture must evolve with every new hire, not remain static. With a master's degree in organizational culture and leadership, she brings a rare academic foundation to startup people operations, focusing on intentional culture evolution rather than rigid culture preservation. Her framework uses customer feedback as a direct input for talent decisions, creating a measurable connection between hiring choices and business outcomes that most people leaders overlook.
Topics Discussed
Building intentional culture evolution frameworks that allow strategic change while maintaining core values during hypergrowth
Scaling people operations from 15 to 100 employees while managing two distinct talent pools with different success metrics
Using customer feedback data as primary input for talent acquisition and performance evaluation in service-based businesses
Evaluating mid-market HR technology solutions and calculating ROI on people operations tools for 100-person companies
Managing cultural integration when hiring internationally versus building globally distributed teams for US-based operations
Implementing listening frameworks that uncover organizational needs across departments, verticals, and individual growth trajectories
Balancing AI automation in recruiting while preserving human judgment for culture fit and customer-facing roles
Designing talent acquisition processes that serve diverse customer bases without creating discriminatory hiring practices

Building Culture When 85% Work Remote, 15% In Labs

Jackie Shaw is building OneSkin's people infrastructure from the ground up as their first in-house people leader, navigating the unique challenge of scaling culture across a 40-person remote-first team where 85-90% work remotely while their R&D scientists operate in San Francisco labs. In a longevity skincare company founded by four PhD scientists, Jackie bridges the gap between highly technical research teams and business operations, creating systems that maintain psychological safety in a high-stakes environment where experimental failures can cost millions. Her approach prioritizes proactive infrastructure building over firefighting, embedding wellness as a core career strategy rather than a perk, and using strategic context-switching to address the constantly evolving needs of a scaling startup.
Topics Discussed
Building remote-first culture systems while maintaining connection between distributed teams and on-site R&D labs
Creating transparent communication frameworks that translate complex scientific work into accessible company-wide understanding
Developing psychological safety protocols for teams working in high-stakes research environments with significant financial risk
Implementing recognition systems and morale-building strategies during intense work periods and external pressures
Designing intentional onboarding experiences that begin before day one and emphasize value alignment
Managing context-switching across benefits administration, talent acquisition, culture building, and strategic planning as a solo people leader
Establishing data-driven people metrics in science-heavy organizations while maintaining space for gut-based decision making
Scaling hiring across vastly different roles from PhD scientists to graphic designers while maintaining consistent candidate experience

Hiring for Customer Empathy When You're Not the User

Stephanie Cleverly operates as a one-person people team at Because, a 30-person remote e-commerce startup selling bladder incontinence products to older adults. The unique challenge: building a passionate, engaged culture when your entire workforce is decades younger than your customer base. As the company's first formal HR hire, Stephanie has navigated everything from processing 14,000 applications for a single role to achieving 97% employee satisfaction and Great Place to Work certification—all while managing recruitment, engagement, compliance, and culture solo. Her approach centers on systematic employee feedback, responsible growth planning, and leveraging AI to scale a team of one into an efficient people operations function.
Topics Discussed
Operating as a solo HR leader in a remote startup environment and prioritizing competing demands
Building candidate screening processes that assess passion and customer empathy when employees don't use the products
Managing massive applicant volumes (14,000+ applications) as a remote company using only LinkedIn for recruiting
Implementing quarterly engagement surveys to drive decision-making and achieve Great Place to Work certification
Creating scalable cultural rituals like weekly all-hands meetings that may need evolution at 100+ employees
Establishing weekly AI learning sessions to democratize tool adoption across a remote team
Planning responsible headcount growth while avoiding the mass layoff trap of overhiring
Deciding when startups should invest in people operations versus fractional HR support

Why All Legal Problems Are People Problems

In this episode of Heart of the Brand, host Sam interviews Alexandra Bodnar, Chief Legal and People Officer at ThirdLove. ThirdLove demonstrates how combining legal and people functions creates a proactive cultural framework that prevents problems before they escalate. As an employment lawyer who transitioned into dual leadership, Alexandra has built a system where legal risk mitigation and people strategy work in tandem—resulting in a collaborative, mission-driven culture that scales across hybrid teams. Her approach proves that treating "all legal problems as people problems" creates stronger preventative systems than traditional reactive HR models, particularly for founder-led companies navigating product innovation and rapid market shifts.
Topics Discussed:
Combining legal and people operations into a unified leadership function for proactive problem-solving
Building mission-driven culture in consumer brands that attracts talent beyond the target customer demographic
Designing hybrid work models that balance product collaboration needs with distributed team flexibility
Creating Individual Employee Plans (IEPs) for every employee regardless of promotion timeline or seniority
Implementing cross-functional interview processes to assess collaborative fit across departments
Adapting employee engagement strategies for post-COVID workforce priorities (career growth over social events)
Encouraging AI tool experimentation while managing data security and risk mitigation
Scaling internal promotion pathways while strategically hiring external expertise for emerging capabilities

AI Made Their Recruiting Team 200% Faster (Here's How)

Taylor Roa, Head of People & Talent at January, shares how a nine-year-old Series B company achieved something virtually unheard of in startup culture: zero layoffs through every market cycle while maintaining sustainable growth. As January approaches their hockey stick growth moment after years of disciplined scaling, Taylor reveals how they're reinventing their hiring approach to double their team size while preserving the cultural elements that drove their success. His framework for building lean, efficient teams through AI-powered recruiting and intentional culture evolution offers a blueprint for sustainable scaling without the typical startup growing pains.
Topics Discussed
Building sustainable growth cultures that survive market downturns without layoffs
Creating writing-first cultures that enable async collaboration and thoughtful decision-making
Developing outbound recruiting strategies for companies without strong brand awareness
Implementing AI tools across people operations to increase team efficiency by 50-200%
Managing cultural evolution during controlled growth phases rather than hypergrowth
Building people functions that amplify founder strengths instead of fixing cultural problems
Designing lean team structures that can scale to IPO with plateau headcount models
Creating hiring processes that prioritize exceptional talent over rapid volume scaling
 

The Compensation Mistake That Destroys Startup Culture

In this episode of Heart of the Brand, host Diana Alexandrovna interviews Anjuli Mauer, CEO & Founder at People Pace. Anjuli reveals how scaling companies unknowingly destroy their culture through inconsistent compensation decisions and misaligned performance systems - and how to fix it before it's too late. After building HR departments at multiple Berlin startups including Flaconi, she discovered that most culture problems stem from operational failures, not values misalignment. Her approach prioritizes getting foundational processes right before layering on cultural initiatives, helping companies avoid the costly mistake of trying to fix culture after scaling without proper systems.
Topics Discussed:
Building operational excellence as the foundation for sustainable culture
Creating compensation frameworks that reinforce rather than undermine values
Scaling HR processes from 50 to 500+ employees without losing cultural consistency
Implementing performance management systems aligned with company values
Using AI and automation to eliminate administrative burden and focus on strategic work
Establishing transparent promotion criteria that reduce bias and increase fairness
Managing culture evolution during rapid growth phases
Building HR departments that add strategic value rather than just administrative support
 

Managing 450+ Across Warehouses & Remote Teams w/ Hive’s Charlotte Theiß

Charlotte Theiß, People Lead at Hive, has built a dual-world people strategy that successfully manages both warehouse operations teams and distributed tech talent across seven European locations. As Hive scaled from 30 to 450+ employees, Charlotte developed specialized people teams and frameworks that acknowledge the fundamentally different needs of fulfillment associates and office workers while maintaining one unified culture. Her approach to sustainable growth, skills-based hiring, and meritocratic performance management has enabled Hive to transition from "do more with less" startup culture to a mature organization focused on development and ownership without losing its core identity.
Topics Discussed
Building specialized people teams for warehouse operations vs. tech talent
Scaling culture sustainably through value evolution and meritocratic decision-making
Implementing skills-based hiring over traditional credential requirements
Creating internal mobility pathways that enable rapid career progression
Transitioning from hiring manager-led recruitment to centralized talent acquisition
Balancing on-site collaboration needs with distributed team management
Using AI tools like Notion AI for internal knowledge management and documentation
Developing feedback culture that drives both individual and organizational growth

The Mission-Driven Performance Trap Most CPOs Fall Into w/ Valerie Mann - Elder

In this episode of Heart of the Brand, host Roman Kirsch interviews Valerie Mann, Chief People Officer at Elder. Elder is disrupting elderly care by connecting families with carers through their marketplace platform, and Valerie has developed a unique approach to building mission-driven culture without sacrificing performance. As Elder scaled their team while maintaining their social impact focus, Valerie created frameworks that balance empathy with accountability, turning mission alignment into a competitive advantage rather than a performance liability. Her approach includes embedding business context into every cultural touchpoint, developing "Swiss knife" hiring criteria for adaptable talent, and using performance metrics to validate cultural health rather than relying on abstract sentiment measures.
Topics Discussed
Balancing mission-driven culture with performance accountability in social impact businesses
Creating hiring frameworks that identify adaptable "Swiss knife" talent for scaling environments
Embedding business context and metrics into cultural communication and decision-making
Developing Employee Value Propositions (EVP) that define what keeps talent engaged beyond initial attraction
Using performance data to measure cultural effectiveness rather than traditional sentiment surveys
Building empathy-driven recruitment processes while maintaining high performance standards
Integrating AI considerations into talent acquisition and skill development strategies
Managing hybrid work arrangements with specific focus on collaboration and training challenges
 

Why (and How) aware® Built Two Different Cultures

Michael Jones, VP of People at aware®, has mastered the art of scaling dual cultures within a single organization. As aware® grew from 10 to 30 employees while launching physical blood-testing locations across Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands, Michael discovered that building one unified culture across both digital headquarters teams and on-the-ground medical operations was not only impossible but counterproductive. His approach of intentionally designing two complementary cultures - while maintaining shared values and communication touchpoints - has enabled aware® to maintain tight team cohesion during rapid expansion while delivering consistent customer experiences across diverse work environments.
Topics Discussed
Building two distinct but aligned cultures within a single organization
Scaling culture across distributed teams with vastly different work environments
Creating systematic onboarding programs for medical staff and operational teams
Implementing communication touchpoints that connect virtual and physical teams
Adapting HR practices for the shift from remote-first to hybrid work models
Using AI tools strategically for recruitment while avoiding algorithmic bias
Building culture resilience during the transition from purely digital to physical operations
Developing structured interview processes and candidate evaluation frameworks