Grindr Mode
We’re at one of those moments in history where the next chapter gets written by the people who show up and drive.
Grindr was born at a platform shift — mobile — and gay men adopted it instantly, making it a cultural phenomenon because it solved something real. Now we’re at the next shift: AI. And once again, we have a chance to be ahead of the curve — not just in what we build, but in what we stand for as a company.
Here’s the key point: we are not building Grindr to maximize time spent. We are building Grindr to maximize life lived. That means functional intelligence embedded into the product that helps our users get what they actually want — connection, confidence, community, and character — the practical stuff that makes life easier and better, like finding friendship, dates, sex, travel, health, family, and marriage. If we do this right, we won’t just build a great product — we’ll keep earning the right to be a global company of consequence that performs, compounds, and changes minds simply by being excellent.
Grindr is a rare company: we sit at the intersection of a community that disproportionately shapes culture, technology, and a business that, frankly, wins. Gay men are early to what’s next — tech, taste, language, nightlife, media — and the rest of the world catches up later.
When we win, we don’t just ship features or print numbers — we shape what gay life looks like at scale, and we pull the broader culture along with it. That combination gives us leverage — and it gives us responsibility.
We’re not just here to run a grid.
We’re here to build the global Gayborhood in your pocket and, through our success, help make a world where the lives of our community are free, equal, and just.
To build that kind of company, we need to be explicit about how we operate. Culture isn’t a poster on a wall — it’s the business operating system that allows us to deliver that vision. It’s the underlying code that determines how decisions get made, how we debate, how we communicate, and how we move fast, sustainably. This memo is a clear statement of what we reward, what we expect, and what it takes to succeed at Grindr, so that we keep on thriving.
Grindr Mode is how I aspire for us to operate together in our shared future.
Ultimately Grindr Mode is about amping up our ambition, unleashing our potential, and giving language to the ways we’re already working and building on them.
Moderately hardcore steady-state execution,
And the ability to shift into true hardcore when the moment requires it.
First, we want to be moderately hardcore in how we regularly execute.
The bar for day-to-day execution is excellence. Plans are realistic, people know what they need to work on, systems are reliable, metrics are trusted, and issues are surfaced early. Aspiring to be moderately hardcore means being willing to go hard, but also knowing we need to pair that with flexibility, rest, and thoughtfulness.
The second gear of Grindr Mode is true hardcore. We go hardcore for the things that are most important, opportunities that serve our long-term vision for the Global Gayborhood in Your Pocket. This becomes a strategic tool, not a permanent way of life and work.
The goal of true hardcore should be to create outsized value: redefine a product, unlock a new line of business, resolve a structural risk decisively, or change the trajectory of the business.
Grindr Mode is intense, but ideally human. Moderately hardcore, but not tyrannical. There’s a phenomenon called 9-9-6 sweeping Silicon Valley, and it means that you’re in the office from 9AM to 9PM, six days a week.
9-9-6 is an import from a tyranny, and completely contrary to freedom and operational excellence. It’s a model that confuses facetime with rigor and replaces real management with the illusion of discipline. That is not Grindr Mode — Grindr Mode is achieving more than you could in 9-9-6, but with flexibility and consideration to ourselves and our lives outside of work.
It’s a mode that reflects the gay community itself — a group of people that won hard-fought liberties through relentless struggle while also celebrating those wins with equivalent gusto. That balance is the mode we strive for here at the company. Grindr Mode is an imperative to work hard, but also to live a big life, whatever that means to you.
To be in Grindr Mode, you…
Think Like an Owner.
Grindr Mode is rooted in taking ownership over our potential and outcomes, both individually and collectively. It’s thinking like an owner. Grindr’s revenue-per-employee ratio gives each member of the team founder-level impact, responsibility, and accountability. You know the difference between noise and signal, and how to act fast on what matters most for our users.
Own the outcome,
not just the process.
Find leverage points where small actions create big outcomes.
Ruthlessly prioritize what benefits users, delivers on our goals, and advances strategy. What needs to be done now, next, or never? Why are we doing this instead of 10 other things?
Think in ripple effects because every line of code, every design choice, and every marketing decision touches millions of users.
Act with urgency because you understand the stakes, and because slow is the fast track to behind.
Lead by example. Protect the company’s reputation by modeling integrity, professionalism, and accountability both in and out of the office.
Learn relentlessly.
You never stop learning — you’re always sharpening, refining, leveling up. You interrogate ideas, make your case, know your facts, and challenge assumptions.
We debate the idea, not the person. The goal is clarity, not winning a debate, to get to rapid execution.
We hire for expertise and for cracked slope, but just because you’re an expert doesn’t mean you’re automatically right. Rigorous debate, ingenuity, and a mix of assertiveness and open-mindedness get the best outcome. That’s why we debate hard, but not forever. Once decisions are made, we expect everyone to get behind them and execute.
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We expect you to understand the details as well as the big picture. Answer questions before they’re asked. Unanswered questions derail decisions and leave people confused.
We expect all views to be challenged like everyone else’s — because if you’re here, your voice matters, regardless of tenure or level. If your approach is challenged, the process is working. Expect scrutiny that makes the work stronger.
Embrace Being a Driver.
At Grindr, accountability is binary: either you’re driving, or you’re not. If you’re driving, you own the outcome, not just the task list. The Driver sets the planned direction, communicates bumps or delays, and ensures a safe and quick arrival. Every drive is a test of leadership. Pass, and you’re cleared for bigger roads. Fail, and you sit in the backseat. That’s why meetings shouldn’t end until everyone knows: Who’s driving?
Takes ownership and responsibility. Ensures discussions translate into decisions and execution.
Provides momentum and direction without waiting for others to act. Assembles the right team, sets timelines and goals, understands risks, and keeps it moving.
Has a broad view of the business and understands interdependencies of one project with others. Ensures there’s a clear line to user value or revenue.
Understands the stakes. Sometimes 80% is enough, other times only 100% will do. Some calls need leadership’s input; plenty don’t. The Driver figures out the difference.
Is responsible for the outcome, not just the output. For example, shipping features or marketing campaigns isn’t success — creating value for our users and our shareholders is.
Create Clarity and Operate through Ambiguity.
Information has to flow effectively for the business to scale and achieve ambitious growth plans. Through a memo-based culture, we ensure each of us has the info needed to do our best work while avoiding wasted effort.
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Write things down. Written communication forces clarity of thinking, increases transparency across the business, exposes problems early, and creates institutional memory.
Can explain complex ideas in plain words, because weak thinking hides behind jargon.
Check for understanding. It’s everyone’s responsibility to walk out of a meeting knowing the objectives and who is expected to do what; If you don’t, we don’t move forward.
Go out of your way to share context. You’re clear about what we’re doing, why, and how, as well as what determines success.
Are comfortable with ambiguity. We won’t always have every answer at our stage, and context changes fast. Waiting for perfect clarity means never shipping.
Unleash Your Potential.
We believe everyone here has untapped potential, and our culture is designed to push you further than you thought possible. The people who thrive here never assume they’re done learning. We hire people who couldn’t turn off their drive, even if they tried. Expect to be uncomfortable here; that’s where growth lives. If you’re ready to see your blind spots and believe there’s a better you waiting to emerge, Grindr will help accelerate your development, career, and life journey.
We provide real-time feedback, coaching, and the resources to help our people level up.
We strongly support stretch hires and promotions — people who show strong, demonstrable potential and just need the chance to prove it.
We value authenticity over conformity. When you stop worrying about fitting in, energy is freed up to create and do more than anyone thought possible. Authenticity also builds trust, strengthens collaborations, and makes the work — and the occasional after-work kiki — more fun.
Grindr’s bar is rising. Our ambition is growing. We’re in Grindr Mode — not just to rev the engine, but to generate real power over time. That’s how we win. That’s how we change the story for our users, for our investors, and for our community.
We will raise your bar, and expect you to raise ours. That’s how we move the business — and the community — forward together.
We all think we’re high performers until we’re surrounded by high performers and realize there’s another level.
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High performance at Grindr is being moderately hardcore always, and true hardcore when it matters most. Because strength — financial, operational, cultural — gives us a seat at the tables others can’t always reach. And when we get there, we can open the doors for everyone else.
You know your superpowers and how they make you exceptional. You also seek to understand your blind spots and how to improve or build around them. You’re never satisfied with where you are now, always pushing to get better.
You thrive on change and are comfortable with ambiguity. You adapt quickly when users, markets, or technology shift — and you find opportunity in those changes. Ambiguity is hard. Know yourself well enough to know if you’ll truly thrive in such an environment.
You are AI-native, or are rapidly becoming AI-native, weaving AI into your work at every turn.
You care deeply about the work, not the clock. You’re willing to sacrifice and make tradeoffs when chasing an opportunity or solving a problem. That kind of challenge energizes you. We don’t care about facetime. We care about productively neurotic ownership — in the car, in the shower, while falling asleep, sometimes at 3 a.m. It pushes you to respond and act in the moment, even if it’s inconvenient or no one asked.
You obsess over outcomes, especially for our users. You know the job isn’t done when the work ships. It’s done when users and revenue move.
You model leadership by lifting others up, moving the business forward with your work, and leaning into discomfort with curiosity. You take smart risks — often without full information — by balancing analysis with timely action. You’re brilliant, but never a brilliant jerk.
You learn out loud by owning mistakes and sharing insights so the whole team benefits, not just you. It’s about humility and transparency: Explain what didn’t work and what did, what surprised you, and how you’ll improve the approach next time. By sharing, you turn individual lessons into collective knowledge.
Grindr can be a launchpad for your potential.
This might be the hardest and most rewarding place you’ll ever work, but you’ll be able to say you were part of building a company that changed tech and society. And by building that company, you’ll make it be taken seriously. This isn’t social work — it’s impact through excellence. The profit fuels power, and that power fuels the mission.
Some people worry that Grindr won’t be taken seriously on their LinkedIn. That it’s too edgy, too sexy, too gay. We get it.
But talent forged at Grindr will stand out anywhere.
We have a multi-year strategy, which we launched in 2022 — to build the Global Gayborhood in our users’ pockets. We’re clear on the objectives, disciplined in our approach, and have consistently met our timeline and financial commitments. Just as important, we’ve put thought into and delivered this memo so every current and future teammate knows what it takes to succeed here.
