Over the years, we've come to believe that culture is one of the most important—yet least understood—drivers of long-term value. It separates the great companies from the merely good ones. At the same time, it's extremely hard to pin down and even more difficult to quantify. Even after many years of analyzing cultures, reading countless books and academic papers, talking to experts and CEOs of great companies, and scrubbing various sets of data, culture remains extremely difficult to analyze. Fortunately, this also means it continues to be woefully misunderstood and underappreciated by most investors. Hence, we're eager to continue investing in our understanding of culture and exploiting what we believe is a massive inefficiency in the market.  

The Role

The culture analyst role is part of the investment team and will analyze companies purely through a cultural lens. The gathering of cultural data and information is considered within the context of a company's investment thesis and evaluated against the set of factors we've found to be most important. There are many opportunities to grow in this role by helping to improve our culture research over time, but we are only interested in candidates who are committed to specializing in culture – this is not a route to a business analyst position. We're looking for people that want to geek out on culture for years to come. 

Requirements

Since this is an unconventional position, we are not as concerned about conventional credentials. More than anything else, we'd like to understand your personal and professional journey and how that will make you an exceptional culture analyst (as well as an outstanding teammate). What we value most is a person's ability to think different, get better, and help others do the same.

 
There are several additional qualities we believe are important: 

• Prior work experience (~5 years or more is ideal).
• Strong writing and communication skills. Without effective communication, even the best ideas will fail in our team environment.
• An interest in and general understanding of business and investing.
• The ability to think different and not just be an "information gatherer."
• A demonstrated track record of improving as a professional and an ability to communicate that journey.

Position Details:

• This is a full-time position and ideally the last company you'll work for. We've worked hard to create a culture and environment that no one wants to leave.
• The analyst will be paid a competitive base salary and be part of our annual discretionary bonus and normal equity grant plans.
• Our preference is for the analyst to be based in Laguna Beach, but we may consider alternatives for exceptional candidates or life situations.

How to Apply:

Please send your resume and responses to the questions below to culture@wcminvest.com.

 
Questions:

• Why do you think culture matters to a company?
• Based on your own experience, what factors are essential to an effective culture? 
• What do you think most people get wrong about culture?
• If you could ask a CEO one question about the culture of their company, what would it be?
• What aspects of your own journey are most relevant to this role?