New IPXO Values & The Road We Took To Define Them 

August 2022 marked the first year of the IPXO Marketplace. While comparatively young, the company has been evolving and changing fast. With that came the natural evolution of our belief system. Once we realized we had outgrown the original IPXO values, we knew time for change was right around the corner. 

When we sat down to redefine our old values, every employee had the chance to share their ideas. Between August and October, several workshops were held among 11 IPXO cultural ambassadors and company leaders. The new and final values were introduced during the quarterly Town Hall event at the beginning of October 2022.  

The importance of clearly defined values within a growing company

Values underpin the organization’s strategy and help make important decisions about the future. They serve as a bedrock for the company’s mission and vision. Once defined, a set of core values helps an organization establish an identity and build a positive culture within. 

Alternatively, when values are unclear, they cannot represent the organization or be embedded into its consciousness. In fact, failure to adhere to the values renders them meaningless.  

The entire process of re-establishing our inner identity took us a few months before we reached a final consensus. We began by understanding what characteristics we possess in relation to ourselves and the product we build daily. 

About IPXO: Qualities that define us

We believe that the services a company offers and the worldview of its employees are strongly related. For example, Google believes that there is always more information out there, Revolut is driven by the idea of never settling, and Spotify aims to be playful. 

IPXO is the world’s first fully automated IPv4 lease and monetization marketplace. Therefore, we carry the responsibility to build the market ourselves and jump into the role of an educator. Hence, flexibility and eagerness are at the core of all operations. The freedom to explore and self-educate is also crucial. 

Undeniably, the speed at which we grow heavily relies on the openness to receive both positive and negative feedback. A strength that is vital for a good relationship with our clients too. The experiences of our customers and the feedback they provide us shape the direction we move the overall development of our product and services in. 

Overall, we strongly believe in our mission to shape and educate the market and contribute to a more sustainable and safer internet. Bearing all that in mind, the core IPXO values begin to take shape. 

Reassessing values as the company grows

Usually, values change when the company does – it is a natural sign of growth. However, according to Blagnienė, the old IPXO values – Build Relationships, Embrace Your Strengths and Pursue Growth & Learning – did not create a solid foundation as they came into existence without the input of employees. 

“The old values were created many years ago, when IPXO did not even exist yet. As the company changed, values were also rewritten, and behaviors – the actions that define ideas expressed in the values – were rephrased. Yet, since employees were not included in the process of defining values, they lacked understanding of and faith in those values,” said Blagnienė. 

To reassess the values, we set out a straightforward plan:  

1. Elect cultural ambassadors from each team and train them. 
2. Empower ambassadors to conduct workshops within their teams. 
3. Hold a workshop for cultural ambassadors to choose new values. 
4. Conduct one final workshop to review the chosen values and fully define them. 
5. Introduce the core IPXO values company-wide.  

Forging IPXO values: Methodology & process

When we set out to redefine our values, every team at IPXO was asked to pick a representative who would organize a workshop among the team members. Within our teams, we discussed such ideas as:  

• What makes IPXO special? 
• What do we personally value?  
• What values would make us proud? 

The answers defined the present and the future, pointing to what had been missing in the old values. Once we had all individual suggestions, we discussed them and started grouping them together. We also defined each of the new values, after which each cultural ambassador sent them to our Chief People and Culture Officer. 

A few weeks later, we had another workshop for all ambassadors. The most challenging task during the workshop was a court game. Divided into three teams, we had to either justify or condemn the old values while nitpicking every single word to ensure that the new values serve us and not paralyze us.  
 
We realized that the old values were not too bad, but they were primarily directed at our clients, rather than ourselves. With new values, we wanted to bring the focus back on us and how we work at IPXO. 

In the end, the cultural ambassadors had the responsibility to decide which three nouns were the most relevant and convincing. Simultaneously, we created a mind-map of ideas that would help us implement new values into our daily lives.  

The final workshops were held during the last week of September. The ambassadors and our company leaders reevaluated the results of the previous workshops. This time, we focused on behaviors to ensure they are introduced in the simplest, most accurate manner.   

Hard work paid off, and we successfully formed the core IPXO values:

OWNERSHIP, TRUST and GROWTH MINDSET

Introducing the values to the IPXO community

On October 5, 2022, the entire company gathered for the quarterly Town Hall to review our achievements and discuss future plans. After months of intense work, the new IPXO values were publicly and proudly presented.  

Not only do we finally know what core beliefs we all share. We also know where we are heading as a company. And to make sure that the new values remain relevant and are actively adopted within the IPXO community, we are ready to use the ideas of the mind-map created by our cultural ambassadors.  

According to Blagnienė, to determine whether the new values have been rooted, we will eventually measure employee engagement with value-based initiatives and yearly employee engagement surveys. 

“I am wholeheartedly thankful to all those people at IPXO who participated in the process of value clarification and who showed sincere involvement and initiative, participated in open discussions and provided honest insights to help us reach common ground and strengthen the foundation of the company.” 

Do your professional values match IPXO values? Are you ready for the next big step in your career? We have open positions available!
Join us, and let’s build the future of the internet together.