DrugBank's culture is helping it build critical infrastructure for healthcare
DrugBank has been named one of Canada's best workplaces by the Great Place to Work Institute. The Edmonton-based company's debut at 19th in the under 50 employees category closely follows its success in raising $9 million of seed funding, led by Brightspark Ventures, earlier this month.
DrugBank, which offers the world's largest online drug information database, has been intentional about building a supportive workplace with its Thriving Lifestyle Compensation Philosophy, which aims to offer a healthy living wage, rewards for exceptional performance, and equal pay for equal work.
That compensation philosophy and its overall emphasis on culture was a key part of conversations with investors during the raise, co-founder and CEO Michael Wilson told Taproot.
"We're not just looking for a check. We're looking for people to become partners in our business. I think all the investors that have joined us were really impressed with our vision and the potential future possibilities, but culture played a big role in how they perceived the company," explained Wilson.
Those values have been part of DrugBank's foundation from the beginning, when it started in Prof. David Wishart's lab at the University of Alberta in 2006. Wilson said a book by Daniel H. Pink called Drive helped shape his initial thoughts around culture, and Shay Barker, director of people and culture, has played an integral role in developing that side of the business as well.
Wilson told Taproot that culture is increasingly important, as his business competes against other tech companies and the wider marketplace for talent, which is directly tied to the ability to grow. The other important factor is that DrugBank is building a company that is solving challenging problems, and it needs people to be at their best to think about how to tackle each one.
"It's not about grinding out as much output as you can. It's about having people that are engaged with their work, bringing their A-game, and feeling empowered. A lot of the things we've done in culture, also benefit the business ... which means the business has the best chance of success," Wilson said.
The fast-growing company is poised to add more team members in the next few months, with Wilson estimating that it will have more than 80 employees by the end of 2022. Those hires will be across the board, with a particular eye toward growing DrugBank's sales, marketing, and product teams.
As it expands, the plan to focus on culture remains, by developing more tools similar to the compensation policy, and clearly defining DrugBank's leadership principles. Its decision to be a remote-first company has also meant that it's equally committed to ensuring there's a system that encourages robust feedback.
