FarBridge: What Matters to Us

Even before starting the company, we talked about what matters most to us, what we want to create, and how we want to go about doing that. Here’s what we value in ourselves, in each other, and in the future we want to make.

People

At FarBridge, we are putting people first.

We believe our full potential can only be realised through the connections and relationships we share with other people. Often these connections are limited by distance. These distances are sometimes geographic, social, economic, or generational. We aspire to close these distances between people, especially between those who can and those who can’t yet, using new technologies to help change lives.

As exciting and impactful as the technology we work with is, at its core, it’s still just a tool. What matters more is the people that stand to gain from its development and growth.

Honesty

If something can’t be done honestly, then it’s not worth doing.

We’re building this company honestly and transparently. We all make mistakes and missteps — we’re only human after all. When we stumble, we’ll do our best to admit it, learn from the missteps, and share what we learn with each other and our community. We’re starting by sharing these values, working with collaborators that share our priorities, and holding each other accountable along the way.

Quality of Life

We know how crazy startups can get. There’s no time for slacking, and we use deadlines to get stuff done and make progress. But we’re not working ourselves to death. How sad it would be if we spent all of our time debugging VR/AR software, and didn’t take time to have fun with this new technology, play with each other, and make sure we go home with enough energy left to share real-life with our families and friends.

We’re starting by taking care of each other. We’ve seen far too many companies slip into perpetual overtime, leading to avoidable mistakes, burnout, and lost opportunities. We’re taking a stance against doing that to ourselves, with sane schedules, reasonable expectations, and open conversations about what really matters.

Responsible Progress

We’re doing this because we see room for improvement in the world.

Every major technological innovation ushers in new realities — it’s sometimes hard to remember the world before smart phones and tablet computers. We think VR/AR will usher in just as much change again. However, we’re not interested in change for change’s sake — “new” and “better” are not the same thing.

We’re looking for opportunities to use leading-edge technologies to promote creativity, curiosity, and the next wave of innovators. There’s no better time than now to create technology that empowers everyone, and isn’t just for the fortunate few. We’re thinking about the impact our products have on people, the environment, and our society, and trying to take this responsibility seriously.

Celebrating Difference

As a community of VR/AR developers, enthusiasts, and futurists, we have the unique opportunity to draw the blueprint for the culture that we want to live and work in.

We believe in inclusivity, equality, and accessibility at all levels. This is the foundation of our culture, and we will defend this community from harassment, bullies, and misinformation at all levels. All voices and all views are welcome in this conversation.

. . .

We appreciate you taking the time to read what we’re about. Thank you for joining us on this journey.

Want to stay connected? Follow us on Medium, Twitter, Facebook, or join our mailing list.

We look forward to sharing more soon!

— Team FarBridge

Published April 20, 2017

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