The Frappe Way
Excellence
Don’t forget to be awesome (DFTBA). We have to be good at what we do and objectively get better. Excellence comes from constantly questioning our work till we find satisfaction in it and others find delight. It means our work (software, services, communication) is thoughtful and of high-quality and usually exceeds expectations.
Freedom
We believe that individual freedom makes for the most fulfilling journeys. Everyone should be free to work the way they want, and where collaboration is required, it will be with consent. For decisions that impact a lot of people, we will use democratic or sociocratic principles to come to those decisions, keeping in mind that the compromise on individual freedoms is as little as possible.
Authenticity
We should try and keep things as honest and true as possible. Be conscious in all our decisions so they are simple and minimal and honest, whether it is design, software architecture, business model, workplace rules, travel plans etc. This value summarizes various ideas like sustainability, simplicity, originality, honesty, minimalism, thrift, conscious consumption.
Read about our vision
Updated April 15, 2023
The Frappe Way
Freedom. Excellence. Authenticity.
Work culture at Frappe is different. There are no reporting managers. You choose what you work on, decide your own pay, plan your own leaves and are responsible for your own outcomes. Frappe is a democratic workplace with a constitution in place. Decisions are made through unanimous voting, fierce debates and endless questions.
This isn’t just flexibility. It is deep, systematic trust in people. It can feel risky, chaotic and even ridiculous if you come from a typical corporate workplace. But if the goal is thoughtful, excellent work, this is the way to do it.
The Philosophy
The Philosophy
Why we do what we do
This way of working wasn’t invented at Frappe, nor were we the first to think about it. Pioneers like Ricardo Semler were running their companies this way decades ago. He proved that when you distribute power and trust people with information, it does wonders for both the people and the business. Though his story gave us some proof of concept, our real roots go back further. It started with how kids learn. When Rushabh Mehta, the Founder at Frappe was studying different education systems, he found that there were schools like Summer Hill in the UK and Sudbury Valley in the US that explored democratic education. These places would run on trust. Kids choose what to learn, manage their time and even vote on school rules.
That’s where the thought emerged, "If 10 year olds can handle these responsibilities, why do we treat adults at work like they can’t?". That's when Frappe began adopting democracy at the workplace.
Constitution
A democratic foundation
Freedom without rules is anarchy. Frappe has rules that are agreed upon by the team and written down in the constitution. At its core, people come first and capital comes second. It exists to protect the democratic nature of the culture and to ensure that the best ideas win through open communication and not authority.
The Values
None of this works without a shared set of values. These values represent the trade offs the team has agreed to live with even when choices make things harder or slower. They guide discussions and decisions and protect the kind of company Frappe will be.
The Vision
The vision is shaped in the interest of the people and their growth rather than revenue targets or being capitalist and evil. Frappe focuses on empowering individuals and their visions. We aspire to build great products and services, empower and educate, and be a democratically run organization.
The Values
None of this works without a shared set of values. These values represent the trade offs the team has agreed to live with even when choices make things harder or slower. They guide discussions and decisions and protect the kind of company Frappe will be.
Vision
Art for art’s sake
Shaped in the interest of the people and their growth, instead of revenue targets or capitalism. Frappe focuses on empowering individuals and their visions.
Values
Freedom by design
None of this works without a shared set of values. These values represent the trade offs the team has agreed to live with even when choices make things harder or slower.
Some Unique Journeys
Stories where freedom meets excellence
In the early years of Frappe, most of the engineering team was busy building Frappe Framework and ERPNext. Aditya Hase joined as an intern and started working on some projects like Framework and Tally Migration tool. But he wasn’t satisfied and he wanted to build an app that felt like his. Due to his prior experience, he was naturally drawn to creating a hosting platform. What started as a small experiment (“Press”) slowly grew into what we now know as Frappe Cloud. There was no grand pitch or big roadmap. He built what he was excited about and the rest followed as people saw value and started using it. The same curiosity and exploration has given us apps like Insights, Fusion and many more. Someone sees a possibility, feels strongly about it and builds it.
On the business side, Michelle Alva’s story is particularly worth sharing. She joined Frappe straight out of college and worked in customer support and then moved to implementation. She started noticing tiny broken gaps in our processes. Instead of complaining, she just started fixing them. One of which resulted in a 20% jump in revenue for the team. She later led our ISO certification project, pushing us to improve our SLAs, security reviews, clearer policies and much more. Michelle is a skeptic by nature. She question everything, especially our need to always be radical, not to be difficult but because she genuinely care about getting it right.
These are just two of the many stories we have witnessed at Frappe.
The Team
People who make the magic happen
Frappe team is made up of people with different backgrounds, skills and opinions. What connects them is a shared approach to ownership, responsibility and decision making. These are the folks who build, maintain and shape Frappe everyday.
Careers
Forge your own path
We work without managers, titles, or approval chains. People here are trusted to think independently, take ownership, and make decisions in the best interest of the company and the community. The work is remote-first, feedback is direct, and responsibility is shared.
This level of freedom isn’t for everyone. But if you enjoy autonomy, care deeply about your craft, and prefer clarity over hierarchy, you might feel at home here.
