Every startup eventually hits what I call the Dog Policy Inflection Point.
No startup needs a dog policy when they first open an office. “Of course you can bring in Fido!” Sometimes it’s even communal: Fido is our dog, proclaims the LinkedIn post, showing how quirky and fun it is to work there.
Then the startup grows, and more dogs show up. But the social bonds still hold strong, and people work hard to be considerate of each other. Even when issues arise, they’re always amicably mediated through social norms. Tom is allergic, but volunteers to just move his desk. Jane’s dog doesn’t get along with Fido, so she just leaves it at home.
But then the startup grows even more, and these social bonds start to fray. And at some point, usually between 100-500 employees, one of a few things will happen:
- A dog will attack or threaten another employee.
- A dog will attack or threaten another dog.
- A dog will create a mess and no one takes responsibility.
- Someone wants to bring their dog somewhere, but someone else doesn’t. And for the first time, they can’t (or won’t) work it out themselves.
And at that point, there’s nothing to do but for the CEO to ask her Head of People or Head of Legal to write a dog policy: a set of rules to govern these disputes going forward in a neutral and predictable way. And as they solemnly type “dog policy precedent” into Google or ChatGPT, the vibeshift from startup to small company is complete.