September 29, 2025

Growth is usually framed as the holy grail of business. Bigger numbers, more customers, new markets, an eventual IPO. But lurking behind the glossy press releases and investor decks is a quieter question: can a company hold on to its culture as it scales? Or is erosion inevitable, especially once outside money and shareholders come into play?

I left a company after waking up one day and realizing that the culture had changed around me to the point that I no longer fit in. What had once been a place filled with curiosity, collaboration, and a shared sense of purpose had quietly shifted into something else. It happened so slowly that I barely noticed until I looked around and saw that all of the things that drew me there in the first place were gone. It was like being the proverbial frog in a pot of water. Each quarter brought a small shift in priorities, and by the time I realized it, the water was boiling.

Now I am at a new company, one where I genuinely love the culture. I feel aligned with the mission, energized by the people, and proud of the work we are doing. At the same time, I find myself wondering how long this can last. Will this culture hold steady, or will it eventually bend under the same pressures I have seen elsewhere?

The shareholder dilemma

This pattern raises a troubling question: is it even possible for a company to maintain a strong, human-centered culture under capitalism, especially once it is publicly traded?

By design, capitalism pushes businesses toward profit maximization. Once shareholders are in the picture, the pressure gets codified into law and governance. Boards are expected to act in the best interest of shareholders, and shareholder interests usually boil down to financial return. Culture and values become nice-to-haves, only until they interfere with growth.

This does not mean values disappear overnight, but it does mean they are subordinated. Culture becomes another input to manage, a means to an end. A healthy, fun work environment is valuable only if it increases productivity and profits. A beloved product is worth investing in only if it drives revenue expansion. It can feel like something essential has been hollowed out.

Unfortunately, we have all been forced into the system that is capitalism. Whether we like it or not, it is the water we swim in, and is the system within which we all must operate. That reality shapes what is possible for culture, and what will inevitably be sacrificed to the demands of growth.

Is there another way?

Some people argue this erosion is not inevitable. They point to companies like Patagonia, which legally restructured itself to ensure environmental responsibility outweighs shareholder return. Others highlight private companies that have stayed independent for decades, prioritizing mission over market share.

But these are exceptions, not the rule. In tech especially, it often feels like the only alternatives to an acquisition or an IPO are stagnation or outright failure, which only tightens the pressure to follow the well-worn path of capital markets. The gravitational pull of capital markets is incredibly strong. Even well-intentioned founders can find themselves making tradeoffs they once swore they would never make. The system itself creates incentives that are difficult to resist. For every Patagonia, there are countless other stories where once-beloved companies lost their way after going public or being acquired.

That does not mean leaders are powerless. Transparency, employee ownership, and alternative governance structures can help. Clear-eyed founders can choose to grow more slowly, raise less outside funding, or even remain private. But all of these choices come with tradeoffs: less capital, fewer resources, slower growth. It takes a rare level of discipline and alignment to walk that path.

The personal cost

For employees, cultural erosion can feel devastatingly personal. Many people join a company because of its mission or culture, only to watch those values get diluted over time. It is not just disappointing, it can feel like the ground shifting beneath you, leaving you wondering if you still belong in a place where you once invested so much of yourself.

I know this feeling because I lived it. For a while I was in denial about what was happening, telling myself that if I just cared enough, if I just tried hard enough, I could keep at least some of what I loved about the company culture alive. And for a short time I did, at least within my own team. But I was fighting a battle I was never going to win.

The long hours, the creative energy, and the relationships I built were all rooted in a shared belief about what the company stood for. When that belief dissolved, it was heartbreaking. It felt like a personal loss, because I poured so much of myself into trying to hold on. It completely shook my sense of purpose, and although it is one of the most common stories in modern work life, living through it felt anything but common.

The bigger question

So is cultural erosion inevitable?  Is a truly values-driven company ultimately incompatible with capitalism?

There is no simple answer. What seems clear is that the system is designed to prioritize profit over all else.

Maybe the more useful question is not whether erosion is inevitable, but how much erosion you are willing to tolerate, and what you can do to slow it down. For leaders, that means making deliberate, sometimes costly choices to safeguard culture. For employees, it might mean accepting that no culture is permanent and being ready to walk away when the water gets too hot.

Work is not just about making money; it is about meaning, belonging, and contribution. When those values collide with shareholder demands, something has to give. Too often, it is the culture.

But inevitability is not destiny. Companies and individuals can choose differently, though those choices come with real costs. The real challenge is deciding whether preserving culture is worth those costs, and what you are willing to sacrifice to keep the water from boiling.