Idealab has created a unique environment designed to strike a balance between the high levels of creativity needed for truly breakthrough products and the kind of focus and discipline that produce solid results. Both in the structure of our businesses and in the physical setting we've created, we provide each person the opportunity to contribute to groundbreaking innovations at the same time holding him or her to high standards of performance.
A key part of our culture is the level of tightly integrated services we provide to our operating companies. Whether in finance, accounting, human resources, legal, design, product prototyping, public relations or information technology, the people who work in Idealab's service groups are skilled at meeting the needs of fast-paced start-up companies. This arrangement enables entrepreneurs in the operating companies to focus their complete attention on building and selling products.
At any moment, there are six to eight young companies within the main Idealab building. While each has its own distinct space, our open environment encourages a high level of communication among employees and across operating companies. Three days a week, we subsidize lunch, providing further opportunities for people throughout the organization to mingle and share ideas.
Idealab is a world where no idea is too crazy and yet solid results are expected. We have found that where these seemingly opposite concepts are held in balance, both people and companies flourish.