Ways of Working
Operating principles, communication cadence, and an AI-native culture.
How Tenten works together: what we believe, how we communicate, how we meet, how we decide, and how we make AI the team's default tool.
Operating Principles
Six principles that run through every project. Get these six and you get how Tenten works.
Treat the project as your own. Push it forward proactively — no waiting, no buck-passing — to done.
Be the client's in-house startup team and reason like a founder — see far, solve future problems early.
Ship first, then optimize. Fast iteration + user feedback beats holding out for the perfect version.
For repetitive, scalable work, first ask "can AI / automation do this?" AI is the default, not a bonus.
Write as you build. Keep know-how in Notion and the Brain so the next person doesn't start from scratch.
Be obsessed with what you make. Before shipping, ask: would I buy this quality myself?
Communication
A small team keeps its speed through good communication. Three principles: public first, async-friendly, leave a record.
| Channel | What it's for | Rules |
|---|---|---|
| Slack | Real-time comms, quick Q&A, project discussion | Public channels over DMs; give context when you @ someone; async by default, no instant replies expected. |
| Notion | Project docs, SOPs, decision records, client data | The source of truth. Write important decisions into Notion, not just Slack threads. |
| Google Meet / in person | Aligning context, complex discussion, client meetings | Agenda before, conclusions and action items after. |
| Formal external comms, client correspondence | Use Slack internally; keep a professional tone externally. |
Language
Internally, mixing Chinese and English is normal (zh-TW primary, technical terms in English). For clients and external content, pick the language by brand and audience — English for overseas B2B, Traditional Chinese for local Taiwan clients.
Cadence
We meet as little as possible — and make the meetings useful. Below is the general cadence; actual timing and frequency adjust per team ✎ 待補.
Decisions & Ownership
Flat and fast — but every thing has a clear owner.
Every project / workflow has one owner. The owner has decision authority within their scope and answers for the outcome.
Reversible decisions (most of them) — decide, try, fix quickly. Only escalate the irreversible or high-risk.
Top-sensitive matters — finance (Mercury), social account ownership, client money flows — are approved by the founder.
Voice it fully before the decision; build it together after. Silence is not agreement.
AI by Default
Tenten is an AI-first company — AI isn't one department's job, it's everyone's default tool. The full tools and methods are in the AI Playbook; here we cover the culture.
We're a team that moves fast, delivers high quality, and works with the most cutting-edge AI tools every day.
Tenten Careers
Admin & Policies
The following are company-specific policies — to be filled in by People / Ops before publishing. The framework is here so new hires know where to look.
| Topic | What it covers | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Hours & flexibility | Hours / remote / flexible-time rules | ✎ TBD |
| Leave | Annual / sick / personal leave process and allowance | ✎ TBD |
| Expenses & procurement | Expense claims, software subscriptions, equipment | ✎ TBD |
| Performance & feedback | 1:1s, quarterly reviews, raises and promotions | ✎ TBD |
| Benefits | What the company provides | ✎ TBD |