About Column Software, PBC

The operating principles Column share as a company guide our actions as we work to align incentives, build products and grow our team. They are inspired by our mission but are derived most directly from who we are and how we choose to live and work.

Be Worthy of Trust Our company was founded because of a deep sense of loyalty to journalism that had been handed down through five generations of the local news business. Everything we work toward at Column, from programmatically generating and distributing legal documents, to forging strategic partnerships, to improving the security of our software, is fundamentally about building something — and being people — that our partners can trust.

Do the Hard Work We believe that the problem we've chosen won't be solved by a cocktail conversation about how much local news matters — it does. But this mission can't be just a philanthropic cause, the conclusion of an op-ed or the topic of a panel at an industry conference. Even if those things happen along the way, this hard problem demands hard work. We show up. We deal directly with folks on the ground keeping local journalism alive. We know the obstacles facing public information systems will be solved only by a team that intimately understands industry dynamics; by folks with the skills to build modern solutions to those problems; and by products that align the incentives of media businesses with the institutions and communities they serve.

Never Stop Learning There simply isn't enough time in life to learn every lesson the hard way. We view our own education as a never-ending process — a nourishing staple of life. With this mindset, we read voraciously. We seek advice from mentors. We deliver feedback with candor and receive it without ego. We treat curiosity as a skill, one that requires us to constantly practice noticing every detail about the places we go, the people we meet and the ideas we have. If journalism and entrepreneurship have anything in common, it's the importance of asking good questions and getting the details right.

Intentionally Build Community We believe community is something we actively weave into the social fabric around us. At Column, we work to build a sense of community among our team, our partners, our customers, our mentors and our friends. Our products support the distribution of public interest information in cities and towns of all sizes. We are intentional about making product decisions that enable the building of trust, the telling of stories and the enrichment of communities.

Tell a Better Story Every startup begins with a story. Narratives have the power to change the world, for better and for worse. They can divert the flow of capital, change centuries-old institutions and shape the course of a person's life. At Column, each of us has a story that brought us here — a collection of them — and together, we seek to tell a story that makes us proud. We invest in new experiences, revel in eccentricity and never stop trying to make each other laugh.