# A manifesto: the foundation for any organization — Icalia Labs Blog > How Icalia Labs used its 7th anniversary to revisit its culture and write a company manifesto, from first draft to the final version. Pre-AI era · 2020. Written before AI was part of how we build. The fundamentals still hold; tooling and workflow advice may be dated. Originally published on [Medium](https://medium.com/icalia-labs/a-manifesto-the-foundation-for-any-organization-a13a1854d3bb) on May 16, 2020. Lightly edited for clarity. 1. [Home](/) 2. / 3. [Blog](/blog/) 4. / 5. [Software Makers](/blog/topics/software-maker.html) [Software Makers](/blog/topics/software-maker.html) # A manifesto: the foundation for any organization How Icalia Labs used its 7th anniversary to revisit its culture and write a company manifesto, from first draft to the final version. ![Eduardo Lopez De Leon](/assets/eduardo-lopez.webp) Eduardo Lopez De Leon · Co-Founder & CEO May 16, 2020 · 6 min read ![Black-and-white overhead view of the Icalia Labs team working at a long shared desk in front of a tall window](/assets/blog/office-santalucia.webp) A couple of years ago, the leadership and founding team were involved in many operational and tactical matters. The main reason was all the changes happening in the industry and some pivots we were making in terms of market segmentation and value proposition in order to have more success stories while crafting software platforms. ![Two-column chart pairing company (vision, mission with mantra, values) with philosophy (purpose, manifesto, principles)](/assets/blog/a-manifesto-the-foundation-for-any-organization-1.webp) _Company culture and the philosophical elements behind it_ Our 7th anniversary as a business was the right excuse to take our cultural foundation and redefine some elements. The company was entering a more exciting time, with more considerations and a fortified culture. The number 7 had great symbolism: as a number, it means reflection — a time to reflect and think about the past, present and future. So we did it. And we assessed the backbone of the company: our cultural statements and ethos. When we revisited the formal writing of all our cultural artifacts, taking other organizations as a reference — in both business and social ecosystems — we found there were things we needed to amplify and communicate more widely to the entire team, customers, and the industry. Some of our team members were questioning, in a good sense, some previously defined elements, mainly because of the discoveries and operational things happening in the company. We hadn’t had the chance to stop, breathe, and write down all those confirmations. What I confirmed when the crew was talking about this is that you are also testing and validating your product, your mission, and even your vision. What remains all the time is your purpose — that’s what we used to articulate our new version of culture. ![Red pyramid of vision, mission (mantra) and values (culture), with purpose on top and manifesto and principles at the base](/assets/blog/a-manifesto-the-foundation-for-any-organization-2.webp) _Spirit: a balance between company culture elements and philosophy_ ## Philosophy translated into a company culture My business partner and I settled on the best approach to fill those gaps in the explanation of our purpose, so we extended the original objective from a regional scope to a broader one. We included other roles and confirmed we had validated all those steps since the beginning of the journey. Alongside this, one missing piece among the philosophical elements was a [_Manifesto_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manifesto). It was clearly the most important piece, and yet it was missing: something to rely on as a business and to easily bring all our thoughts together into a single narrative. > “A manifesto functions as both a statement of principles and a bold, sometimes rebellious, call to action. By causing people to evaluate the gap between those principles and their current reality, the manifesto challenges assumptions, fosters commitment, and provokes change.” It has three basic components: beliefs, goals, and wisdom. Some people recommend using the following structure: > I believe… > > I want to… > > I know this to be true… So I took that boilerplate and started writing with a fresh, clear mind. And I think this was a great summary of why our business exists. _There is a big problem in our discipline, there’s a lack of trust and we are here to improve it. To enhance the productivity, experience and cycle of building software and digital products. It shouldn’t be hard nor difficult, anyone should have the possibility of translating their ideas into something real, and technology is the way to expose and scale it to the world and have a better impact._ _We believe we can increase the success rate in all projects and the best way to do it is improving our experience in building these products, and empowering the people doing the craft, starting from the most important roles: designers, hackers, engineers, thinkers and developers, all of them have the potential to make a change for the better._ _We are hackers and designers, strategists and craftsmen, converting visions into reality. Our minds have the possibility to help millions or even billions, and we want to keep ourselves doing it. We want to empower more of those hackers and designers, because without them we don’t have any living purpose. Providing the right tools to the people behind the scenes, improving the processes and methods is key to reduce waste, increase productivity and generate impact._ _We believe in a new way of building software products, in a modern, cohesive and collaborative way._ _We love the craft, also the outcomes. We like to build, also to design. We care about thinking, but also about doing. We want to help this industry improve and grow, providing better opportunities to the crafters of those tools and products, breaking the process of building software, teaching more people about the complexities and the nature of the intangible. It is vital to transfer that set of knowledge and skills, people need to understand the basics in order to imagine the right potential of the vision they have._ _We wanted to create a place for hackers and designers, a place where creating, thinking and crafting is the crucial thing for a great outcome._ _We believe in a world where every software product is built with the proper impact it was intended to. Where every idea is translated into a successful product, and where knowledge is a legacy for future generations to understand how to improve the way we set ideas to be born. A world where all products achieve that goal is a productive world, a place where humanity is abundant and society can think about the next big thing. The old models don’t care about the outcomes, processes or team. We are a compendium of tailored practices capable of adapting to every single challenge. We are Icalia Labs._ To wrap up our thoughts and select a final version, we asked some key members who were more involved in the human side of the business to help us write down what a manifesto would look like from their perspective. This was a fruitful exercise, since it let us look at different angles and allowed us to combine the best elements from all tactical and strategic positions. Finally, we took some time to review the final version, with the aim of using it as the opening scene for every decision, action, and effort the company takes from now on. ## Manifesto: A definitive final version > _Software will drive change for humankind and we are committed to it. We believe in pushing the boundaries of software creation through a compendium of tailored living practices adapting to every single challenge: our legacy._ > > _We believe in people._ > > _We care about thinking, but mainly about doing._ > > _We will always deliver value._ > > _We will never sabotage or disrespect anyone or anything in this discipline. We may not always be right, but we certainly will make things our way — the Icalier way._ Living now in a post-COVID era, having this foundation has been critical, and I feel safe relying on such a reference. It is now that I remember all those definitions and the process we went through, and with all the changes we need to make in both structure and value proposition due to this unprecedented crisis, I have never been as confident as I am today in pursuing the vision we had, with all the values and behaviors we wanted to see in our team and company. We distributed some efforts, maximized our talent availability, and assembled a couple of two-pizza-size teams to tackle clear problems we have seen in the software development discipline for more than 8 years — we were pushed to diversify the business and execute things we couldn’t afford to before. All the pressure we’ve gone through was worth it because we are returning to our roots and core business. In moments like these, I feel grateful for having spent some time on things that probably didn’t have any tangible value, but it is now that I realize we are moving toward that vision and toward that better world empowered by software. ![Eduardo Lopez De Leon](/assets/eduardo-lopez.webp) Written by Eduardo Lopez De Leon · Co-Founder & CEO Strategy, brand presence, and partnership development at Icalia Labs. Startup and corporate experience. YC Founder. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/elopezdeleon/) [X](https://x.com/edolopez) [GitHub](https://github.com/edolopez) ## Related reading [ ![](/assets/blog/img_4661.webp) September 29, 2026 ### Rails World 2026: From Software Writers to Makers Notes from Rails World 2026 in Austin: what DHH, Matz and Rails engineers said about AI, and why software writers are becoming software makers. AI Engineering ](/blog/rails-world-2026-software-writers-to-makers.html) [![](/assets/blog/hack-prepas-first-high-school-hackathon-in-mexico-5.webp) Pre-AI era March 19, 2015 ### Organizing Hack Prepas, the first high school Hackathon in Mexico A high school apprentice at Icalia Labs recounts organizing Hack Prepas in 2015, the first high school hackathon in Mexico, from approvals to sponsors. Software Makers](/blog/hack-prepas-first-high-school-hackathon-in-mexico.html) [![](/assets/blog/advantages-of-being-open-cover.webp) Pre-AI era February 16, 2015 ### Advantages of being open Why Icalia Labs shares its code, design, and knowledge openly, and the advantages it saw in 2015, from feedback and growth to credibility with clients. Software Makers](/blog/advantages-of-being-open.html) ## Need engineers who already ship like this? We embed senior nearshore engineers directly into your team — same time zone, same standards, no ramp-up theater. [Book a discovery call →](/contact.html#book) [Read our manifesto](/manifesto.html)