Catalyst values, defined by Catalyst people
In my last blog, I shared why we took the time to pause, reflect, and reshape our company values as Catalyst enters its next chapter. We’re excited to share the outcome of that work in the form of our newly announced values, shaped directly by the experiences and feedback of the fantastic Catalyst team.
Over the past few months, the conversations that began with lots of post-it-notes continued further. Themes emerged, ideas were refined, and what became clear was that while Catalyst is growing and evolving, the things that matter most to our people remained consistent. Our new values don’t represent Catalyst trying to reinvent who we are, but they are a clearer and more refined version of want to continue to be, only better.
Our mission statement has remained the same. We all felt that our purpose remains to make sure that you never miss a good opportunity. This mission statement resonates both externally for our borrowers and the third parties we work closely with and internally for our employees.
In January, Catalyst held a Kick-Off meeting at our HQ in Bournemouth within which our new values were announced to the team. There are only subtle changes, but they are changes that have been made to accurately reflect where the team feel we are on our journey. So here they are…
“Put our customers first” → “Put people first”
Our customers remain central to everything we do, but our people are our greatest asset. This change reflects our commitment to making everyone at Catalyst feel valued and prioritised.
“Think big and stay humble” → “Think big, stay humble”
A small tweak to make the value punchier, while keeping its meaning intact. We want to continue thinking ambitiously, trusting that the rest will follow.
“Go the extra mile” (unchanged)
This value captures the everyday conversations and problem-solving that happen across the company each day. We are constantly looking for ways to lend and support one another, going the extra mile, to ensure we never miss a good opportunity.
“Exude integrity and respect” → “Act with integrity and respect”
The wording has been modernised to better reflect ‘us’ as who we are, while still reinforcing the same core principle.
Have a Project in Mind?
“Keep passionate and positive” → “Show up with your passion and positivity”
This acknowledges that we’re all human and life happens. We won’t feel passionate and positive all the time, but each day is a chance to reset, move forward, and bring fresh energy and optimism.
What makes these values different is not just the words, but that they reflect how we work day-to-day, how we treat one another, how we support our brokers and borrowers, and how we make decisions when things move quickly (as we all know they do in the world of bridging). They capture the balance we strive for: being commercial but recognising we are human, being ambitious but grounded, and fast-moving but thoughtful and considered in our actions.
These values will influence how we grow our team, how we recognise and develop our people, and how we hold ourselves accountable as Catalyst continues to scale. Importantly, they will help us protect the culture that our employees told us they value so highly, that has been part of Catalyst since day one.
There is inevitable change with growth, but our commitment is that as Catalyst evolves, our values will remain lived. They now belong to everyone here, and it’s that shared ownership of our day-to-day work that gives us confidence as we look ahead in our new world.
