Creating a Positive Culture in Start-Ups – Expert Advice from Erik Tomlin

Livingston James Consultant, Rachel Sim, had the pleasure of meeting Erik Tomlin, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Platform Manager for the Royal Academy of Engineering at Glasgow Tech Week earlier this summer where they connected over their shared interest in overcoming the challenges of ED&I in the field of STEM in the UK.

The Royal Academy of Engineering (the Academy) is a charity delivering public benefit, a National Academy providing progressive leadership, and a Fellowship bringing together an unrivalled community of leaders from every part of engineering and technology. Partnering with The Honeycomb Works to unlock inclusive cultures through their training programmes and resources, the Academy has been developing tools and resources to close underrepresentation of minorities in STEM.

Rachel recently shared a piece about how environment and company culture can affect women in tech in the start-up and corporate environments. Whilst all organisations should be making a concerted effort to increase diversity, inclusion and equality for underrepresented groups, the start-up community may have a unique opportunity to make change – fast – whilst their teams are lean and nimble.

Rachel recently caught up with Erik to discuss how start-ups can intentionally create a positive and inclusive culture.

 

An Interview with Erik Tomlin, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Platform Manager

 

1. What does a “positive company culture” mean to you, especially in the context of start-ups?

I read somewhere that people often confuse culture with camaraderie, and that has always stuck with me.

A positive company culture isn’t just about everyone getting along, it’s about creating an environment where all employees know how to work together to achieve the best possible outcomes. It means knowing how to behave in ways that help you and your colleagues succeed collectively. Sometimes that means admitting when you’re wrong or asking for help, and sometimes it means challenging ideas constructively to move things forward.

 

2. Why is ED&I particularly important for start-ups, even at the early stages?

It’s really important to learn how to work effectively with different kinds of people. Start-ups, in particular, can struggle to gather diverse perspectives and recognise when perspectives are missing.

Early-stage companies have a unique opportunity to embed inclusive behaviours and processes from the start, so that they become business as usual as the company grows. That way, you’re reaping the benefits early on: better retention, stronger collaboration, and more innovative products and services. These outcomes aren’t imaginary, they’re backed by decades of research – so if you want the benefits, you have to do the work.

 

3. How can founders embed ED&I into their values, hiring, and operations from day one?

There’s no silver bullet or single thing you can do that will guarantee inclusion. It’s more about being curious and adaptive from day one. A metaphor I often use is about driving: even if you’re following all the rules – speed limits, traffic lights, etc. – you can still be creating unsafe conditions. That’s why we talk about defensive driving: actively scanning for hazards and adjusting to keep everyone safe.

Inclusion works the same way. It’s not just about being kind or treating everyone the same – it’s about actively identifying and removing barriers that might exclude people with different circumstances and experiences. The challenge is making this mindset part of your everyday operations: regularly examining your values, hiring practices, and team habits, and building in specific inclusive behaviours that help ensure your culture is not only well-intentioned, but genuinely welcoming in practice.

 

4. The Royal Academy of Engineering along with The Honeycomb Works conducted research with 50+ engineering start-ups which found psychological safety to be one of the biggest risks to ED&I for a start-up. How can leaders foster psychological safety, especially in small teams?

What’s crucial to understand is that psychological safety isn’t a fixed state – it’s different for everyone. What feels safe and inclusive to one person might feel risky or alienating to another. That’s why the most important thing leaders can do is recognise and respect this variability, and avoid the assumption that your own sense of comfort is shared by others.

In small teams, fostering psychological safety means being curious, not certain. It means actively listening, encouraging diverse input, and responding to mistakes with empathy, openness and a growth mindset. It’s about creating a culture where people feel they belong, their contributions are valued, and they can take risks without fear of judgement.

 

5. How can founders assess or measure whether their culture is truly inclusive?

That’s exactly what Culture+ was built to do. Developed by the Royal Academy of Engineering and The Honeycomb Works, Culture+ is a platform designed specifically to help engineering start-ups and SMEs build inclusive, innovative, and collaborative cultures. After extensive research into what actually works for early-stage companies, we found that the most effective approach wasn’t reflection or awareness training – it was practical, everyday action.

Culture+ identifies the inclusive behaviours that drive better team performance and helps you embed them into your daily work. It uses 360 feedback to measure how often these behaviours are being demonstrated across your organisation, showing you what’s working, what needs attention, and – crucially – what to do next. It’s not just a diagnostic tool; it’s also a personal development tool that upskills your team in areas like communication, feedback, risk, and decision making. For busy founders, it’s a timesaving, data-driven way to build a culture that delivers real results.

 

6. If you could give one piece of advice to every start-up founder reading this, what would it be?

Treat the development of an inclusive culture as a core part of your business strategy, not something to fix later. You can and should build your culture alongside your product, your team, and your fundraising. If you wait until there’s a problem to address it, you’ve already lost time, talent, and momentum.

The earlier you invest in building an inclusive, values-driven culture, the better positioned you’ll be to attract great people, make better decisions, and create something that lasts.

 

For an in depth discussion about improving company culture or for tailored advice for start-ups, please contact Rachel Sim: [email protected] or Erik Tomlin: [email protected].