Introducing, Our Apartment List Operating Principles

At Apartment List, we’re renter first — a company built by renters, for renters. We aim to deliver the best experience possible for them, with homes they love at the value they deserve.

When we sat down to evaluate how we were guiding our culture towards that aim, we of course started with our core values. They’ve been our core values for over five years, and while they still held true to who we are, how we work, and what we value, we wanted to find a way to make these values show up in a more concrete way in our day-to-day work.

We decided that we wanted to evolve our core values into operating principles. Why? Operating principles are just that – concrete ways in which we operate day to day. We would be able to build on our core values, honor the foundation and history of our collective work at Apartment List, and create high-level guidance that enables day-to-day decision-making in a very concrete way.

So we sat down with A-Listers from across the organization to start to form the first thoughts on our operating principles. We started with collaboration, to ensure that our principles resonated with and represented the collective spirit of our team. Looking to the best in the business, we drew inspiration from the successes of companies we admire. We considered what would work best for our unique culture. After hours of collaboration and discussion, we finalized our 7 operating principles. These principles, agreed upon together, aim to provide clear guidance to our team on navigating the challenging decisions we often face in our day-to-day work. Here they are:

1. Make magic in the Move. A successful match in our marketplace is where the magic happens. Renters, property partners, and Apartment List are all integral parts of our marketplace, and we must consider each in harmony. This entails making thoughtful decisions, especially around trade-offs. When we strike the perfect balance for all stakeholders, that's when the Apartment List magic happens.
2. Have unapologetically high standards. A-Listers are unapologetic about the high standards they expect and hold themselves to. We measure ourselves and others by outsized outcomes, not by actions or good intentions.
3. Play to win. Playing not to lose is a self-fulfilling prophecy; we are playing to win and we expect to. A-Listers make big bets. When some bets don't pay off, we learn quickly, iterate, and continue aiming high and moving forward.
4. Use speed to our advantage. A-Listers understand that high-velocity, high-quality decision-making, and agility are potent strengths. They fuel transformation better than perfect plans.
5. Dare to diverge. A-Listers encourage and participate in debate and feedback while avoiding the consensus trap. We challenge each other without being jerks. Once a decision is made, we’re willing to disagree and commit.
6. Be a learn-it-all, not a know-it-all. A-Listers are always learning and sharpening the saw. We value intellectual honesty, look to learn from the best, and challenge ourselves to go beyond best practice.
7. Embrace the beautiful mess. It is not going to be pretty and we are okay with that. The Gray zone is where we win. Everyone knows how to play when the path is clear and the decisions are black and white.

Our operating principles keep us grounded in our roots while pushing ourselves forward. They’re what set us apart and set the standard for everything we do–from the decisions we make, to the way we problem-solve, to the inspiration we draw from. As a team, we’re constantly learning, growing, and adapting to this ever-changing industry. And when we put our heads together, challenge one another, and aim higher together, magic happens.

We’ve seen the impact these principles have had on our A-Listers, our property partners, and renters. That’s why we’ll continue to share our operating principles and the insights gained from them.