“Be the founder of your career” isn’t our tagline — it’s our culture.

The last five years of being a CPO has been nothing short of transformative — shaping culture, unlocking potential, and navigating change at every turn. But I have to say that the last several months here at Brex have been some of the most exciting of my career. And today I’m thrilled to announce the result of that work: our new employee value proposition, "Be the founder of your career."

Why we launched a new EVP, and why now

After so much meaningful change and evolution at Brex over the last two years, we had an opportunity to ask ourselves: who are we now? What does it mean to work at Brex? What type of brand do we want to have, both internally and externally?

Our charter as a People function is to attract the best talent, help employees grow, and then launch them into whatever comes next. This creates what we call the talent flywheel. Everything from hiring the best people to empowering our employees to supporting whatever you do beyond Brex, it all feeds into one another.

But to make this work, we had to get crystal clear about who we are with a new employee value proposition. And it had to be incredibly authentic — to us, to candidates, and to the rest of the world.

What "Be the Founder of Your Career" really means

Through our research developing this EVP, we discovered something remarkable:

Over 100 Brex alumni have gone on to found companies. That's 4x the industry average. They've collectively raised $820 million in funding. Additionally, more than 85 Brex alumni have taken on major leadership roles after their time here.

This isn't an accident. We saw a pattern in who thrives here, and we realized we needed to name it. To own it.

As we shaped our EVP, we spoke with Brex alumni to understand what stuck with them and what propelled them forward. Across different roles and career paths, we heard the same themes: high agency, deep trust, and a culture that pushes you beyond your comfort zone.

Take Lydia Han, who joined the Brex Product team and is now the founder of Modern Loop, an early-stage startup. For her, Brex's "Dream Big" mindset wasn't just a poster on the wall — it was how work actually got done.

"Brex was the first place that threw me into projects I had no experience in and said, 'Figure it out,'" she told us. "Project after project, I built confidence in my ability to handle the unknown, and that's what finally gave me the push to start my own company."

Or Jordan Bulkoski, a former GTM leader turned CRO, who described Brex as a place where ownership wasn't just encouraged, it was expected.

"I wasn't just coached to be a better leader, I was trusted to build systems I'll now be leading as a CRO," he shared. "What prepared me for a CRO role wasn't just managing people at Brex, it was influencing cross-functional teams, shaping how the company runs, and being empowered to go beyond my lane."

And Alex Pareto, who helped build our spend management software and recently set out to build something of his own, reflected on the community aspect that makes Brex unique: "There are so many people at Brex who've started companies or plan to. It creates a real community. People share early learnings, support each other, and cheer you on when it's your turn."

The principles that define our EVP

Echoing throughout these inspiring alumni quotes, you’ll notice recurring themes and values. It’s not a coincidence. What these employees experienced in their years at Brex was by design.

Our EVP rests on four principles that shape how we operate at Brex:

Founders aren't born, they're built doing hard things. We hire people who thrive in challenging moments, embrace chaos, have grit, and own their work. This is a place where ambition is amplified, and those with high agency excel.

Working here should feel hard, not difficult. Difficult means politics and red tape. Hard means solving real problems and making real impact — whether that's shipping something in a crisis or working through challenging situations. But you’ll never climb alone. There's always a team around you.

Leaders operate at all levels. We believe the best leaders are those closest to the work — not just directing, but in the weeds with you. Our CTO codes. Our CRO sells. Managers set a high bar and clear the path to let others shine. We invest in internal talent because we believe the future founders and best leaders are already here. In fact, the majority of our LT members have been promoted from within, building their careers and rising through the ranks at Brex.

We run the company close to the metal. You don't just see your slice of the work at Brex — you understand how the whole business runs. Strategy, pivots, pressure, decision-making. It’s all out in the open. This builds different context, sharpens judgment, and helps you think like a leader and a founder.

Building the future together

We're also investing in programs to accelerate this founder momentum and feed the talent flywheel. We’ve just launched the Brex Foundry — a pilot program where we'll invest in a small employee group that really exemplifies our principles and values as future founders and leaders. We'll kick off with a summit in the fall, bringing in investors, experts, founders, and leaders for coaching and dedicated development over two days.

Beyond that, we're building stronger connections for our future founders and leaders — referrals to YC, introductions to investors in our network, and ways to get more involved with our incredible alumni community. We invest in our community, and they invest in our employees.

What this means for working at Brex

We know not everyone will become a founder or leader after their time at Brex. And that’s okay. But everyone here is expected to stretch, grow, and own their path. We hire people who think like owners, move with urgency, and hold themselves to a bar higher than anyone else could set for them. It’s not for everyone, but that's the point.

This is an incredibly exciting time to be at Brex, not only because we have so much business momentum, but because we now have a crystal clear identity of who we are, which drives all of our People initiatives and inspires the team to dream big every day.

The talent flywheel works because of who we are and who we choose to build with next. Be the founder of your career isn't just our tagline — it's our culture, our commitment, and our competitive advantage.

Ready to join us? Explore open roles and discover what it means to be the founder of your career at Brex.