What’s Next for �Launch House��October 2022
We are opening a new chapter at Launch House focused on realigning our actions with the values and vision we’ve always had.
This will be a long, multi-pronged project and it starts with Trust and Safety.
T&S
Trust and Safety �at Launch House
Our community is built on mutual trust. Our role is to curate a safe, diverse, and equitable environment for all, especially in our coliving spaces.
Why It Matters
T&S
Interviews: Members & Experts
Research: Comparables & Industry Best Practices
Audits: Security, DEI & Third-Party Investigation (ongoing)
Implementation
What We’re Doing
T&S
Screening
Secure Facilities
Zero Tolerance
What We’re Doing
Comprehensive Education
Rapid Reporting & Response
DEI
T&S
To have Trust & Safety for anyone we must have it for everyone, including historically underrepresented people. That’s why the most important place for us to start is with DEI.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
T&S
Underrepresented founder grants�We’ve given $100Ks of grants to bring more diverse folks into our community.
Female founder focused cohorts, events, and clubs�We also regularly run programs and events focused on elevating female founders.
DEI audit (ongoing) �We’ve worked with a DEI firm to audit and update our processes and just reengaged them.
What we’re doing
T&S
existing new
DEI & Safety Council (updated)�A group of (mostly female) members we put together after the first ever incident of misconduct to co-create policy and hold us accountable - we just relaunched this group.
Women+ leaders at LH�We are announcing a new senior role reporting directly to the founders - Head of Community - to ensure we are delivering the safest, most equitable and best community experience possible. We are committed to making sure this role is filled by a woman.
We also created a new leadership structure where 5 out of 7 major functions are lead by women. Our full-time employees are also 50% female.
What we’re doing (cont.)
T&S
existing new
Safety starts with a rigorous process to screen bad actors out of our community and events.
Screening
T&S
Multi-touchpoint interview process�All applicants are reviewed by Houck and at minimum, each applicant will have two live calls before joining.
Admissions team �We’ve hired an all-female team in charge of the admissions process
Age minimum �We require IRL program participants to be at least 21 years old. Members must be 18+.
Reference/background checks�We’re adding professional third-party background checks (and other reference checks) for all IRL program participants and team members. We do realize these can create bias in the admissions process and actively consider the whole application during admissions.
What we’re doing
T&S
existing new
Members and team must be educated, trained and repeatedly reminded of our community guidelines as well as how to identify and respond to misconduct and emergencies. This information must be abundant and easily accessible.
Comprehensive Education
T&S
Code of Conduct, House Rules & Member Agreement (updated) �All members agree to follow a set of rules and policies that are shared with them before they join. These were audited by a DEI firm but we’re updating them to include being more clear and more specific, and ensuring they are top of mind throughout membership
Member & program onboarding (updated)�Every member participates in an orientation where these rules in addition to our Zero Tolerance Policy is verbalized to them. We’ve updated this presentation to be even more explicit about what is and isn’t allowed.
Information availability in-house & online (updated)�We’re adding QR codes throughout our houses that link to safety information, house rules, and a way anonymously report incidents to a third-party law firm and our team. We’re adding this information to our digital products and communications as well.
What we’re doing
T&S
existing new
Incident response training�All IRL team members are getting trained on how to respond to incidents when they occur
Harassment training �All team members and IRL participants are taking harassment training (via Ethena) to ensure bad behavior can be identified and stopped.
Emergency medical response�We are also getting IRL team members trained to respond to emergencies - this includes CPR and AED
What we’re doing (cont.)
T&S
existing new
Safety is a top priority. From overnight staff to industry-leading hardware, each Residence and Clubhouse must be set up with security in mind.
Secure Facilities
T&S
COVID safety policy�We created a CDC-based COVID policy early on that was adopted by others in the industry
Live-in staff & overnight security �We’ve had live in staff for a while but just added professional overnight security for coliving.
Hardware (locks, cameras & sensors) (updated)�We're enhancing our hardware at all locations. This includes additional cameras, top of the line management systems, and meeting or surpassing industry standards to prevent safety incidents.
Events and guest policy (updated)�We've tightened up our event attendance and guest policies. We will be closely following these even more so moving forward with the support of security and event �professionals,as well as a visitor management system.
What we’re doing
T&S
existing new
Medical & other emergency supplies (updated)�We’ve carried first aid kits but we decided to expand and update the supplies we have.
Global security operations & monitoring center �We’ve hired a team that monitors any incident report and is available to communicate with and assist members 24/7
Emergency Action Plans per location�We’re creating EAPs for each location to facilitate and organize safe and swift action during emergencies. These documents include risk assessment and planning, policy and procedures, communication plans, and training.
What we’re doing (cont.)
T&S
existing new
All incidents must be able to be reported anonymously and with full confidence they’ll be dealt with immediately, fairly and without fear of retaliation.
Rapid Reporting & Response
T&S
Incident investigation protocol (updated)�We have had a robust process (co-developed by an HR consultant) for investigating and responding to incidents fairly, but we updated it to ensure consistency and clarity, both in documentation and responsiveness.
Monitored hotline�We've deployed a 24/7 monitored phone number, available globally, for quick questions, location information, emergency notifications, and everything in between.
#Safety channel�We created a new Discord channel to share future updates with our community.
Anonymous third-party incident report�All incident reports are immediately sent to an independent law firm along with �our incident response team
What we’re doing
T&S
existing new
In order to build a safe & inclusive community we must have a zero tolerance stance on violations of conduct and threats to safety.
Zero Tolerance
T&S
Member discipline policy (updated)�We've also recategorized incidents of misconduct, ensuring less severe cases are met with appropriate action that encourage lasting change, while still remaining decisive and firm on the most extreme issues.
Zero Tolerance Policy (updated)�We first introduced this policy over a year and a half ago and have used it several times to remove members. We’re expanding it to cover a wider range of serious misconduct.
What we’re doing
T&S
existing new
DEI and Trust & Safety aren’t one-off projects. They’re lifelong commitments.
We strive to be great at everything we do, so we remain committed to continuous improvement every day.
Our Lifelong Commitment
T&S
Regular audits (updated)�We will be introducing more consistent security and safety audits.
Communication with our community (updated)�Beyond the DEI & Safety Council (discussed earlier), we plan to have a more open dialog with our members about these issues.
Third-party investigation�A third-party investigation on the items in the vox piece and other incidents to fully understand what happened and what we can do to improve.
Community Safety Council�We’re putting together a group of IRL community leaders to share learnings around safety.
New Company Value�We’re adding a new value, Safety for All. (see next slide)
Accountability
T&S
existing new
Everyone in our community must feel safe �for anyone to feel safe.
We’ve added this as a company & community value to ensure we consider this with everything we do.
Safety for All
T&S