Part 1 – How to Efficiently Operate a Fully Remote Startup

Over the previous 3.5 years of operating a startup that is raised thousands and thousands of {dollars} in funding, we have iterated a lot on how we function as a absolutely distant crypto startup (throughout 6+ timezones). At any time when I showcase to my associates our inner processes and instruments, they ultimately ask me to write an article to summarise all the things. This text is a results of numerous requests from founder/operator associates.

As a baseline, there’s a few key ideas we function by when occupied with our inner operations:

1. Excessive transparency. Until there’s a clear purpose one thing must be personal, most issues must be public. Together with comms.

2. Automation and tooling. Somewhat than scaling with individuals or inflexible processes, discover the fitting instrument for the job or put money into constructing automations which maintain it for you without end.

3. Documentation, documentation, documentation. Not only for builders however for everybody within the enterprise. Issues that are not documented ultimately turn into misplaced data.

4. Leverage. Figuring out how to construct in direction of leverage moderately than brute-drive scaling.

I am going to undergo the precise strategies we undertake one-by-one, however they will tie again to the above working ideas.

At the beginning of each week, every crew member (together with myself) spend ~20 minutes writing a crew replace that features:

• What they did final week

• What they are going to do that upcoming week

• Any challenges they confronted

• Enjoyable reality about their very own private life

With out fail, this occurs each week and is a part of our tradition. When you write your replace, you merely copy a hyperlink of it and paste it in Slack within the `#updates` channel. This serves as a reminder for others to submit their updates since everybody else has adopted on. To make it simple, we use a Notion database for our crew updates and once you create a new entry, it pre-populates with this template making it extraordinarily simple to populate and get began. The enjoyable-reality part is a favorite and builds tradition/belief async with out taking numerous assembly time.

Whereas this may increasingly sound easy, it is fairly essential because it allows the next:

1. Everyone seems to be conscious of what everybody else is doing instantly. It takes about 20 minutes firstly of the week to know everybody’s priorities and the place they stand.

2. No assembly time is spent asking “so, what did you do last week?”. Everybody is anticipated to learn the updates (however they’re additionally enjoyable to learn). Which means once we do organise conferences, they’re extra for understanding challenges, blockers or future planning.

3. It creates a sturdy written file of what individuals say they are going to do versus what truly occurs. That is useful to perceive how everybody has been progressing over a number of weeks/months and any larger order patterns that we’d like to uncover/be taught from as an organisation.

I am fairly anti-OKRs. We have tried them a number of instances and so they’re dangerous for a number of causes that I consider under:

1. You spend extra time making an attempt to determine the fitting OKR than simply doing the work. The targets of any organisation come down to constructing the product, acquisition, retention or monetisation. Any unit of labor that contributes in direction of these targets might be fantastic relying on what your present focus is.

2. Folks will optimise to get the OKR accomplished moderately than doing what’s greatest for the enterprise. “Get 10 sales leads a week” may very well be a nice key-end result, but when the product is sub-par and the proper reply is to pause, spend time on product improvement after which revisit outbound gross sales. OKRs can create a inflexible framework for an entity that may be very fast-paced.

3. Measuring the OKRs is a nightmare in itself. Not all the things will be measured and that is a part of the startup course of. Earlier than you say that is unsuitable, I am going to preface it with the truth that I really like knowledge. Nevertheless, not all the things will be qualitatively measured. If we might, robots might run the world. Emotions, intuitions and instincts are value much more and it’s vital to pay attention to them. A “good” OKR is “improve product stability defined by less than 5 customer bug reports per week”. However what when you have extra prospects and so they discover extra minor bugs, what when you have one main bug that brings down your total system and the true repair is a 3 month refactor? OKRs like to current a picture that all the things is clear and will be measured. It may possibly’t.

Now, on the identical time I get the intent of OKRs which is basically simply a manner of claiming “figure out what you’re going to do on a quarterly basis and make sure you can look back on it to understand how you’re tracking”. With that, what we did was one thing referred to as “Monthly Retros” as an alternative.

The thought is comparable to OKRs however permits extra flexibility and agility whereas providing related advantages. On the primary week of a new month, moderately than writing a crew replace, everybody writes a month-to-month retro. This too is a Notion database which prompts the consumer with the next questions:

What’s very nice is that we hyperlink every particular person crew replace for the “Last Month’s Recap” so you may see a chain of progress on a weekly foundation, rolled up to a month-to-month foundation. It gives a zoomed out perspective of what work was accomplished with the good thing about hindsight.

I’ve 1:1s with everybody on the crew on a weekly or fortnightly foundation. My job is to clarify the enterprise goal we’re making an attempt to obtain, their job is to determine the implementation particulars that can get us there. If that is out of sync, then it’s totally simple to deal with and course right. It is also empowering to the individuals doing the precise work to set after they suppose issues will probably be accomplished. I do not consider in implementing deadlines because it at all times lead to poorer requirements of labor due to shortcuts being taken. As a substitute, it is higher to ask when issues will probably be accomplished by after which adjusting scope to meet the timelines you need. Key, but refined distinction. Should you’re undecided if the estimates are right then you definitely both have a talent subject or a belief subject.

As you’ll have seen on this article, I’ve gone from micro (crew updates) to macro (month-to-month zoom outs). One factor that you’ll have questioned is how will we set our technique within the first place? How does everybody keep on the identical web page & how will we guarantee they’re aligned? That is one thing we have spent a lot time occupied with, primarily as a result of we have gotten it unsuitable manner too many instances. Our answer to it has been memos.

A memo is often invoked when somebody has a complicated thought/change/thought they need to specific to the crew do drive an motion or path. At any time when I’ve perception into our technique and the place we wish to take issues, I write a memo that can clarify my total prepare of thought and every level hyperlinks to one another. They will simply be 1,000 phrases. This then permits everybody on the crew to touch upon each a part of the thought and provides me perception as to the place I want to spend extra time refining the technique. Typically different crew members will write a memo to clarify a scenario they suppose is inflicting us to be suboptimal and what we’d like to do to repair it. Here is an instance of what a memo would possibly appear to be summarised.

I am unable to share too many different examples since they go fairly deep into our inner technique. More than pleased to share an instance 1:1 with any founders that would really like to know over a name.

The underside line is these memos function a very efficient manner to align and coordinate about technique async. Normally after a few rounds of feedback we’ll have a assembly and use that point to resolve ant excellent points or factors of competition. We have discovered this works very successfully and as soon as once more cuts down on assembly instances. It additionally offers everybody within the crew the prospect to really feel heard and supply their enter. It is not unusual for a memo to have 20-25 feedback. It helps:

• Keep away from the loudest individual within the room at all times presenting their arguments

• Provides individuals time and house to rigorously perceive the intricacies of the thought

• Forestall individuals speaking in circles as writing forces you to be articulate in your prepare of thought

I realised I’ve nonetheless solely lined about half of what I needed to cowl and I am reaching the restrict of Substack’s submit/e mail size.

What I needed to spotlight with what I’ve shared above is that with easy methods in place you are able to do issues that:

1. Save individuals’s time by avoiding pointless conferences

2. Enable a extra meritocratic manner of discussing and selling concepts

3. Create a sturdy written tradition that can be utilized to look again on

There’s a lot profit that we have derived as a crew from these methods that there is no manner we might return to our previous feudal methods. One other huge profit is that anybody new who joins has a lot they will learn/take up by themselves and nearly immediately rise up to scratch moderately than having to have countless conversations (additionally unattainable at distant startups the place you meet twice a yr at most).

If this text will get traction or proves to be of worth to founders/operators on the market, I am very happy to write a second half!