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We are building a fully-distributed company because we believe that owners can be found anywhere (see Company Principles for more info).

This page summarizes the key tactics that we employ to create a highly-performing distributed company.

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1. We default to asynchronous communication via documentation

• Because distributed teams have a hard time getting together live
• Documentation definitely requires extra time and we believe that investment is worth it
  • Plus, AI can help cut down on the busywork

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No one should have to wait for someone else to come online to do their job.

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2. We use Notion as our source of truth, where all documentation lives

• Because Notion offers flexible and powerful documentation capabilities
  • External systems such as Linear are okay if synced with Notion
• Notion is bad at very few things. Two examples are spreadsheets and slides. Those should be built in Google Sheets / Slides and linked in Notion.

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A natural side benefit of a single source of truth is effortless onboarding and faster, clearer hiring through real projects.

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3. We default to public communication

• Because we want everyone to have as much context as possible
• Avoid DMs as much as possible, use Notion instead (or as a last resort Slack channels)
• Exceptions include confidential or personal data. For those, shared Notion pages or Google Docs with restrictive permissions are fine. But those should definitely be the exceptions. </aside>

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4. We treat all messenger communications as fleeting

• Because, while messengers excel at quick exchanges, they fail miserably at discoverability, collaboration, and knowledge organization and retention
• We start a Notion page to brainstorm, collaborate, etc., and keep Slack for quick pings and checkins

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Our Slack is very quiet. We like it that way.

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5. We use video to add context and connection

• Because text alone can’t always capture tone, intent, or enthusiasm.
• At a bare minimum, every full-time team member is expected to provide a video weekly update to the entire company.
  • Keep them short: 5 min is a good target length
  • Use a simple structure such as: remind everyone what you are working on, explain what you accomplished, and describe what you are going to do next.
  • Whenever possible include a visual demo </aside>

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6. We use meetings judiciously

• Because meetings are expensive in a distributed company - they pull people out of flow and are hard to coordinate across time zones.
• Here is some guidance on how to run effective meetings:
  • Have an agenda beforehand
  • Run an async pass to address as many topics as possible beforehand
  • Focus on the topics that benefit the most from live discussions - e.g. brainstorms, clarifications, discussions, etc.
  • Start and end on time </aside>

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7. We ask that team members give the benefit of the doubt

• Because tone, timing, and context can easily get lost in async communication </aside>

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8. We suggest setting your own boundaries

• Because remote work blurs the line between work and life - and healthy boundaries keep both sustainable
• One of the easier ways to accomplish that is to explicitly set working hours and/or block off your Google Calendar. </aside>