We do not need a central office to do this, but smart minds with the right attitude to tackle and complete topics. The personal freedom that we give each member of the team is an important part of our company philosophy and also life philosophy. What we can not offer are kicker tables and silly hats. Because without a central office you do not have to escape the dreary everyday life.
In some cases, if necessary, we buy plane tickets to meet up for a couple of days, and if you feel shut in at home, you work for a while in a coworking space or we rent an office close to someone’s home.
Each model has its advantages and disadvantages and we have also had some negative experiences over time. We keep learning and are striving to further optimize our model. According to our experience so far, our success is based on three factors: team, tools & processes. Hereafter we cover the first factor.
We are all adult people, we want to move something for ourselves and our customers. We take responsibility without asking, process upcoming tasks and complete them. In contrast to many other companies, we do not need monitoring and attendance recorders, we have chosen the right colleagues, who often worked independently for some time before.
This does not mean that everyone does what he or she wants, with average results. The opposite is the case: this work model only allows us to hire the best employees, which means that we take the probation time very seriously and if necessary, we have to separate ourselves from colleagues at an early stage. Another advantage is that we are not limited to a 50km radius when it is about finding the best employees for the job. Especially in the case of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence or Blockchain, this is a clear competitive advantage.
It is important for each individual to have or build a functioning social network of friends and family, since we can only offer this to a limited extent. In addition, even if it does not sound like an important characteristic, you have to like writing, chatting, and having fun throwing each other funny GIFs and of course, you have to have a good command of the English language.
Although we are able to work in any part of the world and do so in a timely manner, we are currently concentrating on Europe, simply because we can meet for a few days in one place without flying around the globe (and plunder the company’s funds).
