SaaStr Annual 2024: Building a Remote-first Startup - Lessons from Working 5 Years at Zapier

SaaStr Annual 2024: Building a Remote-first Startup - Lessons from Working 5 Years at Zapier

1. Building a Remote-First Startup Remote Lessons Working at Zapier for 5 Years Nivedha (Niv) Venkatesh CEO & Co-founder Tomo heytomo.ai

2. Remote Work Is a Top-Down Culture - Starts with Hiring - Not the same as Work From Home - Decision-making could be harder - Clarity in thought - Emotions are HARD

3. Scaling a remote team is Consistent. Hard. Work.

4. Scaling Remote Work Needs A Bottom-Up Culture Slack FOMO DM Fatigue Private vs Public Mix in Email for time-sensitive stuff

5. Not all is rosy in building a remote-first startup Self-accountability is critical - no one is watching you or cares to Check for strong writing during hiring The team has to champion practices beyond a scale Transparency could lead to distraction