Remote work. A new normal, isn’t it?
Do entrepreneurs think remote team management got easier since the beginning of the pandemic?
Only 7% of US employees were allowed to have “flexible working”, combining WFH/WFO before COVID-19. But, here we are now: the pandemic has started, and the percentage of people working from home skyrocketed to 62%.
Now in 2022 – people got used to the new routine. You get more time for your personal life, more flexibility, and better work-life balance.
Most businesses are still adapting to the new work style, facing some challenges they never had to face while working in the office. Communication, motivation, focus, and distraction – all of these can impact productivity. 
Good news – there still are plenty of possibilities to improve modern work life and remote team collaboration.
Let’s meet four entrepreneurs that are working fully remotely. Moreover, three of them are working on tools to make work from home easier.
What is their approach to work?
What tools are they working on to improve the remote work experience?
Let’s find out!
Jeff Cole, founder of JumpRoom
People need to feel they’re a part of the community just as if they’re in the office: everyday meetings, non-stop team communication, and 24/7 support. But why don’t we copy this pattern to remote team communication?
We spoke to Jeff Cole, founder of JumpRoom, a video conferencing tool that is more than just a meeting space
1. What problem is your service/tool solving for remote teams?
“The freedom of remote work is fantastic, but teams and organizations are still facing challenges. To learn more, I discussed modern remote work life with 100+ back-office and engineering team members. Through those conversations, I’ve learned a ton. But I also heard consistent complaints about communication and building team connections. And I could totally relate – these challenges in remote work can impact every layer of an organization, starting even in the hiring process. That’s why I created JumpRoom – a platform for remote and hybrid teams that enables side-by-side collaboration throughout the day. I want to bring the flexibility that comes from sharing space and tools to remote work.”
2. What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far while developing your product?
“Getting a handle on remote work from all angles has required a ton of conversations. When creating a product that solves a particular problem, you have to figure out exactly what is missing and how that’s impacting effectiveness. People have been working together in person for a long time so they have a sense of how that should go based on experience. But when it comes to remote collaboration – people tend to see things very differently based on their role and experience. Also, we often imagine the future of remote work as something very similar to a sci-fi movie 🙂 So parsing all of that to deliver a more connected work experience has certainly been challenging. But the process of defining and guessing how the future of the work will look has been super exciting.”
3. What would be your top advice for remote employees in 2022?
“Efficiency does not equal effectiveness.
People are different. For some employees, it’s ok to see their coworkers once a week, but others need face-to-face communication every day to be their most effective. That’s why the most important thing we can do is remember that we’re not the only ones on the team – limiting communications to occasional chat messages might work for you but the new hire that’s still learning and building relationships probably needs something more.
You can’t guess what the best working option is for people, it requires empathy with a fair bit of trial and error to nail it down. But at the end of the day coworkers depend on each other so to be effective they need to pick communication strategies that work for everyone.”
4. Are you working from home or traveling the globe? What is the best place for remote work?
“I personally work from home. But I do think the life of a digital nomad sounds fantastic! To be honest, that sort of lifestyle probably would have been easier when I was younger. Now that I’m more established with a great family and two dogs – it’s harder to pull myself away.
One thing I love about working from home is the quiet environment. For me, it’s better to work in a place with no loud noises or any other distractions so I can focus. So not big on working from coffee shops. But at the same time – staying connected with people is important too because it keeps me motivated. That’s why I like to join and host coworking streams, usually on twitch but there are a ton of options out there. It gives me a sense of working side-by-side with others and creates an opportunity for new connections with like-minded folks. Those are the kinds of distractions I absolutely adore 
“
5. If Elon Musk sends you a letter to get back to the office or leave, what would you do?
“To be honest – I’d start looking for a new job as soon as possible. Nowadays, there are a lot more remote work opportunities available so it’s easier to find something that matches you and the work-life balance that fits best. Frankly though, I find the timing of the layoffs soon after this letter was sent to make the whole thing seem pretty suspect. Regardless, if my boss or leader insinuated that anyone working from home was lazy then it would be a clear indicator to me that they’re blind to the massive shifts taking place in business right now. Think of it like this. Which company makes more money? The one paying full freight for overpriced office space or the one that figures out a way to cut that expense in half while maintaining output.
We’re headed towards a future where organizations mired in the past will be overtaken by teams that continue to invest in tools and processes that enable connected work from anywhere.”
Samet Özkale, co-founder of Producter
1. What problem is your service/tool solving for remote teams?
“Remote working has become one of the most talked-about trends in software development. As such, product management in remote working is also gaining popularity, and product managers and developers need to work as a cohesive unit since they no longer work in the same room.
Producter enables companies that develop software products to be customer-centric in an end-to-end and collaborative way. For this reason, the number of companies using our roadmap module, which want to collect team or user feedback or want all departments to stay aligned about the product, is increasing day by day since the pandemic started.
Today we have 5 modules and Producter helps you create and collect feedback, manage tasks, share product updates, create product docs, and track the roadmap.
This is basically the foundation that a remote product startup will need. And we enable you to make meaningful connections between these modules. It also helps you automate actions such as sending emails, notifications, or blocks arising from these connections.”
2. What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far while developing your product?
“The biggest challenge I’ve had so far was trying to create a powerful team around me. I’m not talking about money, but the skills that you need to create a great product. It’s not enough to just have good ideas.
You need to be able to convince others to buy into your vision. If you lack that ability, then you will never be able to reach your goals.
In today’s situation, we are more than grateful to have such a versatile and talented team. Most of our employees are young, but they are very capable and efficient. Our team is the backbone of our organization.”
3. What would be your top advice for remote employees in 2022?
“Communication is the key for remote employees to shine.
Make sure your business has a set clear communication policy, with tools to improve it. You need to have strong communication with your co-workers and make sure you are on the same page. With remote employees, you have to make sure they are comfortable with the communication style, you can use software like Slack to make it easier.”
4. Are you working from home or traveling the globe? What is the best place for remote work?
“Working from home is not something new. A lot of people have been working from home for years. But remote work is something relatively new. And it’s one of the most trending and popular ways of working.
Working remotely has many advantages. Some say it’s because of people’s changing structure of life, others say it’s because of technology. It can be a mix of both. But it works. Remote work is definitely a great way to work. You don’t have to invest in office renting, you don’t have to worry about taking your staff to work. You don’t have to worry about overhead costs.
But the best place to work remotely is wherever you feel most productive. The best thing I have found is to have a lot of white space for concentration, quiet, and privacy. So I would add a bookstore, library, or coffee shop to the list.”
5. If Elon Musk sends you a letter to get back to the office or leave, what would you do?
“I would definitely leave my job and not work for Elon Musk.
I just love the way his company’s portfolio is growing and he is revolutionizing the way we interact with our surroundings, whether it’s going to orbit or changing the way we drive. However, this is a new generation’s way of living and working.
Companies that cannot adapt to this situation will be part of the world of limited talent.”
Andrew Yasynyshyn, Ralabs CEO
1. What problem is your service/tool solving for remote teams?
“When the whole world switched online it obviously created more work for us people who are building digital products. With employees working from home, we had to adapt differently to such huge changes and we did quite well.
People want to create things, but the most important thing is that behind every successful product is a dedicated team. This phrase naturally became our slogan.
At Ralabs, we have been helping with creating great solutions remotely for over 6 years already. Remote work is not an adversity but an advantage – you can always hire the best remote team that’ll help you with design and development, despite their location, timezone, or culture.”
2. What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far while developing your product?
“To keep the organizational structure stable in each situation and each condition.
Lots of things may happen: the company can significantly scale, or a pandemic may change the way you work and communicate with colleagues. The main thing you have to do is to keep the same culture and put the communication with your team first.
If you recruited twice as many employees and the company culture remained the same – you did a great job. That’s what we prioritize in our company.”
3. What would be your top advice for remote employees in 2022?
“Try to create a routine that will motivate you to work.
It’s important to set your mood for work and not to fall out of it while working remotely. Do whatever works for you – it may be some specific music or working environment.
For example, I can’t start my day without my special morning routine, it includes coffee, sports activities, planning the day, making notes for upcoming calls, and setting the tasks on my to-do list. If I skip my morning routine – the day may be as not productive as it could’ve been.”
4. Are you working from home or traveling the globe? What is the best place for remote work?
“I like the idea of digital nomad life as traveling all over the world, exploring new places, and working at the same time. I truly believe that “workation” is a great way to enrich your creativity and boost work motivation.
However, the important thing is to stay focused and not lose concentration. I like working in environments where you can be sure you won’t be distracted. Of course, the home or the office is the best place to ensure it.”
5. If Elon Musk sends you a letter to get back to the office or leave, what would you do?
“The biggest mistake is not to describe all aspects of the problem to your employees. If you make such tough choices – make sure you explain them to your people in as much detail as possible.
Of course, some businesses require working from an office, and that’s understandable. But again, if you make decisions that not each person would like, then try to clarify your decision with respect to your team. “
Anna Pugh, founder of Spacetime Monotasking
Anna’s Linkedin
No focus = less productivity and motivation to do your work.
Anna Pugh is a founder of Spacetime Monotasking - virtual third-space disrupting distraction with intentionality. Today we will talk about focus and productivity while working remotely.
1. What problem is your service/tool solving for remote teams?
“Remote work became a challenge for me in terms of not losing concentration, focusing on my work, and not getting distracted. Without a community of people around me (like in an office), it became more difficult to find the motivation to sit down, focus and concentrate on tasks.
I’m really fascinated by virtual spaces and how we can use them effectively. When I started working on Spacetime Monotasking, it was about finding a way to gather people in a virtual space on a Zoom call and create an intentional time for people to find focus. This framework comes from my career working for startups and seeing the way engineers work in concentrated blocks of sprints. They’re dedicating a “single mind” to a project, and it works very well for me.
For me, it was solving a couple of things: the concentration and focus issue, but also a connection issue. One of the greatest challenges of remote work is that people are isolated. What we wanna do is think about whether some of the things we miss when we are not in person and how we create elements of that through virtual means.”
2. What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far while developing your product?
“In the beginning, I was trying to implement the idea and understand how we can make this work. Our greatest challenge right now is figuring out how to scale our ideas.
It’s been really consistent since we began, and the interest is there! So now we consider building this in a way we can have hosted sessions more regularly. Also, we were thinking about if there is a way we can help people to self-organize so that somebody in Europe can connect with somebody in New York, and they can use the space regardless of the time differences.
And this is one of the most amazing things about remote work so we have an opportunity to connect with people from all over the world.”
3. What would be your top advice for remote employees in 2022?
“To allocate some time for intentional focus.
“If you’re a remote employee who struggles with concentration or productivity, try to block the time on your calendar and not allow people to schedule meetings over it. Also, you can communicate with your boss that you struggle with productivity.
People can wait. We have an idea that everybody needs you all the time, but nothing’s going to fall apart if you will be absent for like an hour. I’ve fallen into this trap for years, especially when I was taking a vacation.
It’s really important for mental health to turn down the volume in the work environment and find concentration. I think for any remote work employee it’s really important to speak up if you’re struggling to find focus because most people are right now. Trying to be with yourself and concentrating on your things – that’s what is important nowadays.”
4. Are you working from home or traveling the globe? What is the best place for remote work?
“I’ve been working from home for two years, and it’s been wonderful! Now I’m starting to think about traveling next year with some structure. For me, it’s that I can work for a few hours a day, do everything that needs to get done, and still have more time to go and explore. People can work in those concentrated blocks and have more time for themselves, and I think it really supports this idea that we began to have more of our life.
Hopefully, next year I can begin to experience what that is like and how we can customize our product, so we will be able to support more hosts and times to increase our calendar of events. The other thing I’m very excited about is being able to hire people from all over the world to host these sessions too. “
5. If Elon Musk sends you a letter to get back to the office or leave, what would you do?
“Some people love working from the office because of the community and atmosphere that supports them. So if that really matters to you, maybe you can go back to the office.
What is important to remember: no job and no amount of money are worth sacrificing your mental health.
I know for myself that it was really helpful to my creativity and productivity to have my own space and own world. So I find it more advantageous to work from home. There are a million opportunities that could feel better if this one doesn’t feel great, so I would probably find a new job.”
*Here is an email from Elon Musk that was sent to his employees in Tesla:
✍️ Remote team management tips: let’s sum it up
Managing remote workers often becomes a huge challenge and requires different approaches.
Offline or online – communication is still the key. Interact with your team more closely and maintain good relationships. Try to schedule calls to work together and maintain a working environment, this can connect your employees and build a closer relationship between a remote team. Keep everyone in the loop. Always ensure all your departments can easily give feedback or that they know updates regarding your product or company: remote team management tools are a great way to do it. Remind people about the importance of taking care of their mental health:
- Work only during working hours
- Book time in your calendar for some particular tasks, so you won’t be distracted
- Switch off notifications during your vacation/rest
- Take away all possible distraction sources (phone notifications, TV, cats, etc.) while working
Maintain your culture, despite all company changes. Try to get to know your employees and communicate with them during offline team building. Also, define your core values and show them to your team. Try to stick to them not only in words but in actions.
