$120k a year in office space to fully remote

The Costly Empty Offices

SPEAKER_00
0:00

They
were
spending
$120,000
a
year
on
offices
that
nobody
used,
and
it
forced
a
decision
that
would
shape
everything
that
came
next.
Hey,
if
we
haven't
met,
I'm
Alex
Wilson
Campbell's
AI
twin.
Alex
is
the
creator
and
host
of
the
Remote
Work
Life
podcast,
where
we
spotlight
the
remote
companies
and
location-independent
founders
and
leaders
shaping
the
future
of
business
and
work.
Alex
personally
researches,
writes,
and
edits
every
episode
you
hear
here.
And
I'm
his
AI
voice,
so
you
don't
miss
the
updates,
even
if
you
can't
get
to

Bootstrapping To $3M ARR

SPEAKER_00
0:32

the
studio.
Today's
focus
follows
a
pair
of
founders
who
built
a
global
business
without
a
headquarters
and
without
taking
a
single
venture
dollar
on
the
way
to
3
million
in
annual
recurring
revenue.
We'll
move
straight
into
the
detail
of
how
their
remote
first
model
took
shape
and
what
changed
about
the
way
their
team
works
day
to
day.
Slobodan
Stoyanovic
and
Lav
Krnobnya
began
working
together
in
2011
at
Cloud
Horizon,
a
mobile
development
agency
based
between
Montreal
and
Belgrade.
Vacation
Tracker,
the
company
many
people
now
know
them
for,
actually
started
as
an
internal
hackathon
project
in
late
2016.
It
wasn't
positioned
as
a
new
business.
It
wasn't
even
something
they
expected
to
continue.
It
sat
quietly
on
their
website
until
one
email
changed
everything.
A
potential
customer
reached
out
asking
when
the
product
would
launch.

From Hackathon To Real Demand

SPEAKER_00
1:23

That
outside
signal
pushed
them
to
test
whether
real
demand
existed.
They
decided
to
act
on
it.
Cloud
Horizon
financed
the
early
losses,
functioning
almost
like
an
internal
backer
until
Vacation
Tracker
could
support
itself.
Although
they
launched
publicly
in
late
2016,
it
took
around
nine
months
to
welcome
the
first
paying
customer.
Before
2020,
the
team
worked
in
a
hybrid
pattern.
They
kept
offices
in
Belgrade
and
Montreal,
meeting
there
on
Mondays
and
Thursdays,
while
leaving
the
rest
of
the
week
flexible.
They
operated
with
a
small
team
at
the
time,
growing
gradually
as
the
product
gained
traction.

Hybrid Habits And The Pandemic Pivot

SPEAKER_00
2:01

Then,
during
the
first
pandemic
year,
something
very
practical
became
impossible
to
ignore.
The
offices
were
empty,
yet
the
annual
bill
continued,
roughly
$120,000
for
that
year
alone.
That
spend,
with
no
corresponding
benefit
to
the
team
or
the
business,
became
the
turning

Closing Offices, Funding Retreats

SPEAKER_00
2:20

point.
They
chose
to
close
the
offices
permanently
and
redirect
the
money
into
annual
team
retreats.
The
locations
changed
over
time,
including
Greece,
Spain,
and
the
Serbian
mountains.
Alongside
those
retreats
came
a
distributed
hiring

Distributed Hiring Across Six Countries

SPEAKER_00
2:35

model.
Rather
than
pulling
talent
from
one
place,
the
team
expanded
across
six
countries.
Everything
from
engineering
to
marketing
operates
from
wherever
people
live.

Leadership Shift And Focus On SaaS

SPEAKER_00
2:45

As
the
business
matured,
they
also
shifted
leadership.
In
September
2025,
they
brought
in
a
new
CEO,
Martin
Gordeaux,
to
lead
the
next
stage
of
scale.
Both
founders
remain
active,
with
Slobodan
as
CTO
and
LAV
in
a
senior
position.
Cloud
Horizon,
the
original
agency
that
gave
them
their
launch
pad,
wound
down
in
2022
so
they
could
focus
entirely
on
the
SaaS
product.

Goals Over Hours And Culture Norms

SPEAKER_00
3:09

Inside
the
company,
the
working
model
is
defined
by
goals
rather
than
hours.
The
only
fixed
schedule
applies
to
customer
support.
Everything
else
is
anchored
in
outcomes,
which
allows
people
in
different
time
zones
to
work
without
friction.
They
keep
cameras
on
meetings
as
a
non-negotiable
part
of
their
culture.
That
consistency
helps
maintain
a
shared
sense
of
presence
across
locations.
Their
marketing
team
followed
a
similar
pattern
of
organic

Organic Marketing Maturation

SPEAKER_00
3:37

growth.
They
hired
a
junior
content
leader
early,
someone
who
developed
into
head
of
marketing
and
content
over
time
rather
than
arriving
fully
formed
from
outside.
The
annual
retreats
replaced
the
previous
office
expenses
and
now
act
as
the
primary
moments
for
team
connection.
The
details
vary

Retreats As Alignment Moments

SPEAKER_00
3:56

with
each
location,
but
the
theme
is
the
same.
Create
space
for
people
who
work
together
all
year
to
meet
in
person,
reset,
and
return
to
distributed
work
with
more
clarity
about
how
they
collaborate.
All
of
this
comes
from
two
simple

Why Remote Became The Default

SPEAKER_00
4:10

conditions.
First,
they
built
the
business
without
external
investment,
so
their
decisions
had
to
be
grounded
in
sustainable
revenue.
Second,
they
were
already
working
partly
remotely
when
the
pandemic
made
the
hybrid
pattern
unworkable.
They
didn't
frame
remote
work
as
an
experiment,
it
became
the
most
practical
option,
and
then
the
foundation
for
their
global

Practical Takeaways For Remote Teams

SPEAKER_00
4:31

model.
For
remote
knowledge
workers
listening,
the
story
illustrates
something
straightforward.
When
a
team
moves
from
time-oriented
expectations
to
goal-oriented
coordination,
the
rhythm
of
work
changes.
Decisions
shift
from
when
are
you
online
to
what
did
we
move
forward?
People
can
design
their
own
routines
without
sinking
to
a
central
building
or
local
time
zone.
Hiring
moves
away
from
post-code
boundaries.
And
the
moments
that
matter
most
for
alignment
become
intentional
rather
than
incidental.

Closing And Beta Platform Invite

SPEAKER_00
5:00

The
overall
pattern
is
clear.
Vacation
Tracker
functions
as
a
distributed
company
without
a
central
office,
with
employees
across
six
countries
and
customers
distributed
even
more
widely.
Their
founders
shaped
the
company
gradually,
adjusting
where
necessary
and
keeping
the
financial
model
simple
enough
to
remain
profitable
without
outside
capital.
That's
it
for
today
on
the
Remote
WorkLife
podcast.
Before
you
head
off
alongside
the
podcast,
Alex
is
building
a
small
beta
platform
that
pulls
together
senior-level,
growth-focused,
remote
roles
directly
from
employers'
websites,
not
job
boards.
It's
designed
for
experienced
operators
in
sales,
marketing,
strategy,
and
finance.
If
you
want
early
access
as
a
founding
member,
you'll
find
the
link
in
the
show
notes
or
via
Alex's
LinkedIn
profile.
You'll
also
get
bonus
content
featuring
founders,
leaders,
and
CEOs
from
location
independent
and
remote
businesses.