Remote For 13 yrs And Bootstrapped!

Thirteen Years Fully Remote

SPEAKER_00
0:00

Thirteen
years
is
a
long
time
to
build
a
software
company
without
outside
capital
or
an
office.
Today's
focus
is
Float,
a
resource
management
software
company
that
has
operated
fully
remote
for
13
years.
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

Bootstrapping Over Venture Capital

SPEAKER_00
0:39

to
the
studio.
Float's
co-founder
and
CEO
Glenn
Rogers
said
the
decision
to
bootstrap
has
allowed
Float
to
focus
on
sustainable
growth,
build
strong
financial
practices,
and
maintain
control
over
the
company's
direction.
He
has
built
and
sustained
a
team
of
50
people
across
more
than
20
countries
without
a
central
headquarters.
Float
provides
resource
management
software
for
creative
agencies
and
teams,
helping
them
plan
and
allocate
work
across
projects.
From
the
beginning,
the
company
chose
not
to
take
venture
capital.
Over
the
years,
there
were
opportunities
to
do
so,
but
those
offers
were
declined.
Instead,
the
business
was
bootstrapped
and
grown
through
its
own
revenues.
That
meant
financial
discipline
was
not
optional.
It
was
built
into
day-to-day
operations
from
the
start.
The
team
is
fully
remote,
with
50
employees
distributed
across
more
than
20
countries.
There
is
no
central
office
requirement,
there
is
no
headquarters,
people
are
expected
to
relocate
to.
That
detail
is
explicit.
Operating
this
way
for
over
a
decade
means
remote
work
at
float
is
not
a
response
to
trends.
It
is
the
operating
model.
Rogers
is
all
about
a
long-term
mindset.
Without
investor
timelines
or
external
growth
targets,
the
company
has
been
able
to
experiment
and
iterate
over
time.
In
practical
terms,
that
affects
how
decisions
are
made.
When
you
are
not
managing
toward
the
next
funding
round,
priorities
shift
toward
sustainability.
Cash
flow,
hiring
pace,
and
product
development
are
shaped
by
what
the
business
can
support.

Designing Remote Culture Deliberately

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2:19

For
a
distributed
team,
that
long-term
view
also
shapes
culture.
When
people
are
spread
across
20
plus
countries,
you
cannot
rely
on
proximity
to
build
cohesion.
Culture
has
to
be
designed
deliberately.
There
is
no
office
as
a
cultural
anchor,
no
shared
physical
space
to
default
to.
That
means
documentation,
communication
norms,
and
clarity
of
ownership
matter
more.
A
team
of
50
across
time
zones
requires
asynchronous
coordination
as
a
baseline.
Schedules
will
not
always
overlap.
Work
has
to
move
forward
without
everyone
being
online
at
the
same
time.
Bootstrapping
also
changes
the
hiring
dynamic.
Growth
tends
to
be
measured
and
aligned
with
revenue.
That
can
reduce
pressure
to
scale
headcount
rapidly.

Hiring And Pace Tied To Revenue

SPEAKER_00
3:10

For
remote
workers
inside
Float,
that
likely
translates
into
a
different
cadence
of
work.
Fewer
sudden
pivots
driven
by
investor
expectations,
more
emphasis
on
improving
existing
systems
and
refining
the
product
over
time.
Rogers
has
led
the
company
throughout
this
13-year
period.
Leadership
continuity
is
part
of
the
story.
There
has
not
been
a
shift
in
direction
tied
to
new
capital
or
external
control.
Maintaining
complete
control
over
company
direction
is
not
just
a
governance
detail.
In
a
remote
company,
it
influences
how
transparent
strategy
can
be.
When
ownership
and
leadership
are
aligned,
messaging
to
a
distributed
team
can
stay
consistent.
Float's
focus
on
strong
financial
practices
is
also
operational.
In
a
fully
remote
setup,
costs
look
different
from
office-based
firms.
There
are
no
large

Tools, Costs, And Remote Operations

SPEAKER_00
4:04

leases
to
manage.
At
the
same
time,
investment
in
tools,
systems,
and
remote
processes
becomes
central.
13
years
without
a
central
office
means
onboarding,
performance
management,
and
collaboration
systems
have
been
built
with
distribution
in
mind
from
day
one.
The
company
serves
creative
agencies
and
teams,
which
themselves
often
operate
in
flexible
or
distributed
ways.
That
alignment
between
product
and
internal
model
is
notable.
Declining
venture
capital
multiple
times
is
a
strategic
decision
repeated
over
years,
not
a
single
moment.
Each
time
it
reinforces
the
operating
philosophy.
For
remote
workers
listening,
the
implications
are
practical
rather
than
abstract.
A
bootstrapped
remote
company
of
50
across
20
plus
countries
will
typically
prioritize
clarity,
cost
awareness,
and
sustainable
workloads.
Experimentation
and
iteration
are
possible,
but
they
are
tied
to
what
the
business
can
afford
and
support
long
term.
There
is
no
office
to
return
to
because
there
never
was
one.
The
distributed
structure
is
foundational,
not
transitional.
After
13
years,
that
model
has
moved
from
experiment
to
established
practice.
That's
it
for
today
on
the
Remote
Work
Life

Closing And Beta Platform Invite

SPEAKER_00
5:24

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.