Building Remotely

Sondre Rasch

Welcome to Building Remotely! In each podcast episode, Sondre Rasch, CEO and Co-founder of SafetyWing, interviews remote founders and thought leaders to discover innovative and thought-provoking ways to successfully build a remote company. Through the series, we will explore a range of topics and ideas that will help you build, scale-up and accelerate your remote company and team success. Get original insights, tips and tools that leaders of the world's most successful remote companies are using today to succeed. read less
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Introducing Building Remotely
Jul 16 2020
Introducing Building Remotely
Hello, and welcome to Building Remotely! My name is Sondre Rasch, I’m a founder and CEO at SafetyWing, an insurance for remote workers and companies. I’m excited to invite companies and entrepreneurs from around the world to participate in our comprehensive guide for building a thriving remote company. For the past few years, remote work has been increasingly on the rise. More and more companies are finding out how remote work can fundamentally transform their companies and teams. With the COVID-19 pandemic, remote work moved from being a luxury to a necessity. Still, building (or pivoting into) a successful remote company isn’t easy. There is a shocking lack of resources for such a venture, and what information does exist is vague and unhelpful at best. That’s why we created Building Remotely - a resource project consisting of a podcast, a resource center and soon a book as well. I’m looking forward to exploring the true potential of remote work, and I hope you’ll join us along the way!

Episodes

How to evaluate the performance of your remote team with Rob Rawson from Time Doctor and Running Remote
Dec 20 2022
How to evaluate the performance of your remote team with Rob Rawson from Time Doctor and Running Remote
How can you get an insight into your remote teams' productivity and impact it positively? Rob Rawson founded Time Doctor to help remote companies solve this problem, and is sharing his learnings from over a decade of leading remote teams. In detail we discussed:Economic advantages of remote workPros and Cons of working asyncOvercoming hard cultural differences remotelyMeasuring the performance of your remote employeesFind the transcript here. Stay tuned for the next episode in which we will discuss Facilitation in Remote Teams with Daphnee LaForest from Modern Leaders.
How to Build a Startup City with Trey Goff from Prospera
Nov 24 2022
How to Build a Startup City with Trey Goff from Prospera
What is a startup city and how do you build it? Prospera, is a charter city in Roatán, Honduras. Their goal is to build an innovation hub that is exploring new models for economic growth and social prosperity. We talked with Trey Goff, their Chief of Staff and Chief Marketing Officer on why they started this project and how they are aiming to make the vision of Prospera a reality. In detail we discussed:Prospera's vision and missionGovernmental competition as a result of remote workProspera's legal structureProspera's relationship with their home country HondurasThe global impact startup cities will have in futureApply to become part of Prospera here.You can find the full transcript here.Stay tuned for the next episode in which we will discuss how to Manage Cultural Differences in a Remote Team with Rob Rawson from Running Remote.
Providing Equity for a global remote team with Kim Hansen from Cake Equity
Oct 18 2022
Providing Equity for a global remote team with Kim Hansen from Cake Equity
Kim Hansen has over two decades of experience working with startups. His firsthand experience of the complications surrounding equity grants led to the founding of Cake Equity. In this episode, Kim and Sondre discuss the best practices for granting equity to a global remote team. Topics we discussed:An introduction to equity and why it is importantTurning shares into moneyAn introduction to different equity policiesWhat are options and when should you use them? How Cake helps with this process You can find the full transcript here. Stay tuned for the next episode in which we will discuss the Startup Cities with Trey Goff from Prospera.
How to increase productivity as a remote worker with Taylor Jacobson from Focusmate
Oct 4 2022
How to increase productivity as a remote worker with Taylor Jacobson from Focusmate
After Taylor Jacobson started to work remotely and could not find an effective tool to help with his procrastination, he created it himself. Focusmate aims to increase remote workers' well-being and productivity by pairing them up in co-working sessions. In this episode, Taylor shares scientific insights behind stress and productivity and gives tips on how remote workers can leverage them. Topics we also discussed:The founding story of FocusmateStress signals to look out forDefining focusThe science of FocusmateCheck the full transcript here.Stay tuned for the next episode with Kim Hansen from Cake Equity on structuring equity in a remote team.
How to setup taxes remotely with John Lee from the Work From Anywhere Team
Sep 14 2022
How to setup taxes remotely with John Lee from the Work From Anywhere Team
John Lee is a lifelong nomad and founder of "The Work From Anywhere Team", which aims to solve tax complexity for a global remote workforce. In this episode, John shares his insights on tax laws and risks to avoid when employing a global remote team. Topics we also discussed: Emerging tax risks for Remote WorkersTax loopholes you should avoidThe 4 ways of setting up taxes for a global remote teamHow governments and companies will adapt their tax structures to remote workCheck the full transcript here. Stay tuned for the next episode with Taylor Jacobson from Focusmate on increasing productivity as a remote worker.
Providing the best benefits for a remote team with Ally Fekaiki from Juno
Jun 28 2022
Providing the best benefits for a remote team with Ally Fekaiki from Juno
Ally founded Juno after experiencing the lack of individualised employee benefits himself.Together with him, we explored how you can offer dynamic benefits for a global remote team. Topics we discussedThe necessity of remote specific benefitsMistakes most remote companies make when it comes to benefits An evaluation of SafetyWing's benefitsThe most popular benefits on JunoWhy you should offer small benefits to your team Check the full transcript here. Stay tuned for the next episode with Lauren Razavi from Plumia on building a country on the internet.
Facing conflict in a remote team with Elie Dagher from Lead From Within
Jun 16 2022
Facing conflict in a remote team with Elie Dagher from Lead From Within
How can you communicate authentically in a remote team? Elie Dagher is a successful leadership coach and has made it his mission to teach authentic communication strategies to business leaders and teams. In this episode, he shares how you can create a healthy communication culture and handle conflict in a remote team. Topics we discussed: Training leadership in yourself and othersDefining authenticityThe power of non-violent communicationHow to embrace conflict in a team Find the full transcript here. Stay tuned for the next episode with Ally Fekaiki from Juno on offering benefits for your remote team. ResourcesBook: Non-Violent Communication by Marshall B. Rosenberg Book: Siddharta by Hermann Hesse
How to become a remote developer with Per Borgen from Scrimba
Jun 1 2022
How to become a remote developer with Per Borgen from Scrimba
After studying economics, Per Borgen switched careers to become a software developer in 2015. One year after taking part in a three-month Bootcamp he co-founded Scrimba - an interactive learning platform for aspiring developers. In this episode, Per gives advice to people that want to start their career as a software engineer. Topics we discussed:How Per got started with coding, and how Scrimba grew from a side-project into a full startup. How hard is it to learn how to code? How do you get a job as a remote developer? Learning no-code tools vs programming languagesHiring a technical co-founder vs learning to code yourselfFind the full transcript here.Stay tuned for the next episode with Elie Dagher on being an authentic leader in a remote company.
Relocation of remote workers with Pieter Levels from Rebase
May 11 2022
Relocation of remote workers with Pieter Levels from Rebase
What are the possibilities of changing your citizenship as a remote worker? After being fully nomadic for years, Pieter Levels decided to relocate to Portugal. Many nomads and remote workers were interested in the process, so he founded Rebase - a relocation service for remote workers. Starting with immigration and tax services for Portugal, they are moving onto Mexico. In this episode, he shares insights from his relocation process and how Rebase can assist other remote workers with the same plan. Topics we discussed:The process and difficulty of building RebaseMajor trends in the nomad communityWorking on a big vs small company (indie projects vs VC funded startups)The rejection of creativity in modern society.Find the full transcript here. Stay tuned for the next episode with Per Borgen from Scrimba on building software remotely.
How to create a healthy meeting culture
Apr 25 2022
How to create a healthy meeting culture
Are your team's virtual meetings effective?For guidance on how to structure meetings to optimize for efficiency, genuine connection and motivation, we reached out to Jordan Husney, the founder and CEO of Parabol - an app for effective remote meetings. Find the full transcript here. Stay tuned for the next episode with Pieter Levels from Rebase on the migration of the new wave of remote workers.
Building a product people love with Job from Remote.com
Apr 7 2022
Building a product people love with Job from Remote.com
What are the characteristics of a good product? Job van der Voort refined this judgement - first as VP of Product at GitLab and now as founder and CEO of Remote.com. In this episode he is sharing how to create products people love as well as building and scaling an excellent product team. Find the full transcript here.
Organizing great team gatherings with Sam Laliberte from Freedom Lifestyle
Mar 22 2022
Organizing great team gatherings with Sam Laliberte from Freedom Lifestyle
Have you tried organizing in-person gatherings for your remote team?Sam Laliberte has a great formula for organizing both virtual and in-person team gatherings that prioritize genuine connections and conversations, with a focus on making it accessible and fun for all attendees. Find the full transcript here.
The science of storytelling with Jason Silva from Shots of Awe
Mar 9 2022
The science of storytelling with Jason Silva from Shots of Awe
How can we tell more engaging stories?In this episode, we discuss the nuances of storytelling and its role in modern society with the Emmy-nominated television host and storyteller Jason Silva.Find the full transcript here.
Creating institutions for a better future with Jeremy Nixon from Omni
Feb 17 2022
Creating institutions for a better future with Jeremy Nixon from Omni
How can you revolutionize institutions that have been set in stone for centuries? We spoke to Jeremy Nixon, the CEO of Omni, an organization with the goal of bringing about a new set of institutions. Find the full transcript here.
Understanding your customers remotely with Karen Mangia from Salesforce
Feb 3 2022
Understanding your customers remotely with Karen Mangia from Salesforce
How to do customer research remotely? Karen Mangia, the VP of Customer and Market Insights at Salesforce shares how they talk with customers remotely and how to conduct customer research.Find the full transcript here.
Should you hire a Head of Remote with Chase Warrington from Doist
Jan 18 2022
Should you hire a Head of Remote with Chase Warrington from Doist
What exactly does a Head of Remote do?Chase Warrington, the Head of Remote at Doist talked to us about this role and how remote companies can benefit from it. Find the full transcript here.
The story of SafetyWing with Sondre Rasch
Jan 5 2022
The story of SafetyWing with Sondre Rasch
We talked to Sondre Rasch, the CEO of SafetyWing and our usual host for this podcast, about why he decided to build remote first, the YC application process, and building from scratch without relying on outdated traditional government structures. Find the full transcript here.
Remote fundraising with Yoeri Dassen from 7Percent Ventures
Dec 9 2021
Remote fundraising with Yoeri Dassen from 7Percent Ventures
How do you raise money as a remote company? Together with Yoeri Dassen from 7Percent Ventures, we are diving into different stages of fundraising, how to evaluate your startup and negotiate with VCs remotely.
Async vs synchronous teams with Adam Nathan from Almanac
Nov 24 2021
Async vs synchronous teams with Adam Nathan from Almanac
How can asynchronous work simplify remote collaboration?Together with Adam Nathan, the founder and CEO of Almanac, we discussed the benefits and challenges of asynchronous work, how to reduce meetings as a manager, and the art of switching your focus from inputs to outputs.
Remote leadership with Sarah Hawley from Growmotely
Nov 9 2021
Remote leadership with Sarah Hawley from Growmotely
How can you connect with your team as a remote leader?We spoke to Sarah Hawley, the founder and CEO of Growmotely about asynchronous leadership, creating alignment in a remote team and leading with integrity.