How to run a start-up completely remotely

Jonas Stamm founded his start-up in Schleswig, but has scattered most of his employees around the globe. Here he reveals his tips and tools for digital collaboration without a shared office.

Jonas Stamm is only one of two employees at the Molteo headquarters in Schleswig, the rest are sometimes thousands of kilometers away. Nevertheless, they work together every day on a construction site software with which companies can plan personnel and record time, among other things. Ever since the company was founded in Germany in the far north, Stamm has deliberately relied on a team that works all over the world: in Taiwan, in Brazil, in France and partly also in Germany. This puts him ahead of many founders who have to learn how to work remotely. Here are his tips.

Mr. Stamm, you didn't found your company in Berlin, Cologne or Munich, but in Schleswig. Why is that?

That is largely due to the industry in which we operate. The construction industry needs local connections, especially when you're starting out as a start-up. It's a question of eye level and of the companies having a local contact. A local meeting can be more important than a fancy office in Berlin.

Most start-ups in the provinces suffer from the fact that they can't find many skilled workers. That's obviously not a problem for you.

We don't hire locally at all, so to speak. Besides me, there is only one other employee in Schleswig, the rest we recruit completely online and all over the world. The 15 other employees are in Brazil, Taiwan, France and many other countries. Accordingly, we work completely remotely and staggered across all time zones.

That sounds complicated. Do you see each other regularly?

We actually see each other all day. We use Slack, of course, and then Around, a tool where you work together in different digital spaces and can also join or leave there. All the collaborators actually have your webcam on and your microphone on at all times, so it feels a bit like an office atmosphere. We meet every day at 8:56 in the morning in Germany. For some, that's when the day starts, for others it's lunchtime and for others it's heading into the evening.

If I were to yell at someone, I would be doing something wrong.

Jonas Stamm, Molteo founder

What are the prerequisites for something like this to work?

Two things are crucial. We test the future employees at the very beginning to see if they speak English, because English is the company language and anyone who doesn't speak English is simply not right here. And we make sure that the new employees work completely independently. If I can't rely on that, the person is not suitable for our team.

Of course, the difficult conversations are doubly difficult remotely. What if you ever want to yell at someone?

If I were to yell at someone, I'd be doing something wrong. The rule with us is that we don't name a culprit, just that a situation sucks. Then it has to be quickly about how we're never going to get into a situation like that again. So I never yell.

With employees in Taiwan or Brazil, you have cultures that are completely different from each other and from German culture. How do you deal with that?

That is indeed a big challenge, because often what is not said is the worst thing. If I answer someone in bullet points, for example, it's not meant in a bad way or I'm not annoyed, I just like to write that way. Everyone needs to communicate that very clearly. Everyone has to know: He's saying that because he means it. To this end, I speak often and every two months at length with each employee. We have to take this extra time.

With us, the employees are allowed to suggest what they deserve.

Jonas Stamm, Molteo founder

Are there other disadvantages to doing everything in front of the computer?

The world is not as globalized as you think. There are complicated double taxation agreements and no uniform labour law, not even close. Of course, this is complex for us and our accountant if you have to draw up contracts for Taiwan, France or Brazil individually. In the long term, we will concentrate on a few hotspots where we recruit. Otherwise, our tax advisor will just be scratching his head.

Doesn't sitting in front of the computer all the time make you a bit lonely?

We can see when someone has worked in which docs and for how long. If colleagues notice that someone is working too hard, they send them on vacation for a few days. That takes care of itself.

The team in your own office is most likely to grow together over coffee, beer or a party after work. Isn't that missing in your company?

Every employee can enter in their profile what their interests are, and we also use folders in our filing tool Notion that are all about that. 'You love gardening? Ok, awesome, I read something the other day about automating raised gardens. Let's talk about that sometime'. We also have chats like this, which is important for team cohesion.

Without an expensive office in Berlin-Mitte, you save a lot of money, of course. Do the employees see anything of this?

With us, the employees are allowed to suggest what they earn. Some negotiate quite well, others are a bit too shy. But if someone asks for a high salary, I also demand certain benefits. Most employees are then honest enough to say that I can't yet do XYZ, but I'll take a little less salary and do ABC in return, and we'll get closer to XYZ. If someone can't honestly reflect on something like that, they're in the wrong place. The money we save otherwise we spend on team events, which we have at least once a year, then also in person and not only in front of the computer.

About the person: Jonas Stamm is the founder of Molteo. Previously, the engineering graduate has already founded two companies. He sold the Festival Pfandsystem, founded in 2011, in 2013 and built Jader, a platform for jade travel, from 2016 to 2017. The 29-year-old deliberately founded Molteo in Schleswig.