Running a virtual, international company
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Transcript of Running a virtual, international company
How to run a Virtual Business
Case study:
About me
InfoQ.com● 750,000 unique
visitors/month● 60 new content items
published/week● Available in 4 languages,
managed by separate teams of staff and editors in:○ China○ Japan○ Brazil○ International (english)
QCon conferences● 500-1200 attendees each● 7 cities worldwide
Stats
● Revenue sources: ○ Online advertising
■ Highly targeted topical sponsorships■ Lead Generation
○ Conferences■ Ticket Sales & Sponsorships
● People and operations in US, Canada, Romania, China, Greece, Brazil
29 staff members across 6 countries
150 editors worldwide
They all work from home
What we'll cover
● How the company got started
● Structural Issues & Benefits
● Tactics used to run a virtual business
● Mindset and culture
How it started
2005: Worlds smallest multinational● Floyd - CEO/Chief Editor - Canada● Roxanne - Sales - California● Alex - Developer - Romania● Jason Lai - Translator - China
5 lead editors (par time)
Today
● C4Media English InfoQ & QCon team○ Canada
■ 3 people: CEO, Ad Prod. Mgr, Finance Ops○ US
■ 2 sales in California, Events Dir. in Florida○ Romania
■ 4 Operations people, 4 software developers○ Greece
■ 1 Platform Lead / Prod. Mgr.○ 40 active editors part time
● China Subsidiary: 15 people + 30 p/t editors● Brazilian Subsidiary: 3 people + 30 p/t
editors● Franchise Partners in Japan, France
Structurally
Canadian Corporation● 100% foreign source revenue (no CDN
revenue)○ US, EU, China, Brazil
● Many international full time contractors● Incorporated in Brazil, US and China● No revenue: no employment relationship
needed for full time people
Benefits
● No commute / Less stressful● Introvert friendly● More time for work● People feel empowered● More time for family● Significantly Lower Operational Costs● Lends well to results-oriented environment● Teams distributed where talent can be hired
for highest value and ○ Nearsourcing ○ Developing Economies
Highly Cost Efficient and Productive
My company would not have survived the first years if completely local & in-person
Being international & with no fixed costs allowed us to be profitable much earlier, crossing the most difficult time when most companies fail
Advantages in Canada
Small Business Deduction: 16% corporate tax on 1st $500K, vs. 30% + in rest of world
Toronto (Eastern timezone) well suited to interact with
○ West coast (afternoon)○ Europe (mornings) ○ Asia (9am or 9pm meetings - 12 hrs diff)
Diversity● Age, gender, culture - all are irrelevant in a virtual
environment where results are what you primarily see● Easier to overcome normal human biases when hiring
Tools and Tactics
Tools Demo
IM/skype- day to day communication
Yammer - culture & info sharing
Google docs- spreadsheets for project specific trackers
Tools Demo
Dashboards○ Objectives Dashboard○ Scoreboards
15five - Automates the weekly 1:1Wiki - for long term reference materialKanbansEmail
Culture and Mindset
Things needed for a well-run company EVEN more important for a virtual oneOne Page Business Plan that everyone has copy of
Purpose and Core Values
Quarterly Objectives
Metrics
Rhythms
Meeting Rhythms
Departments● Quarterly Review & Objectives Setting● Monthly Review● Weekly Dept ● Daily Standups
Per Project● Weekly calls
Annual All-hands Meetings2013: Ireland 2012: Spain2011: Prague 2010: China
Dan Pink: What really motivates employees
● Purpose● Mastery● Autonomy
C4Media’s Purpose
To facilitate the spread of knowledge and innovation in enterprise software development
Purposes Around the World● Apple: To make a contribution to the world by making
tools for the mind that advance humankind● Nike: To experience the emotion of competition, winning,
and crushing competitors● Sony: To experience the joy of advancing and applying
technology for the benefit of the public ● Wal-Mart: To give ordinary folk the chance to buy the
same things as rich people● Walt Disney: To make people happy
Shared Values
C4Media’s Core ValuesTransparency – Be transparent about process, status, expectations, your feelings, successes and failures.
Integrity - We do what we say, and we say what we do. We publish content our readers can trust. We fulfill our commitments to readers, customers, and each other. We act in the best interests of the company. Mastery- We never stop learning and we strive to continual improve our selves, our processes, and our company.
Service – The joy of serving others, we go above and beyond for our customers, for our readers, and for each other. Accountability - Take ownership for results. We'll do what it takes to get things done and are very serious about our commitments Resourcefulness - Find creative solutions to get things done, have a “can do”
attitude.
6 Core Values of
● Safety● Positivity and passion● Appreciative● Fun and friendly● To align customer and corporate interests● Honesty and openness
MetricsEvery Dept should be tracking key metricsReviewed Weekly Dept / Project Calls
Quarterly Objectives
Everyone thinks hard once a quarter: How did I do and what can we FOCUS on to grow the most this quarter?
Common Questions
How do you know people are working?
Trust + TransparencyTrust without transparency is foolishnessTrust with transparency is empowering
Creating Transparency
Dedicated use of transparency tools:● Yammer ● 15five● Scoreboards & Dashboards● Metrics● Dashboards● Emphasizing via core values
Leadership must set an example
Scoreboards for transparency and alignment
Editor Scoreboards
Trust
I'm willing to be misled for a month or two, we'll find out eventually - manageable cost
The motivational worth of trusting everyone who IS working well is priceless
Other Common Questions
Competition? What if people work for competitors?
- no different from any company environment
How do you know they are working correctly?- transparency and rhythms
How do you resolve interpersonal conflict? - no different than any company environment
More [email protected]