30. Cultivating remote-first collaboration across distributed teams (with Jon Darbyshire)

Smarter Software Outsourcing

In this episode of the Smarter Outsourcing Podcast, Fred welcomes Jon Darbyshire, a visionary leader and serial entrepreneur who's made a great impact in the world of business process management.
Jon talks about SmartSuite's unconventional software outsourcing journey by cultivating remote-first collaboration across 6 distributed teams.
00:00 Intro
03:40 You started with a comprehensive product at SmartSuite instead of an MVP. How did this approach shape your go-to-market strategy and the company's growth trajectory?
08:01 How did you have enough confidence in your product's potential to forgo building an MVP and instead invest in fully developing it from the start?
10:35 How did partnering with six providers to build a diverse and remote development team shape SmartSuite's competitive edge? How does the daily collaboration with multiple providers work?
14:01 How have your investments in various companies shaped your perspective on running SmartSuite, and what key lessons have you taken from these experiences?
17:14 What was the thought process behind SmartSuite, and how does it contribute to building a strong culture and enhance intergenerational collaboration?
21:13 How did you incorporate and represent the diverse cultures of your clients into a unified interface and user experience?
23:01How did you select the individuals you wanted to work with, and why is the ability to build personal connections with them so important?
25:43 You're offering equity to vendors in SmartSuite. What led you to choose this business model, and what makes you believe it represents the future for startups?
29:50 Have you seen more and more startups following this model since you started almost four years ago?
32:37How did you handle the cross-cultural environment while working with six different providers from various countries? How well do the teams collaborate with each other?
34:35 A lot of companies that initially adopted remote work due to Covid now bring their teams back to the office for improved cohesion and collaboration, and stronger company culture. What's your perspective on that?
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