Can you please introduce yourself?
I am Julian Green, and I work remotely at my remote meeting startup www.goheadroom.com
What’s your profession, what do you do?
This is my fifth tech startup. CEO = Chief Everything-no-one-else-wants-to-do Officer
What company do you work for? Are you a freelancer or Digital Nomad?
Headroom enables remote companies to have fewer meetings, and better meetings. We are remote-first, and have people across USA and Mexico at the moment. This summer I will follow my family around and work from Italy and Switzerland.
How did you start with a remote work journey?
We started Headroom in early 2020, and Covid hit before we got an office. We never got one! It has been amazing to build a tool that helps us make remote-first work.
What do you think are the main benefits of working remotely?
No commute. Flexible working times. Quality quiet time for individual work.
Do you think there are disadvantages or that you’re missing something by working remotely?
I think you can miss out on creating relationships and building team spirit if you don't invest in it. We use Headroom to share meeting highlights with each other (automatically generated!), as one way to keep up with what's going on with the rest of the team.
From what cities or countries have you worked since you have become remote? What are your favourite countries or cities to work from?
San Francisco - CA
Paris - France Lake
Tahoe - CA
From what type of places do you prefer to work? Home, co-working spaces, coffee shops, or others?
I like good cafés, good wifi, and access to outdoor activities!
What places would you like to travel to while working remotely?
I'd like to connect with family in Australia, and see the parts of the world I have not seen yet in South America, Africa.
What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them? Share your remote productivity, communication, management, etc. tips based on your experience!
Connectivity is key. https://tryroamer.com/blog/how-to-find-an-airbnb-with-fast-wifi has a tool that helps you find AirBnBs with good internet.
Setting clear working hours on Google Calendar if in a different time zone from your team, can be helpful for you and them!
What tools do you use to improve productivity and manage work efficiently?
- Google Calendar and Docs/Sheets
- Notion
- Headroom for virtual meetings + automatic transcripts, notes, highlights etc.
How do you manage your business and taxes as a remote working professional?
Carefully
What advice would you give to people looking to work remotely?
It's not for everyone, but it can be amazing for the right person. So much freedom, so much flexibility.
Do you work on any side projects?
Whatever my kids want to work on.
Would you like to share any interesting stories while you worked remotely?
Please share if you can.I sold my last startup while staying in a cottage in Wales with no internet. I had to wade through the high tide with my laptop above my head to the local pub, where they left beers out for me on the outside table, since I would work after closing time to sync up with US-based folks, and I used the wifi which reached outside. The negotiations ended successfully when I showed the acquirers on my webcam, that I was outside a pub in Wales in the middle of night.
Julian's Website: https://www.goheadroom.com/
Julian's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliangreen
Julian's Twitter: https://twitter.com/juliangreensf
