Benefits of Working Under One Roof

First some background. We are building world’s best wealth mentoring platform that will provide tools, ideas and mentoring to the masses.

Since a lot of us have been working remotely for a while now, I wanted to share what it's like to work under one roof while building a startup in its very initial stage.

Our small startup team of six has been working together for around two months before we met in person for the first time over the last two weeks of January in Bangalore, India. We rented a house, hired help for cooking & cleaning, and got down to hack together. Here’s how it went:

Trust: While working remotely, the trust was building slowly and steadily. But it got at least 5x faster in person.

Energy: Everyone fed off of each other’s energy and enthusiasm. There were very few moments of lull as a result.

Collaboration: It was so much easier for an engineer to turn around and discuss an alternate design with the designer. We have been using the collaboration tools and all all along, but in-person collaboration is at least 3x-4x better, and maybe even 10x. We were able to design a product from scratch in three days. And we also were able to design, develop and ship one more product almost as a side hustle!

Minutiae: When you sit under the same roof and breathe the same air, smaller things are discussed as well. Whether it's about work or personal life, it really helps to know your teammates better.

Customer Focus: We did around 20 customer interviews where everyone was engaged, listening in, and taking notes. After the interview we would have a quick huddle about next steps.

Team Bonding: We had meals together, listened to each other’s life stories, took care of each other during minor sickness, and became the team where we all understand and empathize with each other. Before this, we were a group of individuals working towards a common goal that each one of us understood slightly differently. But now we are a cohesive team that is completely aligned in our vision and goals.

It wasn't all rosy though. We worked a little too hard during this since there was nothing else to do (lockdowns in Bangalore). And also because working together was way too much fun. But we did not put any boundaries, which is neither healthy nor sustainable.

Can’t wait to get the team together again. We might also invite a few customers as well next time to hangout with us for a few hours to share their thoughts about all things personal finance.

Thanks for reading. Please follow me for more insights as we build world’s best wealth creation/mentoring/management platform.

Author: Gagan