I want you to meet someone who I have huge respect for:
Natalie Nagele.
Not only has Natalie been working in the SaaS and software space since her late teens, but she’s been courageous enough to experiment with optimizing her team.
…even if it means asking them to work less.
She is the CEO of WildBit, a tech company with 3 big products:
- Beanstalk: Code revision and deployment software
- Postmark: Transactional email service
- Conveyor: Task management for software teams
I had the pleasure of interviewing Natalie on the latest episode of the Escape Velocity Show, and you can tell that she truly loves her team.
In fact, she loves them so much that she’s willing to try anything to make their lives better.
She saw a boost in productivity by moving them to a 4-day work week, she onboards all her staff by giving them 2 books she swears by, and she’s experimented with many different productivity apps.
Her team is largely remote but she’s managed to make that their strength, not a weakness.
Listening to her experiences is like spying on a test lab training the perfect SaaS team.
If you’ve ever wanted to build a deeply loyal remote team, then you’ll get a lot out of this interview, so check it out:
I’m grateful for Natalie’s willingness to share her biggest lessons from 16 years in the tech industry. In this interview, she talks about:
- Why “If you build it they will come” is a bad strategy
- Learning how to pay yourself <- HUGE
- How to avoid getting screwed in an acquisition
- The 2 books she gives to every WildBit employee
- How hiring a business coach was like marriage counseling
- The company value: “Don’t be an @sshole”.
- Whether Slack helps or hinders your team
Natalie’s journey to success doesn’t follow the conventional bravado that many businesses try to project.
Even on WildBit’s website, they list their company timeline, including shutting down products that just didn’t work. It’s not embarrassing… it’s history.
The company that is willing to innovate even if it’s risky is the company that will find diamonds. And WildBit is living proof that not all innovations work on the first try.
Plug in your headphones, and get your dose of SaaS wisdom right here.
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