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The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

125: How to Build a Distributed Team for Fast Growth with Wade Foster of Zapier

The Foundr Podcast with Nathan Chan

Nathan Chan

Marketing, Business, Entrepreneurship

4.8662 Ratings

🗓️ 11 January 2017

⏱️ 36 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

You can't talk about fast-growing SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) companies without mentioning Zapier. In about five years, they've amassed a customer base of over 1.5 million registered users, and grown their team from just three founders to 60 people. But perhaps what's most impressive and unique about Zapier, is the fact that those 60 people can be found all over the world. While Wade Foster and his co-founders reside in San Fransisco, he is quick to mention that does not mean Zapier's headquarters are in San Fransisco. Not just employees, but also members of the executive team can be found on almost every continent, working remotely. Zapier is living proof that entrepreneurs and startups are no longer strictly bound by location, and that there is a whole world of talent out there. "The internet feels like our true home," Foster says. You might think that having such a team would be a detriment to a fast-growth company but, according to Foster, having such a large, distributed team is precisely the reason behind Zapier's impressive success. When it comes to managing and leading such a scattered team, all while building a fast-growing SaaS company, Foster is a master. In this week's episode you'll learn: How to validate your idea and find your first customer at the same time The pros and cons of managing a distributed team of over 60 people What a high-performing distributed team looks like Keys to building a B2B company as quickly as possible Wade's favorite apps and tools & so much more! This podcast episode was brought to you by Infusionsoft Anyone looking for the gold standard in sales and marketing solutions should turn to Infusionsoft. The complete package for small businesses of all types, save yourself some time and let Infusionsoft do all the work for you by automating huge parts of your business.

Transcript

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0:00.0

This is episode number 125 with Wade Foster of the Founder Podcast.

0:07.1

What you need is thirst.

0:08.9

You need to be a thirsty human who is intent on learning.

0:12.9

It's a really fascinating exploration of human potential.

0:18.7

The Founder Podcast.

0:21.9

Even the greatest entrepreneurs had help.

0:24.8

If you want to learn from the most successful founders on the planet,

0:28.2

you are in the right place.

0:30.4

Branson, Mark Cuban, Tony Robbins, Tim Ferriss, Ariana Humpington,

0:33.4

Steve Case, Gary V, Sophia Amoroso, Barbara Corcoran, Damon John.

0:37.5

Learn from the greatest minds in business today with interviews hosted by Nathan Chan.

0:42.0

This is not your average entrepreneur podcast.

0:45.8

The Founder Podcast.

0:52.8

Hey guys, thank you so much for tuning in. Before we start today's episode, I just want to let

0:58.9

you know that our goal at founder is to help entrepreneurs succeed however we can by giving

1:04.5

away high quality content in the form of interviews, blog posts, podcasts, YouTube videos,

1:10.7

you name it. We put out so much content to help you.

1:13.9

And another interesting project that we're working on right now is partnering with world-class

1:18.7

founders like Damon John, Alexa von Tobel, Greta Van Riel, and so many more to teach crucial

1:24.7

skills like negotiation, finance, e-commerce, and so much more.

1:30.9

So if you'd like to get access to these free trainings with founders like this, which is 100%

1:37.2

free, just go to founder.com forward slash free.

...

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