Intridea is an internationally recognized leader in design, user experience, AngularJS, front-end engineering, and open source. A 2011 Inc 500 fastest growing company, Intridea develops technology solutions and web products for startups and enterprise customers including ADP, Citi, Mitsubishi, and XO Group. Intridea is headquartered in Washington, DC.

Very.  It enables us to hire only the best. Location isn’t a limiting factor when it comes to finding top talent.

Flexibility to work from anywhere.  This can be both a blessing and a curse, but if managed properly is a huge benefit.  Currently, I’m working remote out of ND for a full week while spending time with family.  This would’ve been impossible in a traditional desk job.

Talent pool and work/life balance.  We value family and quality work.  We know if we can keep our team happy and allow them to live their lives, they’ll want to come to work!

Often times, we seek out entrepreneurs.  Self-motivation is crucial for remote teams – we aren’t there to micro-manage you – so that’s a huge factor in the hiring process.

Not officially, but it’s polite and helpful for us all when we respond quickly – usually 24hrs or less.

Yes, we usually kick-off a project in house – so we’ll fly folks in for that.  Also, we host an annual retreat every year for a few days. Last year, it was a big rental house in Steamboat Springs, CO.

Productivity is purely based on results.

Communication and understanding people’s personalities via text and email.

Unlimited.  Take what you need – we don’t count your sick or vacation days.

Organically for the most part.  We have some structure in place, but our company is results-driven – so if you prefer to work from 9pm-6am, and you turn out exceptional work – more power to you!

Annual company retreats, weekly Google hangouts (non-work related), and gif battles on Slack.

Trust your team and communicate well. The worst thing you can do to a remote employee is micromanage them. As their boss, it’s your responsibility to provide them with the tools and resources, trust them to accomplish the work.  Don’t keep tabs on them every moment of the day.  As for communication – remote work can often seem like a lonely island.  Make a point to communicate often (if you think you’re over communicating – you’re doing it right) – know when to hop on Skype vs. email vs. gchat and create a culture of honesty and openness.

I like to write out my schedule weekly.  Keep a running list of to-dos and integrating personal activities throughout the day (i.e. grocery shopping, grabbing lunch with a friend, doctors appt, etc)

“If it’s not a little scary, it’s not worth doing!”

Worst location? Hmm, probably middle of nowhere Florida 🙂  The best location – Amsterdam (hands down!).