The Biggest Challenge of Running a Company Remotely — a Founder’s Perspective

Read Time: 2 minutes

It’s Ilya Spitalnik, Powtoon’s Chief Executive Unicorn — and no, I’m not being tone-deaf to our current situation. I’m just trying to bring a little spark of hope into our day with this message.

We’re Living Through Unprecedented Times

What we’re living through right now is unprecedented. We’re seeing the world literally change before our eyes. We’re confined to our homes, and yet, bizarrely, life goes on.

At the moment, I spend my day mostly in video calls, while trying to balance my home life as a husband and father — or shall I say cook and entertainer for the kids.

The True Lesson of Running a Company Remotely

I wanted to share with you what I’ve learned in the past few weeks being confined to my home while running a business with over 100 employees.

I can easily sum it up in one sentence: Communication is now more important than ever and it’s more difficult than ever!

I can’t just walk into my colleague’s office to ask about the status of some project, align on some strategy issue or even just to inquire about their well-being…

Things that we typically take for granted are just not there.

Instead, we’re forced to chase colleagues on slack or teams in the hope that they will respond immediately. Or we join countless video calls where we put ourselves on mute, switch off the camera and multitask in the background (Oops! Is that just me?).

Why Is Communication More Important Than Ever?

The current crisis has put a magnifying glass to a problem that’s been brewing for quite some time.

Put simply:

Alignment has never been harder
Misunderstandings have never been broader,
Lack of transparency has never been greater, and let’s face it…
Video call fatigue is starting to set in (Oops… Just me again?)

In the past weeks I’ve come to experience something that many of Powtoon’s clients have known for a long time.

In times when a single message needs to permeate an entire organization, where alignment is needed, where your attention is pulled every which way, and your business may even be in danger…

In strange times like the ones we’re living through now, your method of communication has to work!

Video calls, whatsapps, team or slack messages don’t do the trick. But short, sharp visual messages make the difference.

So What’s My Message Today?

Powtoon is here to help you and your organization get through these trying times! That is to say: we, as a company, are here for you… and Powtoon, the method of communication, is here for you…

We continue to update our remote working and remote learning guides, with video templates, helpful articles, and inspiration to keep your team engaged and succeeding remotely.

And to ensure that everyone can access the visual communication tools they need, we’re reducing the price of Powtoon Pro+ annual plans by 33%.

Being remote does not mean being distant… and a small gesture goes a long way these days. Please remember to let your colleagues and loved ones know how much they mean to you.

Stay safe, stay connected…

And stay awesome,

Ilya