Remote For 13 yrs And Bootstrapped!

Float has operated as a fully remote, bootstrapped SaaS company for 13 years under CEO Glenn Rogers. With a team of 50 across more than 20 countries and no central headquarters, the company has declined venture capital multiple times to maintain control and prioritise sustainable growth. This episode explores how bootstrapping shapes financial discipline, hiring pace, experimentation, and culture in a distributed environment. It looks at what long-term remote operations require in practice, from deliberate culture-building to asynchronous coordination across time zones, and what that means for remote knowledge workers inside a global software business.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Thirteen Years Fully Remote
• 0:39 Bootstrapping Over Venture Capital
• 2:18 Designing Remote Culture Deliberately
• 3:10 Hiring And Pace Tied To Revenue
• 4:04 Tools, Costs, And Remote Operations
• 5:24 Closing And Beta Platform Invite

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Thirteen years is a long time to build a software company without outside capital or an office. Today's focus is Float, a resource management software company that has operated fully remote for 13 years. Hey, if we haven't met, I'm Alex Wilson Campbell's AI twin. Alex is the creator and host of the Remote Work Life podcast, where we spotlight the remote companies and location-independent founders and leaders shaping the future of business and work. Alex personally researches, writes, and edits every episode you hear here. And I'm his AI voice, so you don't miss the updates, even if you can't get to the studio. Float's co-founder and CEO Glenn Rogers said the decision to bootstrap has allowed Float to focus on sustainable growth, build strong financial practices, and maintain control over the company's direction. He has built and sustained a team of 50 people across more than 20 countries without a central headquarters. Float provides resource management software for creative agencies and teams, helping them plan and allocate work across projects. From the beginning, the company chose not to take venture capital. Over the years, there were opportunities to do so, but those offers were declined. Instead, the business was bootstrapped and grown through its own revenues. That meant financial discipline was not optional. It was built into day-to-day operations from the start. The team is fully remote, with 50 employees distributed across more than 20 countries. There is no central office requirement, there is no headquarters, people are expected to relocate to. That detail is explicit. Operating this way for over a decade means remote work at float is not a response to trends. It is the operating model. Rogers is all about a long-term mindset. Without investor timelines or external growth targets, the company has been able to experiment and iterate over time. In practical terms, that affects how decisions are made. When you are not managing toward the next funding round, priorities shift toward sustainability. Cash flow, hiring pace, and product development are shaped by what the business can support. For a distributed team, that long-term view also shapes culture. When people are spread across 20 plus countries, you cannot rely on proximity to build cohesion. Culture has to be designed deliberately. There is no office as a cultural anchor, no shared physical space to default to. That means documentation, communication norms, and clarity of ownership matter more. A team of 50 across time zones requires asynchronous coordination as a baseline. Schedules will not always overlap. Work has to move forward without everyone being online at the same time. Bootstrapping also changes the hiring dynamic. Growth tends to be measured and aligned with revenue. That can reduce pressure to scale headcount rapidly. For remote workers inside Float, that likely translates into a different cadence of work. Fewer sudden pivots driven by investor expectations, more emphasis on improving existing systems and refining the product over time. Rogers has led the company throughout this 13-year period. Leadership continuity is part of the story. There has not been a shift in direction tied to new capital or external control. Maintaining complete control over company direction is not just a governance detail. In a remote company, it influences how transparent strategy can be. When ownership and leadership are aligned, messaging to a distributed team can stay consistent. Float's focus on strong financial practices is also operational. In a fully remote setup, costs look different from office-based firms. There are no large leases to manage. At the same time, investment in tools, systems, and remote processes becomes central. 13 years without a central office means onboarding, performance management, and collaboration systems have been built with distribution in mind from day one. The company serves creative agencies and teams, which themselves often operate in flexible or distributed ways. That alignment between product and internal model is notable. Declining venture capital multiple times is a strategic decision repeated over years, not a single moment. Each time it reinforces the operating philosophy. For remote workers listening, the implications are practical rather than abstract. A bootstrapped remote company of 50 across 20 plus countries will typically prioritize clarity, cost awareness, and sustainable workloads. Experimentation and iteration are possible, but they are tied to what the business can afford and support long term. There is no office to return to because there never was one. The distributed structure is foundational, not transitional. After 13 years, that model has moved from experiment to established practice. That's it for today on the Remote Work Life Podcast. Before you head off alongside the podcast, Alex is building a small beta platform that pulls together senior level, growth-focused, remote roles directly from employers' websites, not job boards. It's designed for experienced operators in sales, marketing, strategy, and finance. If you want early access as a founding member, you'll find the link in the show notes or via Alex's LinkedIn profile. You'll also get bonus content featuring founders, leaders, and CEOs from location independent and remote businesses.