Amir Salihefendić on trust, communication & deep work in building a remote company

Amir Salihefendić is the Founder and CEO of Doist, a fully distributed, remote company that creates productivity tools (Todoist & Twist). We dive into his story of moving from Bosnia to Denmark as a child and how he started Doist while in college.  He’s built a growing technology company in a fully remote setting, often experimenting with different ways of working and sharing the thinking behind the decisions as he goes on the doist blog as a major supporter of the remote work movement

The Remote Doist Team

Doist has published one of the best guides to remote work and its existence is making people question established business assumptions such as needing to be present in an office, needing to limit the amount of vacation people take and keeping people’s personal lives disconnected from a work identity. There mindset is focused on the long-term:

We’re running a marathon, not a sprint. That’s why we value ambition and balance. We believe that good health comes first – both as a sustainable business and as individuals with rewarding lives outside of work.

He reminded me of a great word from Denmark, Hygge, which a friend taught me years ago that I’ve yet to find a good equivalent of. He says this has also definitely helped influence the culture he’s built at Doist. Here is the definition:

a pleasant and highly valued everyday experience of safety, equality, personal wholeness and a spontaneous social flow

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