Refactoring Podcast How Todoist is Built ✅ — with Gonçalo Silva
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Jan 23, 2026 
Gonçalo Silva, the CTO of Doist, leads a unique company with 100 remote employees across 40 countries, creating the beloved productivity tool Todoist. He shares insights on staying small and effective, contrasting bootstrapped constraints with the pressures of VC funding. The discussion dives into the origins of Doist's async-first culture, how they manage team dynamics, and balance strategy with user feedback. Gonçalo also explores the role of AI in enhancing productivity, emphasizing clarity and innovation within their teams.
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Focus Beats Diversified Giants
- Doist's narrow focus on productivity gives them stronger taste and execution than diversified giants.
- Specialization concentrates attention, making product judgment and brand clearer than large multi-product companies.
Avoid Growth-For-Growth's-Sake
- Avoid investor-driven pressure for hypergrowth if it misaligns with company goals and culture.
- Stay near a size that balances overhead and impact to preserve speed and alignment.
Asynchronous Enables Deep Work
- Remote roots plus need for deep focus pushed Doist toward asynchronous-first culture.
- Teams batch communication and reserve long uninterrupted blocks for concentrated work.