Managing Schedule and Communication at Subscript

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We're looking for highly motivated individuals who can manage their own schedule and make decisions independently. Communication skills, both written and through video, are essential. We don't require employees to be based in San Francisco or adhere to strict office hours. We have a specific type of person in mind who loves our company. We value a strong documentation culture and believe it's important for both synchronous and asynchronous teams. This helps prevent re-litigating previous decisions and ensures clarity throughout the company.

Today’s episode is with Sidharth Kakkar, founder and CEO of Subscript, a subscription intelligence platform that empowers B2B SaaS leaders to better understand their revenue. (Read more about the company in this Techcrunch article.)

Previously, he was the founder, CEO of Freckle, an education platform that grew to serve 10 million students and was acquired by Renaissance Learning in 2019. As a repeat founder, Sidharth picked up a ton of valuable lessons, particularly when it comes to company culture and management.

Right from the start, he knew he wanted to build Subscript to be global, distributed, and asynchronous. That’s why there are no internal company meetings. Everyone also operates autonomously, deciding what to work on for themselves.

We dive into both the philosophy behind this unique approach and the nitty gritty details of how exactly it works in practice. Here’s a preview:

How to share company updates asynchronously every week.
Advice on how to approach goal-setting and performance feedback, while minimizing micromanagement.
Tips for improving transparency and documentation, plus details on Subscript’s running product/market fit journal.
Thoughts on how to assess asynchronous communication skills when hiring.
How this culture impacts a founder’s role and schedule.

There’s tons of food for thought in here, whether you’re a founder thinking about shaping your company culture, or a manager looking for some fresh ideas.

You can follow Sidharth on Twitter at @sikakkar. You can email us questions directly at review@firstround.com or follow us on Twitter @firstround and @brettberson.