6 days ago
How to Build Culture With a Fully Remote Team
Katie Kaps is co-founder of HigherDOSE, a global wellness tech brand with team members scattered across South Africa, Kazakhstan, Asia, and the U.S. The company is fully remote, so staying connected through all those different time zones can be a major headache.
"We spend a lot of time exchanging emails back and forth when it's probably an issue that we could have just gotten done quickly if we were all in the same room," she says.
Kaps appeared on Entrepreneur Therapy, presented by Amazon Business, to seek guidance from hosts Dr. Drew and Kim Perell. Like the owners of many small businesses, she wants to create a strong company culture, but finds it challenging when the team is spread out across the world.
Related: How Do You Scale Without Burning Out? This Founder Asked for Help and Got a Wake-Up Call.
At one point, she reveals that the HigherDOSE holds Zoom meetings with their cameras off. That hit a nerve with both Dr. Drew and Perell. "Oh God. Help. Please don't do that," Dr. Drew begs. "You should be thinking, 'I'm actually here to be present for this meeting and my team members."
Turning cameras off may help you multitask, but it kills team energy. Dr. Drew and Perell point out that it can make meetings feel impersonal and erode trust, especially in a remote setting where actual face-to-face time is already non-existent.
Perell offers a simple fix she uses with her own companies: one hour a week, everyone on camera, fully engaged. "You can talk about the weekly win that you had, so you can celebrate the successes. You can talk about the biggest challenge and the top priorities for the month," she says. "It at least creates a cohesiveness… even when you're not together."
Related: Zoom Launches Its First AI Collaborative Docs Solution
But Kaps' challenges aren't just logistical. As a founder, she's hired several close friends over the years—something that once felt like a strength but has started to get, well, complicated. "In some situations, it's become awkward to navigate," she confesses. "How do I continue having a friendship with these people, but then also be a boss?"
Dr. Drew explains that what Kaps is dealing with is a "dual relationship"—a setup that's notoriously hard to manage. "Some personalities, certain proclivities can't do it," he says. "And if you're pulling away, you're gonna have to say something more directive, so they don't concoct things in their own mind about why you're pulling away."
Related: I Treated My Employees Like Friends — and It Backfired. Here's How You Can Avoid the Same Mistake.
By the end of the session, Kaps feels seen. "That went deep," she says. "I was like, oh my gosh, I totally want to pay for Entrepreneur Therapy next time."
Entrepreneur Therapy is presented by Amazon Business. Smart business buying starts with Amazon Business. Learn more.
