The Digital Nomads of Speechify
Two years ago, the world was forced to rethink its ways. Workplaces around the world abruptly adapted uncommon concepts into the workplace, like remote work and flexibility. Speechify, however, has been fully remote and globally distributed since the day of its inception in 2017. We are on a mission to not just change the way the world consumes information, but also the way the world works.
Remote work means we work with the best and brightest from all over the world. And we NEVER restrict ourselves to any time zone. We’ve got team members in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. That’s because we know a variety of backgrounds and ideas helps us make better decisions in our product, as an employer, and as a business.
Speechify team members can work from anywhere in the world, at any time that is convenient for them. This way of working has enabled some of our team members to lead a digital nomadic lifestyle: they work online in various locations of their choosing, always on the move and living their passions without any restrictions or time limitations!
Here are five such digital nomads at Speechify as they talk about their journey, what led them to this lifestyle and how they manage to remain productive and connected to their work on the go!
Ben Laures, Product Manager
I’m a product manager at Speechify and am super excited to get people to read just with the push of a button. I am a digital nomad and haven’t had a lease in about two and a half years, which means I’m able to explore places and visit my friends, who are dispersed all around the world. I love adventure — you can say it’s my life purpose — and have an affinity for skiing, kiteboarding and hiking. You can’t do all these things in one place, which is why I move around all the time. In the last two years, I have been to four countries and ten states. I prefer places like northern California and Colorado in winter for skiing. Over the rest of the year I travel and explore other places. Initially, I did it solo but then I found my fiance who is also my travel partner — this makes it easier and so much more fun for me. Check out our website and join us on our adventures!
About three and a half years ago, I started testing this lifestyle out . I had just gotten out of working on my startup and wanted to experiment. I went to Southeast Asia first and then to Europe, where I stayed with my sister in a tiny flat in Venice, as all her roommates had gone home for their summer internships. This gave me the perfect opportunity to take over the remaining lease and have a great testing setup. Of course, I ended up loving it and decided I was up for it. There are a lot of places to explore, and a lot of things to do and I will keep moving around till I find the perfect home base for me!
I went back home to Texas for a couple of months, after which I signed a lease in Tahoe, California to go skiing and figure it out along the way. That made a big difference. For part of the time I was doing my own projects, and the other times I was what I call funemployed — basically unemployed but fun, intentionally taking time off to explore. Airbnb made it super easy for me — I could reach out, search for monthly rentals and ask for huge discounts, which I typically ended up getting as I was giving them the best occupancy rate.
At the beginning of COVID, I lucked out and went to Hawaii for two months because the lockdown was starting. I got a crazy deal right by the beach, quarantined there and stayed safe. It was a super fun lockdown for me. I’ve also been to London and Miami to meet my Speechify coworkers that are now friends, and it has been awesome.
One of my favorite parts about traveling is experiencing perspectives from different cultures and people that I can apply to my own life. I want to go and eat the spiciest food that I can’t handle just to try it out, and I also want to go see a temple and understand the history of the place. Sometimes, a hybrid of cultures can give you a complete view of your life and understanding of the world.
As a product manager, I break up my day into parts. I work for a few hours in the morning, have a long outdoor adventure break in the afternoon and then come back rejuvenated to work as I have spent quality time doing exactly what I wanted to do. Breathing mountain air helps me keep good energy levels, and clears my mind instantly. Both time and energy management are really important to be able to switch to doing an activity outside of work that you enjoy in the middle of a workday. I have the added benefit of flexibility with Speechify as I work with a global team with people in different time zones. I am one of the fortunate people who can say that life is a vacation for them. As long as I am communicating effectively, getting my work done and not blocking people, I am good to go!
I’ve over time learned what types of places and what types of environments lead to more productivity. You have to be intentional about it. You need to move your life along and continue to work and balance it out. I’ve got this super convenient portable monitor that’s the size of a laptop and it just plugs in and is powered by my laptop. I also have to make sure that I am always in a place with Internet access. I can’t afford to lose connectivity. I personally cannot work in a studio apartment as I need physical boundaries set up between my work and personal space.
It’s also pretty cool that our leadership at Speechify also leads a similar lifestyle, just a tad bit slower than mine. They like a place and stay there for several months in the year, while also testing out new places. This is what I would eventually want to get to.
I think that it’s very important to be open to new experiences. Meeting and working with such a diverse set of coworkers spread across the globe on an everyday basis gives you just that. Every way of living and thinking is different. There are just so many possible ways to live your life, and Speechify is one of the perfect places to witness that.
Andy Andersen, Principal Product Manager
I am a principal product manager at Speechify, where I am leading the company’s international expansion strategy into new markets, increasing its global presence and brand in new languages and countries. I am also a digital nomad.
One of the interesting things about the digital nomad life is just being able to participate in the things that you want to do in your personal life, whether it’s family, the pleasure of travel or the enjoyment of new places and environmental stimulation. You never have to worry about choosing between your work and personal aspirations. All you really need is your computer and a good Internet connection.
Obviously, many of us who have the ability to have been working remotely to some degree since the pandemic. But even years before it hit us, I knew that my dream job would be somewhere I can work on something that drives me but at the same time, I’m flexible and can be anywhere. I was a travel blogger in college and I always wanted to continue traveling while working, but it did not seem like a possibility at the time. Over the years, with the advancement in technology and the Internet, I was closer to the goal I had for most of my adult life. The pandemic was a difficult time for many people but there were some good changes that also happened as a result. One of the few positive outcomes coming out of the pandemic is that it really helped to accelerate the acceptance of remote culture worldwide.
During the pandemic, I did a road trip around the entire United States. I started in San Diego, drove up north all the way to Montana over through the Midwest, all the way to New York and Maine east coast, drove all the way down to Florida and back to Louisiana. That was a really awesome trip and I was able to successfully work remotely through that drive — making accommodations at each place, ensuring internet connectivity and finding the right setup for having my meetings etc.
I also fondly remember one time being in Italy. I was sitting in a square in a piazza watching a live music performance while completing some tasks for an iOS release. Another great memory I have is being in Costa Rica on my balcony watching the monkeys and the beach and everything nearby. It was surreal.
There are definitely some learnings along the way. One of them is that you obviously need to have a good set-up for working wherever you go, such as good Internet connectivity and a quiet place for attending meetings. There have been times when I’ve been working at a cafe and the electricity went out, along with the Internet. In such cases, you also need backups such as hotspots. Planning your schedule to accommodate different time zones is also essential, and can sometimes be challenging. You are always on the move and might be constantly changing your own time zones, hence you have to keep your calendar updated and make it to all of your meetings.
The biggest thing about productivity as a digital nomad is having goals that you’re working towards and understanding that at the end of the day, that’s your job. Your company trusts you to work remotely while being on the move, and you have to do what you need to do. So, if my work requires me to sit at one place for a few days and really focus, even when I am traveling, I am going to do that. On other days, when I might be waiting for someone to get back to me, I’ll enjoy it a little bit more because I’ve already spent extra time completing my tasks. That is the true essence of flexibility and ownership.
At the same time, one has to balance priorities constantly. Personally, I think I work better from home than I would in an office because I am capable of self motivation. Ultimately, it’s about having a good understanding of the needs of your job and making sure that you have a good personal system for that. You are trusted by your employer to get the job done no matter what.
Mattia Basile, Account Executive
I started working with Speechify in September 2021 in an operations role, where I worked as the Chief of Staff for around three months. Four months ago, I moved to the Sales team to contribute more toward the growth of Speechify.
Being a digital nomad means that I can work anytime, anywhere — literally. My role involves a lot of connections with clients, which restricts me to certain time zones on my calendar. Otherwise, I can work on the rest of my tasks at any point in time during the day. This allows me to be flexible with my schedule. If I am in the mountains, I can ski in the morning and get to work in the afternoon. If I am in a warmer place, I can work till the sun goes down and have the evening to myself, watching the sunset and enjoying the warm summer breeze. I have the freedom to take a few hours in the day for myself to do whatever I want, whenever I want. This applies to my week too, I don’t have to cram all my work into the weekdays; I can divide my tasks across seven days in the week and work for a couple of hours on weekends too. This enables me to enjoy every day and not just wait for weekends to have fun. This is possible only because of Speechify’s culture, where we accept an asynchronous workplace with wide open arms.
I always knew about the digital nomad lifestyle but wasn’t sure if it was a good fit for me initially. When I joined Speechify, a 100% remote company, I wanted to explore all possibilities. Fortunately, I know people who are in different places, so I started booking flights to travel and meet them. All it took to keep working alongside was a laptop and good connectivity. Eventually, I started having fun and this became the norm. I started moving places every three to four weeks. I have now been living this dream for nine months.
This lifestyle is not all about fun: it brings some great learnings to the table as well. You learn how to be adaptive. I can work in a truck, a train, a bus or even when I am on a flight. Sometimes, you don’t even need an Internet connection to get some tasks done. Let’s say I have to write a marketing campaign — I don’t need the internet for that, just my laptop to type my ideas and thoughts. These skills do take time but eventually become a part of your routine. You know when you might not have connectivity so you avoid calls during that time and finish other tasks. As I continue adapting to this lifestyle, I’m more comfortable not caring about what’s going around me and just focusing on what I need to do in the moment. This is mind blowing because I could have never imagined that I would be able to focus anytime and anywhere.
There is definitely a refreshing shift in society that is happening right now as we slowly realize that it is not an office that matters when it comes to your work. There will always be varying degrees of comfort, and it is only self motivation, focus and your way of working and thinking that can help you get things done. This might be a bold statement but I think this is undeniable. Yes, there might be cool attractions in your workplace such as fun activities, Friday drinks, or game rooms. But staying in the same place, wasting your fresh energy commuting two hours everyday for a job that doesn’t even require your physical presence, wasting precious time due to external factors you have no control over such as a late bus and meeting the same people everyday not only adds to your overall stress, but also increases your working hours which you don’t even get paid for. You have no extra time during the day to spend with yourself, family and friends or indulging in activities you like. All of this makes me strongly believe that going back to an office is not a sustainable model in the long run. And I’m not sure if people will be willing to invest in this lifestyle again when they have tasted a much better alternative. Personally, I would not.
In the end, it comes down to working effectively and focusing on getting the tasks done during the hours you work, and the freedom to take the rest of the day for yourself the way you want to spend it. This is what we promote at Speechify and what I love about the culture. We limit unnecessary meetings, don’t invite unrequired guests to a call, get our points across clearly and save everyone’s time in the process. Statistics say that more and more companies are moving to fully remote workplaces because employees like it more and it definitely produces better results.
Valentin Kostadinov, Web & Chrome Engineer
I am a web developer at Speechify and I am currently managing the Chrome extension and the landing page. My role involves everything from fixing feature releases to powering the extension and the page.
The digital nomad lifestyle is pretty new for me. I am only about a month into this. I have recently moved to Lisbon as my first step. It is very different than when you are in a fixed place and location. When you are on the go, you have to think ahead and move quickly, which also resonates with the culture at Speechify. You have to make sure that you always have a good Internet connection and a calm place where you can work without too much disruption and noise. You also have to shift to a minimalist lifestyle. I had to let go of all my clothes before I came here to Lisbon. I sold or gave away a bunch of my stuff, like electronics or items that I no longer needed. The beauty of this lifestyle is that you don’t need much — a laptop with a moderate configuration is all you need.
Prior to Speechify, I was working in a semi-remote job in Germany. When I moved to Speechify, there were no restrictions and no physical office. I had the freedom to go wherever I wanted and I thought to make the most of this opportunity. I didn’t want to continue staying in Germany as I wanted to experience new places. And that’s how I ended up moving to Lisbon. I have rented an apartment here for four months and will figure it out as I go along in this journey. I am building my life as it goes and have no fixed plan, to be honest.
I love the freedom, obviously. It’s now that I have truly experienced what it means to meet new people, get into conversations and break barriers between cultures. I like exploring, so I just take my laptop and go around the city, maybe to a mall, a cafe and keep changing my locations.
I have also identified that managing productivity while being on the move is very important. When you’re living the nomad life, you don’t have a close or a fixed circle of people to rely upon holding you accountable. Your parents will not be there to tell you to study or work, nor close friends who are working hard and motivating you to do the same. It becomes a little difficult for us as social creatures to not have that consistency and always having a different set of people around you. But you cannot be slacking, so you have to have a very strong discipline. It might get lonely sometimes — maybe your roommate is going out but you can’t go with them as you have to complete your tasks. But in the end, you have to set boundaries. Sometimes, you have to say no to exciting magnetic pulls when you know it might mess with your work.
I think remote working is the future and it is only going to accelerate. I’m very fortunate and super excited that Speechify is at the forefront of this initiative, because very few companies trust their employees the way Speechify does. Before the pandemic hit, many companies would not allow work from home, even for a day. Those same companies were able to abruptly shift to a fully remote workplace, which proved that it was always possible — they just didn’t trust you with it. I think there’s no going back, as it simply makes more sense for different cultures, different people and different regions to work cohesively and be more productive.
Arjen Kerr Teves, Video & Motion Designer
I am a creative content producer with Speechify and I mainly focus on doing ads or creative videos with motion graphics.
A digital nomad is somebody who is able to do their work while being anywhere around the world. Basically, you are very flexible with your work life in combination with your personal life.
It has almost been a year since I joined Speechify and I planned to move to a digital nomad lifestyle since the day I joined. I have always wanted to see the world, and it has now become a possibility working with Speechify. I’ve been living in my hometown for 25 years. That’s a pretty long time. I have not been able to travel a lot — the only country that I’ve ever been outside the Philippines is Thailand. I really want to add more countries to the list and fill up my Visa card. It is an awesome and super exciting opportunity. I never thought I would get to work in such a workplace where I have the freedom to work from anywhere.
As I plan my move, I am trying to figure out which countries I want to visit, the things I need to have to successfully do this and the financial strategy to pull this off. I have been thinking about different avenues of investments such as property and cryptocurrency. Securing financial support for my parents while I am gone is a top priority for me. I also have to plan for all the requirements in terms of my visa as the Phillipines passport is not one of the strongest passports in the world, there are so many requirements around it especially in the western countries like the USA.
I would want to spend at least a year outside home to begin with. I’d start by traveling within my country first, handling my visa requirements for other countries simultaneously. This process would easily take around a year or so. Once I have that sorted, I would like to travel outside of my country for at least three to five years.
One of the things I am looking most forward to when I travel is food. India is on top of my list on that front. I love spicy food and I love the taste of Indian food; we get a lot of it around here, although most of the Indians in my country have told me it is nothing compared to what is back home. That is one thing I’d definitely want to try. Apart from the food, I’d want to visit the country for the scenery, get to know the people and maybe learn a little bit of the language too.
I don’t have a lot of experience to share as I am a beginner myself, but I know that it is super important to be fully prepared as it is very easy to feel overwhelmed, misguided or lost.
