For the past five years I’ve traveled frequently for work, managed remote teams and worked with clients in different countries. I’ve become a huge proponent of remote work and the possibility of building strong teams online by placing importance of a few strategic areas.

Over the past six years I’ve had the opportunity to visit and learn about startup ecosystems in cities around the world. While it’s obvious that Silicon Valley and New York are leading hubs, I’m personally interested in how less mature tech communities create entrepreneurial environments to support business growth.

I've been fascinated by the future of work since joining General Assembly back in 2011. Although I'm not a fan of the term 'digital nomad', I do believe in offering employees the option of working remotely and have been doing so myself for the past year and a half. Below are a few companies who I think are doing particularly compelling work towards pushing the boundaries on how we live and work today. 

Over the past few years I've had the opportunity to discuss expansion strategies with many global companies and there’s a consistent theme throughout most of those conversations: the power of local. Although every company will have tried and true marketing tactics to use in each new city, every market is different and taking a highly localized approach to expansion is crucial.