Q&A with Remis: On growing, learning and loving his job (for 5 years!)

Meet Remis

• Currently lives in Vilnius, Lithuania

• Originally from Varena, Lithuania

• I'm a Customer Support Lead

• I started at The Remote Company in May 2016

• Why I love my job: I can talk about this for hours! My friends even think I’m being paid to spread this type of positivity after being with the company for so many years. And yes, they're absolutely right—I’m paid well! Not with money but the rewarding feeling that I'm an important part of this amazing journey we're on.

We’ve got lots to discuss! Let’s start at the beginning. Before The Remote Company, you worked for a bank. What made you decide to change careers?

For many years, I believed the stereotype that being successful means working in a bank or another big organization. This often means following numerous corporate rules and doing things that do not necessarily fit your personality or qualities. Though I improved many skills and learned from the best, my purpose was missing.

After many years, I felt mentally exhausted and decided to have an honest discussion with myself (which is not easy!). I realized that purpose first comes when you're in a job that you love regardless of the job title.

I started looking at relatively small but growing tech companies. These teams tend to be really passionate about creating something BIG and they're on a mission to change the world.

I instantly fell in love with The Remote Company's products, philosophy and company values.

You’re celebrating your 5-year work anniversary! You’ve seen our company grow from 20 to a team of 130+ employees. How was that?

To be honest, at the very beginning I had mixed feelings. I transitioned from a corporate background to a "family" type of business where everyone's friends. Our team had 20-30 people, we had a number of workations (Lithuania, Morocco, Panama and the Azores (pictured below), to name a few) and bonded greatly together. I loved this new environment!

Then our team rapidly grew from 50, 80 to 100+ people. That first felt scary but as more colleagues joined, my fears started disappearing. We didn't turn corporate but managed to keep that same family vibe and our "Lite" (from MailerLite) philosophy.

Moreover, our geography expanded, bringing in so many more cultures and traditions. Surprisingly, I feel the same as before—like I've known all the new team members for ages. This is because of our Remote Company spirit, it attracts people with the same values and job passion.

The Confucius quote: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life” became a reality five years ago, and I'm looking forward to many years to come!

Nowadays, not many people stay longer than a few years at a company. What keeps you excited and motivated?

My everyday effort makes a change and I can see this in so many ways: The number of happy customers, our passionate email marketing community, our motivated team and the inspiring work environment.

I love taking care of customers and I have many ideas on how to improve our performance. I have absolute freedom and trust to implement everything. I can, and do, travel the world while enjoying my work. That’s absolutely amazing!

The Remote Company is all about collecting memories together, not things. We're ambitious and on an important mission to create amazing products for millions of users around the world. I'm blessed and privileged to be a part of this exciting journey.

You got promoted to Customer Support Lead at the beginning of 2020. How did you prepare for this role? What are some learnings?

I'm passionate about my work, extremely curious and have been absorbing all this information and knowledge about MailerLite and email marketing throughout the years.

When you do your job with passion and love, the results are just a matter of time (and I do not necessarily mean a certain role). I felt very happy and honored to be recognized by the management and take over to lead our amazing team, but the most satisfying part remains our happy customers. We aim to provide the best 24/7 customer service, as our company's success is directly linked to the success of our customers.

I’ve learned so much from my team in this role (and still do!). There’s always a challenge waiting, and I have to be open and accept it. I want to give my best to learn and explore new topics and skills.

Just like Remis, many of us feel passionate about working at The Remote Company. If you are too, we’d love for you to take a look at our current job openings!

You’re really engaged with the entire company. For example, you regularly give colleagues shoutouts on social media. How do you manage to connect and maintain relationships with so many people?

We have company values and they're not just declarative ones. They say “We focus on people” and “We treat people right”.

To live by these values, I make it a point to celebrate the personal victories of my colleagues (especially in the support team). This applies to big celebrations and smaller ones, like a minor product improvement or a higher customer satisfaction rate. If it's something that makes a difference, I feel super proud. I want to share these achievements with the world to motivate people to strive for more.

I have professionally developed myself because The Remote Company offers such a welcoming and inspiring environment, and now it's my turn to maintain this continuity.

My advice would be to treat others the way you would like to be treated. Be present and do not multitask when it comes to relationships.

Thanks for reading my thoughts!