RWL225: How a Life-Changing Trip Led to Founding Kodebusters and Remote Work Success w/ Gleb Gordeev

He's managed software projects with hundreds of people and complex stakeholder setups , from startups to large international corporations . Today he runs Codebusters , building awesome products for startups and enterprises from idea to launch in 30 days . His process includes discovery , prototyping , no-code development and go-to-market strategies .

He manages agency growth and a team of product managers , designers and developers . Gleb is also a huge advocate for the future of work and wealth . He's been working remotely from spectacular places for the last three years and he's a surf and fitness addict and personal growth enthusiast . Welcome Gleb .

I've been working in leading technology companies in Europe , both international corporations but also startups , so this is where I got the passion for technology .

And right now I'm based in Bali , Indonesia , and I'm running my own product development agency , which is called Codebusters , where me and my team we bring products like EVPs , startups , scale-ups , also internal apps and also business apps for enterprises , so we build them from idea to launch in four weeks , leveraging our product management experience , low-code , low-code

technology and also , of course , ai and automation . And my free time I love surfing , as I said , traveling , learning , exploring new things and , of course , listening to podcasts like this one , meeting inspiring people , and I'm really lucky to be surrounded by them . So , yeah , I'm all about living to the full potential .

So this is how I stepped into entrepreneurship , and this is also the reason why I'm running my company right now , together with two local founders to have the freedom of time , the freedom of space , and also to feel that I'm building something for myself .

I'm on the mission , and this understanding that I'm on the mission onto something big this is something which motivates me to work every single day , even though it's way harder work than to work in the company . Still , I've never been more fulfilled than now , work-wise , as I said , even though it's a lot of stress as a business owner .

But yeah , I believe we are doing amazing things . I am working with very talented people , we are empowering businesses and entrepreneurs to ship better products and , in the end , I think the whole market wins right , because the more better products we have , the better is the offer for end users . So this is why I truly enjoy to do what I do .

I went to the Spanish island of Lanzarote and this is where I met Digital Nomads for the first time , and I was there on two weeks vacation I think it even was like 10 days and I saw these people who live there the whole winter , enjoying the life , surfing , dealing the community , and ask them hey guys , but we're coming back , so we're not coming back , we

live here . It's like , wow , what about your boss ? Like yeah , whatever , maybe they don't know , maybe they know , but it doesn't matter , because we really enjoyed the lifestyle here .

And this was one of many aha moments for me , when I realized that I don't have to , that I can really enjoy my work life as well If I decide where to live and what to do after work . And once I started to prioritize what I'm actually doing after work , it really changed my life dramatically and this has also brought me where I am now .

There were many stories like that . There were many signs , like omens , which I've seen right , many influential discussions , many influential meetings , but this is something which maybe was the first one and the one which comes to my mind .

So the moment when I discover that it's actually possible to work from anywhere and to do whatever you want and enjoy your life outside of work , what are your aspirations for your career going forward ? My number one goal right now is to scale my business , so I'm building a lifestyle business .

It means that I don't really have a mission right now to change the world . I think I can do it later . At this point of my life , I want to build a cash flow machine that is going to support my life so I can be free , I can choose when to work , how to work and for how long . So this is my number one priority for now .

I'm still exploring some other ideas . Of course . They always come to me about launching different products . I'm also exploring opportunities here in Bali , but my business Codebusters is my main priority . I want explore opportunities here in Bali , but my business Codebusters is my main priority .

I want to scale it to the point which will cover way beyond my costs of living and give me the financial freedom . This is my main aspiration . It's 2024 .

The second aha moment was when I quit alcohol and , even though it's not related to business and career , the impact of this decision was dramatic in all aspects of my life .

It also freed up a lot of time for me to really deal with my demons , I would say , and really identify who am I , what I want in life , and there are many , many benefits health benefits , mental health benefits , but also career-wise . This was the moment when I had so much clarity , when I started to have so much clarity .

And I think the third dot is when I fully embraced and committed to this lifestyle which I have right now . When I permanently moved to Bali and when I opened my first company , I made a clear statement for myself and I made a clear statement for the world that this is my life right now and I'm going to walk my talk .

And I finally reached this integrity inside me because in the beginning I was always like , when I was working and building my career in product management corporate , I was always feeling that I don't belong here . And when I stepped to this path of difficult path of entrepreneurship , I was finally feeling like I'm home .

So yeah , these three dots and they're still coming and coming , but these three , I would say , were the most defining Figuring out that life is more than going to the office , removing all the necessary things , starting with alcohol . And third one , committing to this new life which I have .

But I was also very active in my ex-curricular activities when I was a student . I was organizing events , conferences , I was traveling a lot and also volunteering as a student , so I developed these communication skills and I learned a bit of project management from my volunteering experience .

And basically , when I just started my career , I think this role was a perfect match for my background and my personal skills and I'm really grateful because I started my career in Mercedes-Benz in Germany and my first boss she gave me a chance and I'm still grateful for that , because this is where I learned about product management , about agile software development

and , yeah , I didn't change since then . So , my first job after university I have the same job right now .

I changed many companies , many different roles , I wear many different hats , but this is how I came to this profession and right now I am slightly moving away from that because I'm focused on business growth , but still I'm product at heart and I think I will always be .

and bug fixing , I would say , and then , of course , I would say , and then of course I was also involved into planning of the features for this launch and basically very much involved into the teamwork . And perhaps when we delivered this project and when the project delivery was a success , maybe this was the aha moment that I just realized .

Frankly , I don't remember . I remember that I enjoyed it from day one and I really felt like this is a good match for me what advice can you offer to somebody who's looking to build their own location ?

independent career so I really I think it's very unlikely that you will build this location-dependent career in the place , which is location-dependent Because , even though I believe transformation happens from the inside , our outside environment matters a lot .

So if you want to become location-dependent , I recommend to go to the place where similar people hang out and just ask them how they did it , get inspired from them , and I guarantee that you'll have so many ideas which you're probably not going to have in the place where you're right now . You need to get out of the loop . You need to try something new .

You need to do something counterintuitive in order to break this pattern . I can recommend Portugal or Bali , mexico , colombia there are so many places where people go . Also , madeira is still in Portugal , canary Islands in Spain so these are where people go to work remotely and just be it .

Tell everyone that , tell yourself that this is my new life now , and I guarantee that all the things will align to make it happen what made you choose remote work as an option ? I think my answer will be kind of boring , but the ability to escape winter was my main motivation in the beginning .

I'm coming from a cold country , like in my hometown , I think , nine months out of 12 , it's very cold . And then I lived in Germany , in Berlin , which is famous for , like it's notorious for its winters , that it's always dark , and I think everyone from Northern Europe can relate to that .

And it's not only the weather , it's just activity of people also goes down dramatically in winter and I was never a big fan of that Like why should we be in hibernation for half of the year , right ? So this was my initial motivation to get out from the winter , enjoy the sun and enjoy the activities . It was way before I discovered surfing .

It was way before I discovered surfing . It was way before I discovered entrepreneurship . First motivation go to a warm place , avoid winter .

For some of us , this is time with family . For some of us , like me , for example , it's surfing and traveling , enjoying the active lifestyle . But we try to define our processes . We try to define our processes . We try to define the way we work inside the company from this point of view .

It means that every single person which we bring to the team has a lot of impact on everything we do , and it's incredibly important that we're all on the same page in terms of responsibility , in terms of communication , because it's also a remote company , therefore , we need to over-communicate and over-document things .

It means that we need to take responsibility for what we do . We need to be accountable , so there is no need for micromanagement and I would say this is the most important thing which I learned by doing some mistakes that cultural fit is number one rule , I think , for all the startups .

Therefore , I'm involved into hiring myself , because all the hard skills they can be taught , they can be learned . We have this expertise in the company . I have absolutely no worries about that . But how a person fits with our values , I think this is the most important , for this stage at least .

By no means I am a perfect manager , but I think what we're trying to do is to find the task which seems like a play and let person do this and back up and support with the rest of the tasks . So in this case , we're all enjoying it , having fun .

I would say it's better for 60-70% , of course , as a result of administrative work , and there is some operational work which just has to be done . But yeah , I think the more we scale , the more I would like to be focused on that .

They brought a lot of innovation into product development and most of the companies who build apps and modern software they get a bit of inspiration from Spotify model , maybe even without knowing this , but as a business owner , I also really admire the work culture in Amazon , where I was working as well .

So there are a lot of different opinions about Amazon as a company , but I see it from the point of view of a business owner how you can build an organization with almost 1 million employees and scale it so much based on a few simple principles . And again , I admire it .

I don't say that it's perfect , I don't say that everyone should do this , but as a founder , I have a huge inspiration for this , because it's a massive progress and the fact that they're still crushing it . The company is very , very valuable . I know it doesn't matter . In fact , it's based on the culture which we created there .

I'm scheduling time with my close friends here in Bali and , yeah , it's a beautiful life , full of opportunities .

Non-negotiable working hours for deep work and for meetings , because there are so many ways how you can get distracted . There are so many fun things you could do . Having this fixed few hours a day , which again are non-negotiable , will really help you to keep focus .

But what is also , having this fixed few hours a day , which again are non-negotiable , will really help you to keep focus . But what is also important is to listen to your body and sometimes we just cannot focus . You know , sometimes it's just difficult to proceed with the task . And if it happens to you , don't force yourself and let yourself relax .

Go to the spa , go to the beach , do some sports , like you know , ventilate your brain and then come back later or maybe next day .

And another important thing is that don't forget , while you're doing this , why you're doing this . Don't forget that you chose this lifestyle for the things which are happening outside of work and of course , work is super important .

But you are there in this remote location to enjoy life right , and sometimes you have to do compromises , sometimes you have to cut some corners because I don't think again . Sometimes you have no choice , including myself . But if you have a choice , don't work 12 hours a day during your trip , you know , because you're not there for this .

You're there to enjoy outside , to enjoy the community , to enjoy the people , to enjoy your hobbies . Don't forget about it .