Remote Work Life Podcast
At Remote Work Life, we spotlight successful location-independent entrepreneurs and established remote work professionals. Our interviews highlight their journeys and growth strategies, and their inspiring stories offer ideas for your entrepreneurial and professional ventures and reveal insights on thriving while working remotely.
Remote Work Life Podcast
RWL225: How a Life-Changing Trip Led to Founding Kodebusters and Remote Work Success w/ Gleb Gordeev
In a world where the traditional 9-to-5 job is increasingly being questioned, Gleb Gordeev stands out as an example of how remote work can lead to both professional success and personal fulfillment. In this enlightening podcast episode, Gleb shares his journey from working in Europe's top tech companies to founding Codebusters, a thriving product development agency.
The episode reveals his life-changing trip during the COVID-19 pandemic that led him to embrace a location-independent lifestyle, blending his passion for surfing, fitness, and personal growth with his entrepreneurial ambitions.
Gleb is an Entrepreneur, product expert and mentor, athlete, and aspiring surfer.
For the past 8 years, he has built products used daily by over 3 million people across 40+ countries. He has managed software projects with 300+ people and complex stakeholder setups, from startups to large international corporations.
Today he runs Kodebusters, 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.
He is also a huge advocate for the future of work and wealth. He has been working remotely from spectacular places for the last 3 years, and he is a surf and fitness addict and personal growth enthusiast.
Refer a Remote Work Expert As a Guest On The Show
Click here remoteworklife.io to subscribe to my free newsletter
Connect on LinkedIn
You're thinking about starting your own location independent business? Well, today's guest did just that. He's an entrepreneur, product expert and mentor, as well as being an athlete and aspiring surfer. His name is Gleb Gordeev and for the past eight years, he's built products used by millions of people across 40 plus countries plus countries. 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.
Gleb Gordeev:Hi Alex, my name is Gleb, I'm 31 and I'm an entrepreneur. I'm a fitness nerd, I'm a surfer, an athlete, I love traveling and, of course, I love digital nomad lifestyle as well. Originally, I'm coming from Russia and I've been living in Germany for almost nine years. This is where I built my career in product management. 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.
Alex Wilson-Campbell:And what made you choose to work at the company that you're at at the moment.
Gleb Gordeev:I've been employed by truly amazing companies and I had good salary, good working conditions and a good team, but I was always feeling that I want something else.
Gleb Gordeev: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.
Alex Wilson-Campbell:Describe a personal, notable story or experience that's influenced who you are today.
Gleb Gordeev:Oh, wow. I could really name a lot of them. I would say the one which comes to mind is that when I discovered remote work for the first time, it was in early 2021, during COVID. 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.
Gleb Gordeev: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?
Gleb Gordeev: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.
Alex Wilson-Campbell:As you look back on your life and connect the dots that led to where you are now. What are those dots?
Gleb Gordeev:I can identify three, I would say, from the recent story. So the first one is already mentioned when I discovered that I can be independent from location, where I found out that I can work, for I don't have to work from rainy, cold Berlin the whole winter and suffer from that. This was the first aha moment. 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.
Gleb Gordeev: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.
Alex Wilson-Campbell:What made?
Gleb Gordeev:you choose this particular profession. I chose to be a product manager because this role combines my unique advantages, I would say, and my unique background. I studied computer science and informatics university and I was always fascinated by technology and by how software can solve problems. 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.
Gleb Gordeev: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.
Alex Wilson-Campbell:And was there a particular aha moment for you which confirmed that you're in the right profession and in the right role?
Gleb Gordeev:I would say when I just joined the company and in my first weeks and maybe months in this new role, I I was a little bit lost, right, because there's so much uncertainty involved and they hired me for some specific project for a big launch of the product in a new country, and I remember my first assignment was to do a lot of QA, coordinate bug reporting 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?
Gleb Gordeev: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?
Gleb Gordeev: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.
Alex Wilson-Campbell:And how would you describe your current company's culture?
Gleb Gordeev:I would describe it as lifestyle. First, we are three co-founders and we founded this venture to enable us to live the life we want, and we prioritize this, first of all, to make sure that we're having fun, to make sure that this business makes us happier and, yeah, as I said, it can support the lifestyle which we choose. It's different for all of us. 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.
Alex Wilson-Campbell:What qualities and characteristics do your hiring managers look for when they're recruiting new hires?
Gleb Gordeev:Actually, the number one thing is the cultural fit. The company is very young. 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.
Alex Wilson-Campbell:What's your philosophy for building a great team?
Gleb Gordeev:I think the secret of a great team is to enable people to thrive in what they're curious about and what they're good at. We have different preferences and we like two different things, and, of course, work is not always about fun. But when you see your work as a game while other people see it as work, you have an incredible advantage. I'm still there. 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.
Alex Wilson-Campbell:Is there a particular team or organization whose culture you admire? If so, tell us about that.
Gleb Gordeev:I can only speak from my own experience. Right, because companies show you what they want us to see. But from point of view of product delivery and product management, I really admire Spotify. I have not worked there, but the way how they build products is very famous. 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.
Gleb Gordeev: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.
Alex Wilson-Campbell:What do you prefer to do when you're not working?
Gleb Gordeev:I love surfing, doing sports, enjoying nature, traveling, going out with my friends, having some nice dinner or just chill on the beach. I love reading, I do meditation. So I'm trying to schedule time, not trying to. I'm scheduling time for myself. I'm scheduling time with my close friends here in Bali and, yeah, it's a beautiful life, full of opportunities.
Alex Wilson-Campbell:What are your best tips for organizing your day and staying productive while working remotely?
Gleb Gordeev:It makes it even more challenging when you're a business owner or entrepreneur or solopreneur, I mean, when you work for yourself. I would say non-negotiable. You need to have a working place. So I'm going to a working person, but you can also equip it at home, where you live. 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.
Gleb Gordeev: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.
Gleb Gordeev: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.
Alex Wilson-Campbell:That's it for today's episode of the Remote Work Life podcast, but if you're a location-independ solopreneur, founder or leader and want to provide a case study for the remote work life podcast, get in touch with me via linkedin using the link below in the show notes.
