Why at DQventures we believe in remote work

Our family office investor recently confided in me that he was surprised DQ was thriving. In fact, he was impressed we’re still operating at all.

When the family invested, right at the beginning, all three founders lived in Singapore.

But it was the middle of COVID and, for different reasons, within a matter of months, we’d all left.

Arjun moved to Delhi. Oliver moved to Sydney. I moved to Stockholm.

Our investor believed this was the beginning of the end.

But it hasn’t been the case. Quite the opposite.

• Our portfolio has grown to 19 ventures, worth more than $18m.
• The core team has expanded from 3 to 5.
• We work with founders on 4 different continents.
• Everything we do is 100% remote.

We did what was right for us and our families, but it turned out to be the right thing for the business too. Happier founders, happier team mates, happier investors.

If Arjun, Ol and I had remained in Singapore, we’d almost certainly have hired people there too. Leanne and Darius would be working on something else.

I can see no scenario where this would be a good thing.

The learnings for me are that, by hiring from a global talent pool and not a local one, you have a much better chance of recruiting superstars; and that, if you have clear objectives and trust your team, your people can live and work anywhere with a decent internet connection.

Give your people the freedom to work their own way; let them live where they want; and invest the money you save on offices to create true alignment and team spirit, and your team will be:

Higher calibre. More productive. More proactive. More loyal.

Agree?