10 Must-Have Tools for Startup Founders Building Remote Teams

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Providing a startup already is not an easy task, and a remote team brings a twist to the equation. Entrepreneurs should have the proper arsenal of tools that can simplify communication, cooperation, project management, and group activity. 

Thankfully, in the digital realm, the presence of the appropriate tools makes establishing and expanding a distributed company a breeze, fast, and even economical. Alongside these tools, access to HR solutions for small companies can help founders manage recruitment, compliance, and employee engagement effectively. The following are the 10 tools that every startup founder ought to have in mind when dealing with a remote staff:

1. Slack – For Seamless Communication

Slack is a preferred choice for remote teams due to its real-time messaging, file sharing, and easy integration with numerous other apps. It does not matter whether you have a chat channel created depending on the project, or talk one-on-one, or automate through Slack bots, but in any case, this platform allows you to stay productive without being overwhelmed with emails.

2. Zoom – For Video Conferencing and Meetings

An in-person get-together is essential to the integrative functioning of the team, and this is when you are working with a time-zone difference. Live conferencing, screen sharing, and recording functions can be done on Zoom with high quality. It is great to cover matters during daily standups, team updates, and client calls, even during virtual team-building events.

3. Trello – For Visual Project Management

Trello is a simple tool that accomplishes task organization with the help of boards, lists, and cards. It is easy to monitor the development of the projects, to distribute the roles, and to fix deadlines with its drag-and-drop interface. In the case of remote teams, Trello makes it easier to have transparency and accountability in every task or project.

4. Notion – All-in-One Workspace

Notion is a sleek, integrated notes platform that does document sharing, wikis, and tasks. Many remote startups resort to it to generate internal documentation, onboarding resources, SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), and even company manuals. It helps keep everyone in line without the use of several tools.

5. Asana – For Advanced Task and Workflow Management

Asana is a good alternative to Trello teams that require more detailed project planning than what Trello can provide. It gives the team leads the possibility of monitoring progress on several projects, delegating duties, generating automatic tasks, and even summarizing dates through Gantt charts. Asana helps to keep complicated remote teams on track and schedule.

Connor Woods, Senior Market Analyst at Atmos Funded, said:

At Atmos Funded, we use Asana for managing complex workflows and tasks across our remote teams. By leveraging its Gantt charts and task automation, we’ve seen a 30% increase in project efficiency. Asana’s ability to break down large projects into manageable tasks while maintaining visibility and accountability has been invaluable in ensuring that our teams stay on track and meet deadlines, even when working across different time zones.

6. Loom – For Quick Video Updates

Loom allows you to record video messages with a screen, webcam, or both. They will not have to set endless calls, and team members can just record concise videos to make updates, walk-throughs, or tutorials. It saves time, which is crucial to overcoming the communication barrier between various time zones.

7. GitHub – For Remote Software Development Teams

When developing a tech product, you cannot do without GitHub. It is a code collaboration and version control platform. Developers are able to work on different branches, make pull through, and read code in all locations. GitHub is easily integrated with other programs, such as Slack or project management software such as Jira or Trello.

8. Gusto – For Payroll and HR Management

Payroll, benefits, and compliance may prove a tricky affair as you continue to work with a remote workforce, particularly in cases where your workforce is geographically dispersed across states or even nations. Gusto makes this process easy and convenient, providing solutions such as full-service payroll, benefits management, new-hire onboarding, and HR tools. 

The advantage of it is that it clarifies the payroll pricing, and with the needed clarity, startups can make their financial decisions without extra cost or unforeseen charges to be paid. It is the best fit for founders who have the intent of smoothing the process of managing their employees, but they do not want to invest in an in-house HR department.

9. Time Doctor – For Time Tracking and Productivity Insights

Remote employment needs to be trustworthy, yet the activity management software like Time Doctor could make sure that all is accomplished in order. It tracks the hours of a worker, the use of the site and the application, and even regular screenshots (in the case of the setting). It can be used by founders to determine the direction of productivity and how time is used.

10. Canva – For Quick Design and Branding Needs

Canva is an excellent design tool that is easy to use but also more than sufficient to facilitate the tasks of the startup founders who require quality visuals but cannot afford a full-time designer. Having a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface, a huge template gallery, and simple customization tools, it is a perfect solution to creating anything: a pitch deck, a social media post, a marketing brochure, or a team introduction. You may also work with the team members in real-time and ensure brand-wide consistency with the help of brand kits, and also export designs in different formats.

Final Thoughts

Creating a remote team does not need to be hectic. Using the appropriate combination of tools, founders of start-ups will be able to develop a very productive, active, and operational virtual office environment. The secret is in identifying tools that match your business objectives and using them most inclusively in order to benefit the workflow of your team and not complicate it. 

These 10 tools for startup founders can help build remote teams, run daily standups, track tasks, and even payroll, so they can be considered a one-stop shop in the world of startup needs. Accept them in the initial stages, and you will make up your remote team to attain goodness in the long run.