Why fewer meetings lead to better products with Steve Schoeffel (Whimsical)

Описание: What does craftsmanship look like in an async-first, remote company?

In this episode of Distributed, host Jack Hannah sits down with Steve Schoeffel, co-founder of Whimsical, to talk about async-first work, craftsmanship, and the tradeoffs of running a fully remote company. Steve shares how Whimsical creates momentum without constant meetings, why quality lives in the details, and how async-first work shapes both the product and the company culture.

Steve also reflects on the harder, more personal side of the work. He talks candidly about co-founder misalignment, the strain of leadership during periods of uncertainty, and what it’s been like to learn to hold work more loosely over time.

They also dig into the return-to-office push and why Steve remains convinced that remote work, done well, is worth fighting for.

Where to find Steve Schoeffel:
• LinkedIn:   / steveschoeffel  

Where to find Jack Hannah:
• LinkedIn:   / jack-hannah  
• Website: https://tuple.app/

Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(01:02) An overview of Whimsical
(02:02) The size of Whimsical’s team and how it operates across time zones
(03:08) What the Whimsical Way is and how it shows up in practice
(04:58) Why Whimsical is async-first and what that looks like in practice
(10:49) How Whimsical maintains energy and connection in async work
(13:59) Craftsmanship as a core value at Whimsical
(18:21) How Whimsical pursues “insanely great” work
(24:14) What’s been hardest about running a remote company
(28:24) How Steve realized he and his co-founder were misaligned
(32:08) How Steve is learning to detach from work and care for himself
(36:32) Why Steve remains pro–remote work amid big tech’s return-to-office push

Referenced:
• Whimsical: https://whimsical.com
• The Whimsical Way: https://whimsical.com/whimsical-way
• Kaspars Dancis on LinkedIn:   / kasparsd  
• How async work inspires craftsmanship: https://whimsical.com/blog/how-async-...
• Development cycles, process, and tooling: https://tuple.app/distributed/head-of...
• Craftsmanship, the heart of Whimsical: https://whimsical.com/blog/craftsmans...
• Frank Slootman on LinkedIn:   / frankslootman  
• Shapeup: https://basecamp.com/shapeup