If I Could Go Back in Time, I'd Bring Nooks with Me

Mary Scotton, July 13th, 2020

If I could go back in time to March 2020 (you remember it, yes?), I’d bring Nooks with me.

It was a difficult time (to say the least) and as someone who’d worked remotely for 10 years, 3,000 miles from “HQ”, I thought I’d be prepared for the change. But we weren’t working from home. We were working from home during a crisis. Multiple crises. Not being together in person meant it was harder to connect and support each other, and people drifted apart.

A year later, I found what I’d been missing, thanks to Daniel Lee & his co-founders who spent their year inside, building Nooks. Today is the official product launch (check it out on TechCrunch!), but I’ve had the benefit of Nooks since mid-May when I joined the team as a Nookangelist (a Nooks Evangelist).

The Nooks team solved a problem I’d been having even before the pandemic: how to cultivate community at work when some or all of the team is remote. On a hybrid team, it was hard for me to be remote. No one dropped by my desk to catch up. There were no informal chats in the hallway before or after a meeting. No team birthday celebrations in the kitchen.

"The Nooks team solved a problem I’d been having even before the pandemic: how to cultivate community at work when some or all of the team is remote."

At Nooks, I’ve had the opportunity to experience a faster, more human way to work and I LOVE it.

Day 1 at Nooks, I was welcomed in the Standup Room (a virtual space that actually looks like a room) with virtual claps, thumbs-up emojis, and everyone’s smiling faces in little video “nooks”. Rohan kicked off the Icebreaker Activity (a built-in feature in Nooks)—I shared my newfound love for cycling and learned that Daniel rock climbs, Andrew loves Chipotle, and Rohan is a snowboarder.

"I went from feeling like the “new kid” to feeling like a part of the team."

After a week of daily standup icebreakers, informal drop-in conversations at my virtual desk, and hangouts in the game room, I went from feeling like the “new kid” to feeling like a part of the team — a team of people who lived across the country, already knew each other well, and who I’d never met in person! It was a breakthrough for me: an aha moment about teams, team culture, and how Nooks truly gives teams a place to feel like they're working under the same roof.

We can’t go back in time, but you can start reconnecting with your team today. Get access to Nooks for your team at Nooks.in

P.S. If you're interested in joining this team we are hiring!