Anders Pollas

A few words of thanks as a crazy week comes to an end. It doesn’t end here, this is just me being being grateful for what happened so far.

Big day for us at Podio this last Wednesday: The company I started with a couple of friends in a basement got acquired by Citrix. Which of course is a big deal. It’s a big deal because our baby is no longer ours and because it can now grow up to do what it was meant to do faster and with much bigger impact. Which is what you’d want for any baby.

So we’re in a very good mood these days as we join our new family. The (huge) Citrix family has already proven to be nice and enthusiastic and best of all: They share our vision on what work should look and feel like in the near future. We’ll continue to work out of Copenhagen and San Francisco and as I write this I have the pleasure of looking out over our team which has made all this possible in a very short time.

It’s been quite a ride and I’m proud and happy to see Podio impact thousands of businesses on a daily basis. I feel grateful that we managed to get all these people to join us and work hard on getting Podio out there. It takes guts and skill to execute on this scale at this pace and I’m happy to know people that can do that while being a friendly bunch at the same time. Here’s to people with guts:

Jon and I talk a lot. That’s how it all started. In the early morning, in the late evenings, in the middle of the night. Thanks for wanting to act on our work vision. Thanks to Andreas for joining what was basically an idea on day one, juggling thousands of tasks responsibly with a level of patience I have yet to see matched by anyone. To Thomas and Ulrik for believing and sharing ideas at the right time. Thanks to Kasper for joining the talking heads with a no bullshit-attitude that makes all the difference, always. To Tommy for trusting us and for working crazy hard with an amazing set of skill and energy. Thanks to Christian who had the guts to sign the contract while still in the basement, on a table built from plywood. He’s been running a tight ship with Phil and I continue to be amazed by the quality these guys put into everything. I could go on (I’ll spare you). The team has been growing quite a bit by people quitting good jobs around the world to come work with us, all adding their own energy and ideas, taking ownership of Podio and making it what it is. I’m working with world class developers and designers, I’m working with people who put their studies on hold to go full time on Podio, I’m working with a dedicated bunch of guys and girls that I’m proud to call my friends. Best thing: I’ll continue to do just that.

I makes all the difference: From sitting below the ground, looking at dogs taking a piss on your bike at eye level, struggling with the myriad of tasks a do-it-all-yourself business throws at you in those early days, to being surrounded by people doing their thing. The “hire people better than you” is totally true. Which of course is no surprise, really. I’ve been working with the product all along, touching pretty much everything. Now I work on the product with a team of very talented designers. It feels great. I have great memories of mopping the floor to Bronski Beat, monstrous spreadsheets, events, parties, learning every day at work, doing great releases. Ultimately, I’m passionate about the product. I’m thrilled to be able to take it to the next level with this team.

It happens in small increments but I went from coming into work being happy to be sitting with the boys, knowing that today we would again be working like crazy, putting product out there, accomplishing, learning, fighting with a smile on our faces … to be coming into a bigger office full of people I love, knowing that more corners of the business was covered. And that we could continue to raise the bar because everyone cared and believed. Having people around you that you trust and love makes me happy. Simple as that.

So thank you. To everyone that crossed Podio’s path so far and encouraged us to keep working, to the mother of my son that put up with more than you could expect from anyone and inspired me more than she knows, to friends and family for being there. And to the team that I’ll continue to work with. Thanks for believing.

And remember: You ain’t seen nothing yet.

Big day today. The company I built with some of the coolest people I know is now part of Citrix.

Read about it here: http://blog.podio.com/2012/04/11/podio-is-now-part-of-citrix/.

I’ll post a bit more later but right now I’ll just say this: I’m proud, excited to join what I truly believe is one of the greatest companies out there in this space and look forward to follow up on our vision with even more muscle. Jon Froda and I started out in a basement with Andreas Haugstrup and Kasper Hulthin and worked hard to grow into what were to become a much bigger team full of people I’m happy to call friends. Even on the toughest of days, I enjoyed going to work and I still do. Because of the people. Simple as that. Thanks.

Love the break, love the video. In the off-chance you never saw it, spend a little time getting to know the amen break.

The world’s most important 6-sec drum loop — YouTube.

22tracks: 22 playlists of different genres, 22 tracks per playlist, selected by DJs from Amsterdam and Brussels. Giving it a listen.

So, yesterday we released version 2 of our Podio iPhone app (our own blog post here). With the 1.x-version you could interact with the global stream, work from your inbox create and view tasks, search your contacts etc. Really nice when on the go. But yesterday we took the full Podio App experience to the mobile. Here’s why I think that was a big deal:

If you’re using Podio to work getting ‘more stuff’ available on the mobile is a good thing, right? More is better? Sure.

But there’s more to it than that. Every day tens of thousands of people interact with Podio apps. And not just any app; they’re apps that are built or modified to fit the team — by themselves. From simple ways of communicating around simple topics to very elaborate setups for specific workflows using a lot of custom wording, calculations, filters — different people on different stages interacting with items. Some consuming, some supervising, some providing feedback. Easy to set up, still fitting like a glove.

For these people it’s not about getting the full Podio experience on their mobile at all. It’s about getting their daily workflow onto the device. Some use it coming in to work to arrive prepared, up-to-date on what happened. Others need to be able to provide feedback to other’s work regularly, leaving comments or votes, to keep the ball rolling back at the office. And then there are some that will snap a picture from the field and post it with a few notes, triggering automatic tasks which triggers other activities inside and outside Podio. And a lot of other use cases. You get the point.

No matter your role or your preferred mobile use, you can set up Podio on the mobile to work just like you want it. Grab the apps that matter to you, set them up the way you want them, bingo: A nice icon to click for any of the business processes that matter to you while on the go. Apps built on Podio are powerful. Flexible. Having that structure automatically available in a mobile interface is useful. Not just data, but structure. It reflects how you work, what your processes are. And now you have all that in your pocket.

Notifications will direct you to anything incoming you should care about. Mix that with a few cherry-picked apps that let you stay on top of certain areas of your business and apps you want to create items in on the go and you’ll experience what it’s like to work structured and collaboratively no matter where you are.

I’m pretty excited about that…

It doesn’t take much to keep me happy: Coffee and something to record ideas.

The Mary Onettes — Lost by Labrador Records

Labrador Records. You can’t not like that name. [via kbirkenbach]

Recently got and mounted one of these. Recommended: It works, is easy to set up and use and leaves only a tiny little mount on the wall.

Plastic quality could be more convincing although it does do the job.

Wallee iPad Case | The Wallee.