I was reading a blog post earlier from a moderately well known social media company. The post, whilst framed as educational, was almost entirely dedicated to pedaling their wares and establishing the founder as a thought leader. Editor’s note: this post is a bit ranty, and a departure from

Who knew hiring as a small, bootstrapped team was so tough. A few months ago, we began our search for a Customer Success Manager. It was an entry-level position. The short version is we wanted someone to take the heat out of the relatively low (but still distracting) volume of

Rejection is my biggest weakness. Whether it’s me saying no, or me on the receiving end, I’m just not good at it, at all. I can take criticism. I'm a pro at that, assuming the criticism is constructive and intended to better my work. But outright

When does a startup become a company? Is it a case of profitability? Team size? Revenue? It’s been on the front of my mind recently. Part of my job is to manage perceptions of HelpDocs as a brand, and I’m becoming more uncomfortable with the inferences that come

I have to admit something. HelpDocs is not the only software your support teams will ever need. And we have no plans to be. As a marketer, it feels a bit strange to write about our limitations. In any other company, my job would be to gloss over them. Normally,

When I first joined HelpDocs a few months ago, my experience with support docs, and enterprise knowledge base software was pretty limited. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been in marketing in some form for many many years. I’ve worked in big data and enterprise companies. I have

Around 18 months ago, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror, and it made me feel sick. A couple of years before, I'd quit a 14-year smoking habit, and had replaced the behaviour with endless snacking. 🍿🍰🍩🍪 I’d spent those years munching on crisps, chocolate, biscuits

When I took the leap to go freelance, one of my first roles was helping flesh out the blog of a branding agency. The company I was working with, Motto [https://wearemotto.com/], is a visionary agency who help their clients realise, embody, and communicate their purpose, vision, and values.

Regular readers and followers on Twitter [https://twitter.com/HelpDocs] might have already picked up on my love of balance. The Swedes have a word for this, Lagom, which roughly translates to something like “just enough”, or “moderation”. In practice, lagom is the pursuit of balance in all things. ⚖️ It’

Since working at HelpDocs the past few months, I’ve become a pro at explaining what remote work is and how it works. So much so, I’m thinking of adding it to my CV under “additional skills”.

I’m perched up against a cushion with my legs splayed out on a super soft grey sofa. On my desktop I have 5 terminal windows messily scattered around, two Atom code editors lying around, and a pull request yet to merge. A few years ago I wouldn’t have

As I write the bulk of this post, I'm sat at my desk, tucked in a nook in the dining room of the Grade II listed country cottage I rent with my partner. My 2-year-old cocker spaniel is sat in the window in the next room, observing the

When I began working remotely full-time in 2015, years of occasional freelancing had skewed my expectations. I'd become convinced life would be greener if I were only freed from the shackles of the office. I was right. Kind of. I've long had issues with the traditional

A couple of years ago, I first wrote [https://medium.com/@MattMadeThings/what-being-crap-at-carving-taught-me-about-perfection-8dfaeb6a28fa] about venturing into the splintery world of woodcraft. I had no idea it would turn into an ongoing obsession. I had even less of an idea that some two years later my now fiancée, Cat, would be