- In business 9 years
- Funding modelBootstrapped
- Team size 10
KnowledgeOwl
KnowledgeOwl is a knowledge base software-as-a-service company with a mission to make life better for ourselves, our teammates, our customers, and our communities too.
KnowledgeOwl profile
Our software is KnowledgeOwl, and we help businesses build knowledge base websites.Â
How do you maintain flexibility & balance for your team?
We are a fully remote company and most of our owls work about 25 hours per week. Each team member is able to set their own schedule that overlaps with US business hours. No company meetings on Mondays or Fridays!
How do you ensure autonomy and plan for the future?
Our secret recipe for autonomy at KnowledgeOwl is about finding the right balance of autonomy and collaboration. Everyone is expected to manage their own time and prioritize their own work; we are all managers of one. We get to work on things that interest us, and have the freedom to shape our work days in times/chunks that allow us the most productivity and flexibility to live our lives. We take ownership of things we are passionate about and work collaboratively with other owls to produce the best things we can.
Everyone is invited and encouraged to participate in running the business, from our biweekly Braintrust meetings, where we come together to vote on and discuss issues from the team, to our annual and quarterly strategic planning meetings where we vote on and decide on what is most important to the business.
We are working toward transitioning to employee ownership as a 100% remote, global team.
Everyone is invited and encouraged to participate in running the business, from our biweekly Braintrust meetings, where we come together to vote on and discuss issues from the team, to our annual and quarterly strategic planning meetings where we vote on and decide on what is most important to the business.
We are working toward transitioning to employee ownership as a 100% remote, global team.
How does your company try to hire people from underrepresented groups and improve the diversity of your team?
We believe in supporting people, and building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive company is core to our mission and values. Our goal is to ensure that KnowledgeOwl maintains an inclusive environment where all people feel that they are equally respected and valued. We believe that our differences can create new ideas, offer unique perspectives and speak on behalf of all of our customers and consumers.
As part of our 2025 vision, we have been working on implementing a JEDI Council and we are in need of someone to champion this project. The vision is that the JEDI Council will to steward justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion at KnowledgeOwl. The team aims to create and implement systems and processes to respond to current social events as well as shifts in business and political landscapes. In the future, we hope they will not only advise our team but also facilitate internal workshops, conversations, and other learning opportunities.Â
We have taken steps to remove unconscious bias from our hiring process. One way we try to do this is through an application survey for the initial screen. We remove personally identifiable information such as name, location, and background from the initial screen. We also do not require degrees or resumes, hopefully casting a wider net and encourage people of all backgrounds to apply.Â
As part of our 2025 vision, we have been working on implementing a JEDI Council and we are in need of someone to champion this project. The vision is that the JEDI Council will to steward justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion at KnowledgeOwl. The team aims to create and implement systems and processes to respond to current social events as well as shifts in business and political landscapes. In the future, we hope they will not only advise our team but also facilitate internal workshops, conversations, and other learning opportunities.Â
We have taken steps to remove unconscious bias from our hiring process. One way we try to do this is through an application survey for the initial screen. We remove personally identifiable information such as name, location, and background from the initial screen. We also do not require degrees or resumes, hopefully casting a wider net and encourage people of all backgrounds to apply.Â
How do you support your team to grow and improve?
We match all new hires with a formal mentor owl to help them navigate their onboarding, set individual goals, and have a dedicated person with which to discuss ideas, conflicts, or concerns. Regular one-on-ones are available to those owls that want them.
We also aim to support our team in actively learning and teaching. We offer the following benefits to owls working 20 or more hours per week: 20% time for learning and professional development activities, a learning budget to support learning and professional development activities that team members wish to pursue, and speaker support for team members who are invited to speak to their peers about their area of expertise. Â
We also aim to support our team in actively learning and teaching. We offer the following benefits to owls working 20 or more hours per week: 20% time for learning and professional development activities, a learning budget to support learning and professional development activities that team members wish to pursue, and speaker support for team members who are invited to speak to their peers about their area of expertise. Â
