Written by Toyin Oladiran-Matthew , Product Manager at Spurt!
Spurt! is a remote-first organisation. For the past four years, we’ve operated without a physical office, relying instead on our adaptability, structure, and commitment to growth. We work primarily with medium-sized businesses across Africa, offering consulting services and team, people, and business management tools. Our core value proposition is simple: we help businesses scale sustainably until they become giants.
Our workforce is 90% Gen Z, a demographic often associated with self-preservation, job mobility, and a preference for autonomy. Despite this, Spurt! has seen tremendous contributions from these young professionals. They are invested, and that has made all the difference.
This article outlines the structures and approaches Spurt! And the product Team has used to cultivate commitment in a fully remote environment.
Company-Level Practices
At the organisational level, Spurt! is designed around team ownership and accountability. Teams are assigned responsibilities with room to lead, and several systems are in place to ensure transparency and follow-through. These include:
Daily stand-up calls
Weekly team meetings
Task updates
OKRs and OKR reporting
Professional development has also been a key priority. Spurt! invested in a broad technology stack like AWS, Heroku, GCP, and Azure, to give employees hands-on experience with industry tools. Employees have also had access to learning platforms such as Coursera, Alison, Ahura AI, and an Udemy account, with regular seminars sponsored by the company.
Product Team Practices
On the product side, where I work, our team culture is structured to create ownership and foster commitment.
Collaborative Brainstorming
Our brainstorming sessions are lively, opinionated, and deeply collaborative. We welcome disagreement because it leads to better thinking. Every idea is heard, questioned perhaps, but never dismissed.
Alignment Across Roles
Engineers, designers, and product managers are aligned on the problems we aim to solve each quarter, how we intend to solve them, and whether those problems are even worth solving. This shared understanding forms the foundation of our roadmap, which is always open to iteration, but never handed down from the top.
Technology Freedom
Our engineers are empowered to choose the tools and technologies that will deliver effective solutions within tight timelines. We care about outcomes, not prescriptions.
By giving teams, the autonomy to lead, the systems to stay accountable, and the support to grow professionally, Spurt! has been able to foster genuine investment in a fully remote environment; especially from a demographic that isn’t traditionally known for long-term commitment.
