Our Founding Manifesto

Earlier this year, I formed a small team to tackle a large challenge: build technology to power High Alpha Venture Studio’s first virtual Sprint Week. 80 people… four diverse teams…starting four companies from scratch… in one week… all without physically being in the same place.

The Problem

The world has pushed for years to transition human interaction from direct to asynchronous. Email, chat, task management, and online document collaboration have all been developed with a goal of cutting distraction, improving organization, and minimizing the requirement of people talking directly to people.

2020 has taught us that, due largely to these advancements, remote work can increase individual productivity. However, we have also learned that when our interactions go virtual - when people move from atoms to bits - group collaboration becomes far more difficult. Creativity suffers; decisions slow down; personal connection becomes burdensome; and people burn out.‍

We did not set out to build a company of our own. We simply wanted to help an incredible group of people do better work ... one time. The results spoke for themselves. What started in March with a looming decision to cancel Sprint Week turned into the most successful and productive week in High Alpha's history.

Now, we are turning our focus to do the same for others.‍

Introducing Filo‍

Today we are incredibly excited to bring our work to the world and launch Filo.

Our mission is simple:

Help amazing people come together to create, learn, and solve problems.

‍

While this may sound generic at first glance, it becomes very meaningful when you break it down into its individual pieces.‍

• ‍People form the heart of all work, but in remote settings they become invisible and isolated. Filo makes people and their contributions visible again. 
• Good teams working together are far more than the sum of their parts. Filo increases direct human interaction rather than minimizing it. 
• Diverse teams with a common purpose can do amazing things. Filo provides a virtual space for teams to create, learn, and solve problems together.
• Finally, Filo is not just software, but a team of people passionate about supporting, working closely with, and learning from our customers. Together, we are here to help each other develop a better way of working.

We have all experienced the moment where a special team of people just click. Distractions die down and focus intensifies. Everyone pulls in the same direction. Productivity skyrockets. Psychologists often refer to this state as group flow.

Group flow is our Mecca. Group flow is our North Star. 

We believe diverse groups of people can accomplish amazing things.  They just shouldn't have to be in the same place for it to happen. 

I hope you join us for the ride.

‍

- Matt Compton
Co-founder & CEO