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Leaving the Base Camp: The journey of a bootstrapping startup that left its comfort zone and grew by hiring a global remote team, nurturing a diverse culture, and driving global growth with no budget
Leaving the Base Camp reveals the unconventional growth and management strategies Ilma Tiki used to bootstrap MailerLite from a small Lithuanian startup business to a $90+ million exit, building a globally-distributed remote team along the way.
Ilma’s story proves that you don’t need to move to Silicon Valley, raise funds, and risk it all to grow a startup. Alternative paths aren’t just for lifestyle you can use them to grow wildly successful companies with millions of users.
The entertaining tale is full of practical advice from Ilma’s 10-year-plus journey. You’ll discover the strategies that helped her scale the company while pioneering an asynchronous and productive remote work culture loved by team members in over 35 countries.
Read the book to The stories in Leaving the Base Camp are the exact strategies that enabled MailerLite to overcome hurdles such as a lack of venture capital, a home base outside the major tech hubs, and a desire to balance growth with lifestyle. They will resonate with founders and leaders looking to scale in unconventional ways, whether you’re just getting started or building toward your IPO. You’ll find the tips and stories especially helpful if This startup business book is essential reading if you’re interested in alternative ways to build a valuable company while creating a company culture where people love their jobs. Ilma Tiki co-founded MailerLite, MailerSend, and MailerCheck, email marketing tools used by over 1 million businesses. She also founded The Remote Company, which is behind tools MyZenTeam, Ycode, and Partnero. Ilma is an explorer, partner, mom, daughter, entrepreneur, friend and team member. She’s passionate about connecting people online or offline, bringing creativity to life and learning something new every day. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It is the kind of book which I like reading a lot. It is short. Specific. Insightful. No bullshitting. Each chapter goes straight to the point. The book is based on the author’s own experience, not just theories she read about. You can not only read but feel in the air the lessons learnt. Marius Ciuzelis
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One of the greatest books I’ve read about marketing and creating an organizational culture. If you are a Founder or C-level executive it will be a pleasure for you to read this book. It’s very short and insightful and full of interesting stories and case studies from the Mailerlite journey. Michał Korba ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It's the book that stimulates the creative mind and sparks ideas that are easily applicable both in business and in life! The book reflects on the key moments that shaped MailerLite's remote work culture. It is full of examples of how different team members around the globe embraced or contributed to the success and the culture we have today - the culture that is full of life and joy. The book is definitely worth reading for anyone willing to create an extraordinary remote work culture! Indrė Sizovaitė, Marketing Manager
Ilma’s story proves that you don’t need to move to Silicon Valley, raise funds, and risk it all to grow a startup. Alternative paths aren’t just for lifestyle you can use them to grow wildly successful companies with millions of users.
The entertaining tale is full of practical advice from Ilma’s 10-year-plus journey. You’ll discover the strategies that helped her scale the company while pioneering an asynchronous and productive remote work culture loved by team members in over 35 countries.
Read the book to The stories in Leaving the Base Camp are the exact strategies that enabled MailerLite to overcome hurdles such as a lack of venture capital, a home base outside the major tech hubs, and a desire to balance growth with lifestyle. They will resonate with founders and leaders looking to scale in unconventional ways, whether you’re just getting started or building toward your IPO. You’ll find the tips and stories especially helpful if This startup business book is essential reading if you’re interested in alternative ways to build a valuable company while creating a company culture where people love their jobs. Ilma Tiki co-founded MailerLite, MailerSend, and MailerCheck, email marketing tools used by over 1 million businesses. She also founded The Remote Company, which is behind tools MyZenTeam, Ycode, and Partnero. Ilma is an explorer, partner, mom, daughter, entrepreneur, friend and team member. She’s passionate about connecting people online or offline, bringing creativity to life and learning something new every day. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It is the kind of book which I like reading a lot. It is short. Specific. Insightful. No bullshitting. Each chapter goes straight to the point. The book is based on the author’s own experience, not just theories she read about. You can not only read but feel in the air the lessons learnt. Marius Ciuzelis
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One of the greatest books I’ve read about marketing and creating an organizational culture. If you are a Founder or C-level executive it will be a pleasure for you to read this book. It’s very short and insightful and full of interesting stories and case studies from the Mailerlite journey. Michał Korba ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It's the book that stimulates the creative mind and sparks ideas that are easily applicable both in business and in life! The book reflects on the key moments that shaped MailerLite's remote work culture. It is full of examples of how different team members around the globe embraced or contributed to the success and the culture we have today - the culture that is full of life and joy. The book is definitely worth reading for anyone willing to create an extraordinary remote work culture! Indrė Sizovaitė, Marketing Manager
132 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 18, 2023
11 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
September 9, 2022
I normally find this type of management-focused book to be repetitive and self-indulgent, but somehow Leaving The Base Camp avoids those tropes. It is the perfect length (can be read in one sitting) and chock full of insightful, to-the-point knowledge on how to best manage not only a remote team, but a team that is inspired to really invest themselves in the wellbeing of the company. In an age where more and more companies talk about how they are people-focused, and yet we are seeing articles in the NyTimes about employees "soft quitting" left and right, the company that Ilma has built feels like a surprisingly humble and honest one that actually does care about its people and reaps the rewards accordingly. She clearly knows her stuff. This is one of those rare leadership books that will avoid the donation box and take a permanent place on my bookshelf.
September 9, 2022
It's the book that stimulates the creative mind and sparks ideas that are easily applicable both in business and in life!
The book reflects key moments that shaped MailerLite's remote work culture. It is full of examples of how different team members around the globe were embracing or contributing to the success and the culture we have today - the culture that is full of life and joy.
It was a pleasure to read the book and relive those moments again. It's been already more than 5 years as I'm part of the MailerLite's journey and it still keeps me energized, motivated, and happy. Looking forward to the new chapters that will be written by the amazing leaders and the team.
The book is definitely worth reading for anyone willing to create an extraordinary remote work culture!
The book reflects key moments that shaped MailerLite's remote work culture. It is full of examples of how different team members around the globe were embracing or contributing to the success and the culture we have today - the culture that is full of life and joy.
It was a pleasure to read the book and relive those moments again. It's been already more than 5 years as I'm part of the MailerLite's journey and it still keeps me energized, motivated, and happy. Looking forward to the new chapters that will be written by the amazing leaders and the team.
The book is definitely worth reading for anyone willing to create an extraordinary remote work culture!
July 30, 2022
One of the greatest book I’ve read about doing marketing and creating a culture in organization. If you are a Founder or C-level for sure it will be a pleasure for you to read this book. Very short and insightfull and full of interesting stories and cases from Mailerlite journey
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August 15, 2022Plants a lot of seeds in your head. A seed to love your team better. To build creativity as a skill. To dream and plan big(ger). To not take clear communications for granted. To be a multilayered business owner.
Short and crispy writing style, just like I love it.
Seemingly such simple ideas on how to build a team and a business better, you start to actually believe it is that simple :)
“Creativity is about connecting things”. This book helps connect quite a few of them.
...and I went to the gallery after finishing it ;))
Short and crispy writing style, just like I love it.
Seemingly such simple ideas on how to build a team and a business better, you start to actually believe it is that simple :)
“Creativity is about connecting things”. This book helps connect quite a few of them.
...and I went to the gallery after finishing it ;))
December 19, 2024
The last quarter of the book is worth the rest. While some tips and discoveries in the beginning are, well, quite boring, the book concludes with excellent examples and actionable advice for remote business and team leadership.
Ilma writes in a straightforward manner, making her ideas easy to understand. What I personally appreciate the most is that 95% of the book (if not more) is based on personal experiences, which is super cool!
4/5 – a great book for leaders and team members alike to evaluate and improve their team's performance.
Ilma writes in a straightforward manner, making her ideas easy to understand. What I personally appreciate the most is that 95% of the book (if not more) is based on personal experiences, which is super cool!
4/5 – a great book for leaders and team members alike to evaluate and improve their team's performance.
July 3, 2022
It is kind of a book which I like reading a lot. It is short. Specific. Insightful. No bullshitting. Each chapter goes straight to the point. Based on own experience not just somewhere read theory. You can not only read but feel in the air the lessons learnt.
However, it's more about company's "ups" rather than "downs" and I missed those "downs" a lot as they leave their own mark in growth story and road to success. What went wrong, which idea(s) was not so effective, what required a dramatic shifts in the internal/external communication, whatever processes, people management etc - may be even more beneficial to familiarise with at least for two reasons: (1) we normally try to learn from "their" mistakes rather than "own" and (2) we all know trying to blindly copy success of others might just lead to a faster collapse.
Personally I'm not a fan of remote work or, after reading this book, have to say WAS not a fan as it clearly demonstrates how effective it might be. I took some hints / ideas on communication and employee engagement and will definitely try to test and/or implement those in our organisation.
The book is written as an internal manual for ever growing number of colleagues who all time-by-time need to re-calibrate, re-align or just re-fresh on company values, communication style or project management. And it's worth taking the notes for any outsider as well.
However, it's more about company's "ups" rather than "downs" and I missed those "downs" a lot as they leave their own mark in growth story and road to success. What went wrong, which idea(s) was not so effective, what required a dramatic shifts in the internal/external communication, whatever processes, people management etc - may be even more beneficial to familiarise with at least for two reasons: (1) we normally try to learn from "their" mistakes rather than "own" and (2) we all know trying to blindly copy success of others might just lead to a faster collapse.
Personally I'm not a fan of remote work or, after reading this book, have to say WAS not a fan as it clearly demonstrates how effective it might be. I took some hints / ideas on communication and employee engagement and will definitely try to test and/or implement those in our organisation.
The book is written as an internal manual for ever growing number of colleagues who all time-by-time need to re-calibrate, re-align or just re-fresh on company values, communication style or project management. And it's worth taking the notes for any outsider as well.
September 14, 2022
This is the first book I read in more than a year (I have a hard time concentrating when reading). However, I enjoyed it a lot and it was easy to feel involved. A small reason for it could be the fact I had an opportunity to be part of MailerLite for almost 5 years now.
It was motivating to read stories, bets, tests, fails and successes that shaped MailerLite and led it to where it's right now.
The book is about a personal journey but it's also much more - it connects multiple people's journeys (as Ilma writes - building a business is a personal journey never taken alone). Because of that, I think there are many actionable takeaways, exercises and inspirations that can be used by any business that is willing to grow and build a strong culture.
My favorite one and the one that builds a very big part of the foundation is not being afraid to be unique. Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon are all super successful but the companies also had "personal" journeys of very different people. What works for one, may never work for another one.
It was motivating to read stories, bets, tests, fails and successes that shaped MailerLite and led it to where it's right now.
The book is about a personal journey but it's also much more - it connects multiple people's journeys (as Ilma writes - building a business is a personal journey never taken alone). Because of that, I think there are many actionable takeaways, exercises and inspirations that can be used by any business that is willing to grow and build a strong culture.
My favorite one and the one that builds a very big part of the foundation is not being afraid to be unique. Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon are all super successful but the companies also had "personal" journeys of very different people. What works for one, may never work for another one.
September 11, 2022
If you run a business (probably one of your own), this can be inspirational reading for you next weekend.
At some point in my life, "One minute manager" and "Who moved my cheese" were the books that were this short yet so insightful, as this one right now. Again, the key takeaways from the book are also simple, yet the way it's described in the book, it is rare - you actually can find out how exactly some of the things were done.
So here are a few:
🔵 A reversed marketing funnel - empowering your customers to bring more customers.
🔵 Fully remote culture is possible! You have to be super clear about it, and super intentional with all the steps you take in your team, but it is possible.
🔵 The conversations that we have about values, can really form the future of the organization. So - culture and values matter, and if you really use them, they can lead to multi-million business growth (just like MailerLite with 94 mil. EUR exit).
At some point in my life, "One minute manager" and "Who moved my cheese" were the books that were this short yet so insightful, as this one right now. Again, the key takeaways from the book are also simple, yet the way it's described in the book, it is rare - you actually can find out how exactly some of the things were done.
So here are a few:
🔵 A reversed marketing funnel - empowering your customers to bring more customers.
🔵 Fully remote culture is possible! You have to be super clear about it, and super intentional with all the steps you take in your team, but it is possible.
🔵 The conversations that we have about values, can really form the future of the organization. So - culture and values matter, and if you really use them, they can lead to multi-million business growth (just like MailerLite with 94 mil. EUR exit).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 18, 2023
I read this book a while back, but it's the kind that sticks with you and leaves some marks and quotes in your brain. A book is written in simple language, it's easy to read and follow and before I dive into it again (because it truly deserves a re-read), what I remembered and what stands out is that it's not just a business guide. Beyond teaching us how to forge strong business ties, it delves into the heart of a family, emphasizing how we should interact and bond closely with our loved ones. Both eye-opening and heartwarming, it's a recommended read for anyone eager to deepen both their work and family relationships.
October 20, 2023
"Leaving the Base Camp" is an honest look into an entrepreneur's journey through unconventional growth, and a testament to why fostering a company culture that genuinely cares about its people pays off.
I appreciate the book's no-nonsense approach. It's a compact, insightful guide based on the author's real-life experiences, not just theoretical musings. Each chapter gets straight to the point, leaving readers with practical lessons.
This book is a must-read for anyone seeking to achieve entrepreneurial success while maintaining a thriving, remote, and people-focused culture.
I appreciate the book's no-nonsense approach. It's a compact, insightful guide based on the author's real-life experiences, not just theoretical musings. Each chapter gets straight to the point, leaving readers with practical lessons.
This book is a must-read for anyone seeking to achieve entrepreneurial success while maintaining a thriving, remote, and people-focused culture.
October 25, 2023
What I loved about the book (and many will too I'm sure) is that it's more than a story of how one small business made it. Through all the chapters you get insights into how global teams can work together efficiently, how a remote work fuels that while also allowing employees to maintain a great work-life balance. And of course, regardless if you're reading it as a marketer, HR rep, CEO, small business leader or someone who aspires to be one of these, you get more out of the book than you initially hoped to. That's just one of the reasons why 'Leaving the Base Camp' is a must read.
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October 18, 2023This book is full of very practical examples of how small start-up embraced their origins and turned them to their advantage to create global company by continuously reinventing themselves and questioning the "normal" way of doing things.
If you need inspiration or practical ideas on how to shift, change, and evolve as a person and as a business - this book is for you.
If you need inspiration or practical ideas on how to shift, change, and evolve as a person and as a business - this book is for you.
October 19, 2023
Wow, this book is absolutely incredible! I cannot express enough how much I love it! I highly recommend it to everyone! Today, as I embark on my own journey to pursue my dreams, I realize that reading this amazing book was a true Eureka moment for me. I am so grateful to Ilma Tiki for sharing her honesty and authenticity in a world that is in desperate need of it. Thank you so much! 🫶🏼
October 25, 2023
Must read for entrepreneurs and leaders!
"Leaving the Base Camp" is an insightful read. Ilma’s real experience and practical advice make it a valuable resource for entrepreneurs and business leaders. Her authenticity resonates, offering actionable lessons for those looking to build successful companies and nurturing a positive workplace culture. Highly recommended!
"Leaving the Base Camp" is an insightful read. Ilma’s real experience and practical advice make it a valuable resource for entrepreneurs and business leaders. Her authenticity resonates, offering actionable lessons for those looking to build successful companies and nurturing a positive workplace culture. Highly recommended!
December 13, 2023
Una de esas joyas escondidas a plena vista; es digerible, lleno de buenos recursos para la gestión de equipos, al mismo tiempo que entrega acercamientos sobre cómo la autogestión y el reconocimiento de la individualidad dentro de la colectividad ayuda e impacta cada parte de la vida de un ser humano en el siglo XXI.
October 21, 2023
Enjoyed reading this business story about the search for unconventional decisions in growing the startup. It's an amazing journey of the founders who followed their passion, intuition, and healthy judgment when meeting new challenges.
October 25, 2023
A good insight on running a worldwide business
The book talks about some great and real-world proven ideas and experiences on how to create a business. Ilma is an inspiration to me, and im glad ive read the book!
The book talks about some great and real-world proven ideas and experiences on how to create a business. Ilma is an inspiration to me, and im glad ive read the book!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews