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 businesses: 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 learn:

• How to compete with well-funded competitors on a shoestring budget
• Proven tips for building culture in remote teams while leading from anywhere
• Strategies for scaling up your business while staying excited as a founder
• Balance running a successful business with a happy family and a good night's sleep

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.

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. She’s passionate about connecting people online or offline, bringing creativity to life and learning something new every day.