Our Developer Handbook

Our Mission, Vision and Values

Mission

A successful Swedish entrepreneur called JetBridge, “A small dot in the big gap between Western engineers and offshore developers.” We’re here to disrupt software outsourcing through a Silicon Valley framework for creating superstars.

Vision

At JetBridge, we see a future where “offshore labor” is 1x as effective as in Silicon Valley. Nobody has done this at scale effectively yet.

We want to be the first.

That means we will fail many times, learn many things and occasionally succeed.

We will build a very different type of software services company owned by an international Core Team instead of a local oligarch or single owner.

Values

JetBridge exists to serve its employees first, its customers second, then our shareholders. This hierarchy dictates our important decisions.

Our Core Ethics

“Reputation is more important than money.”

Too many potentially great careers have been sacrificed for the belief that the world is so big that money or convenience is more important than reputation. Time always proves them wrong.

We Treat Everyone As Equals:

One of the reasons we created the concept of JetBridge is that as minorities ourselves, we got sick of watching Western companies treat offshore talent like “Cheap Offshore Labor” they can hire from a sweatshop or labor marketplace.

We treat all international developers like one Silicon Valley company with:

1. Competitive Base Salary plus bonuses.
2. 100% 401k match (yes, we offer 401k retirement plans even if you’re not American).
3. Health Insurance Benefits.
4. Opportunities for startup angel investments (using company profits, not your own money)(we have invested in 2 unicorns thus far and plan many more).
5. Free accounting and legal services for tax optimization or relocation to another country.
6. Trips, dinners, parties and events with VIPs from Silicon Valley.
7. Equity ownership in the company if promoted to Core Team Member (eligible to any gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, etc).

Indicator Flags (How We Know How You Will Perform In Your Career)

Green Flags (some indicators of future superstars)

• Shows up to interviews and meetings obviously having done their own research (into people, project, company, industry, blogs, etc).
• Asks granular, tough questions.
• Answers questions with data, not history lessons or meandering stories full of mumbles.
• Is available (not necessarily working) on weekends when needed by the team or client by responding quickly.
• Consistently suggest ideas (even bad ones with the understanding that eventually, one of them will be great).
• Shows up on time.
• Complains but follows up with an idea on how to fix it.
Takes notes.
• Asks CXOs at JetBridge about books to read.
• Suggest team events like special dinners, happy hours or offsite experiences for the team.
• Consistently asks others, “Need help with anything?”
• Occasionally asks, “How can I get better?”
• Builds friendships with other JetBridge crew.
• Understands you don’t have to ask to take responsibility - it’s called being Proactive.
• Willing to learn new technologies.
• Shares knowledge with the team - proactively without being asked.
• Has his or her own pet project, or tried building a product before.
• Acts as a part of the local dev community (speaker or frequent participant of local meetups).
• Works hard and does not think laziness is a smart lifestyle choice.
• Diligent, granular, thinks about new experiments for our clients or for the team.

Red Flags (some indicators of future mediocrity)

• Doesn’t test their own code, accepts all pull requests.
• Doesn’t voice opinions to Clients (even when Clients are wrong) because “It’s not my company” or “Why take the risk?”
• Shows up to interviews “winging it” (little research done on company, industry, project or people on the call).
• Asks no questions, offers no help, indicates neutral opinions on all matters except those that affect their pay or holiday schedule.
• Offers history lessons and thinking-out-loud monologues when asked questions whose answers involve a number or a date.
• Is unavailable for occasional emergencies on nights and weekends and on every national holiday.
• Offers no ideas because they know they will not be listened to, and offers no criticism for fear of losing their job.
• Rarely attends team events, lunches or dinners and is too busy to build friendships with JetBridge crew.
• Complains with no ideas or experiments to fix the issue.
• Money is the biggest driver.
• Thinks Americans “work too hard” and “Europe is much more sensible”.
• Assumes (a lot) based on limited data or gut feelings or “friends on the Internet”.

Soft Skills

In addition to technical or business skills, at JetBridge we want to continue to become better at “soft skills” which we define as:

• Adapting winning, modern belief systems that are competitive for the global talent market.
• Developing and improving skills in the art of communication.

Most software houses have staff who mostly suck at soft skills. At JetBridge, you will master them and use these skills throughout your lifetime to maximize your earning potential and career opportunities. Building successful software is about much more than writing code, and communicating effectively has been shown to vastly improve all aspects of any project.

Quarterly Performance Reviews (QPRs)

QPRs will be held every 90 days with your direct manager and should be two-way conversations where your voice and ideas are heard while allowing your manager to agree with you on a set of OKRs and HR benefits.

Equity - Becoming a “Squad Leader”

We’re big believers in equity. Just like home ownership, we believe that financial freedom comes from a) smart retirement planning and b) owning a piece of a business. Yet, professional financial advice can be expensive and running your own business requires responsibilities most engineers do not want.

We offer those interested in learning entrepreneurship these additional opportunities:

• A network of VIP advisors
• Tools to create your own “Squad” of developers which you profit from directly.

While not a mandatory status to achieve, JetBridge offers every developer (regardless of gender or background) the chance to become a Squad Leader (and share in the profits from the following activities):

• Refer new developers from your network to JetBridge; sharing in the profits they bring to the company.
• Refer new clients to JetBridge; sharing in the revenues they bring.
• Learn, then master the critical components of technical interviews and learn how developers “game” the system so you can effectively filter for quality levels similar to that of FAANG companies.
• Leverage our growing network of IT recruiters around the Globe who can rapidly fill your calendar with candidates to interview when you bring new business.
• Use our network of local accountants, attorneys and investment advisors to build your book of business and your net worth.
• This is all in addition to a competitive base salary, premier benefits including health & dental, an international retirement match program, near endless networking opportunities and PTO.
• Through our Squad Lead program you can enjoy the benefits of entrepreneurship with far less risk and zero investment.
• If you would like to expand on the Squad Lead program by starting your own business one day, JetBridge would be honored to be your first investor.

10 Rules of Professionalism at JetBridge:

• Don’t lie.
• Deliver your work on time without excuses.
• Eliminate distractions during work time.
• Work as if a very smart person will review your work, and you want them to be impressed.
• Don’t cheat our clients or your teammates on your hours.
• Voice your opinion if something is wrong.
• Voice your opinion if you have a better way to do something.
• Be critical but have suggestions to fix the problem.
• Ask questions. People will help you.
• Be available on Slack for anything urgent.

Paid Time Off and Holidays

• Local National Holidays
• We respect most major national holidays within each of the regions we operate.
• Sick Days
• As needed, but please be responsible.
• Mental Health Days
• 2 days.
• Unpaid Holiday Time
• As needed, as long as it’s scheduled and approved.
• Paid Holiday Time
• 15 business days
• All days off should be planned. Holidays longer than 3 days should be scheduled and approved at least 1 month ahead.
• Company Trip (Required by Client)
• Depends on the project and client.
• Company Trip (HR Benefit)
• 5 business days

JetBridge Honor Code

As we are distributed, international teams, we rely on our Honor Code to present the best work to our clients and help our teammates do great work befitting of the title “#1 in Quality.”

That means that a great deal of trust will be placed upon you by our clients, partners and teammates. At JetBridge, we understand that we all have bad days (some of them stupidly hungover), make brain fart mistakes and even lose our cool - it’s what makes us human.

While you are free to be an imperfect human being at JetBridge, you are not free to lie, cheat or steal. Period. All are immediately fireable offenses, and we will think you’re an asshole as well.

Which brings us to our golden adage -

“Reputation is more important than money.”

Congratulations! If you’ve read all the way to the bottom, you’ve already shown a green flag for diligence. We want to build something great together - Let’s Make It Happen.