What can we say about Howard Lerman? He is that rare breed of entrepreneur. The category creator. He did it with Yext and listings management. And now he is trying to do the same with Roam.  This is a new platform that he calls the “Cloud HQ” which is really an operating system for “distributed work” which Lerman clearly believes (and we tend to agree) is the new workplace normal.

Here at the Localogy 23 conference in Coronado Bay, CA, Lerman shared a live demo of Roam and then sat down to answer some of our questions. 

Roam essentially has created an environment where distributed teams (a combination of remote and in-office, across multiple time zones) can interact in real-time. He demonstrated this by having quick live video chats with several members of the Roam team who showed up as available on the platform. One lucky guinea pig became the butt of Lerman’s offbeat sense of humor. “I thought I fired you?” Lerman said. The audience laughed but we’re still not completely sure if Lerman was actually kidding. 

Key Takeaways

Here are some of the top insights that we gleaned from our time with Howard.

• The remote vs. in-office debate is the wrong framing. It’s all about “distributed work”. Lerman was very clear. “You are not going to get people to come back to the office 9-5.”
• The idea for Roam was inspired by a bad experience trying to organize a Zoom meeting for 200 people during Covid. 
• Roam is trying to put an end to the default 30-minute Zoom call. He wants to replace it with shorter and more intentional meetings. The current average meeting length on Roam is about eight minutes.
• He was very direct about Slack as a platform for open dialogue within organizations, saying every Slack interaction is “a click away from HR.”
• The three categories that seem best suited to Roam include tech companies, agencies, and professional services firms (accounting firms and so on). Several companies attending L23 are active Roam users. 
• Lerman’s views on distributed work have evolved. During Covid, he posted “Remote Work Sucks” on LinkedIn. When asked about it, he admitted that the post reflected his frustration that no one was using Yext’s New York office building, which Lerman had just invested heavily in. 

What’s the past, present, and future of workplace productivity? In a remote world, the playbook has changed. Ro.am is pushing the boundaries of that new playing field. We’ll hear straight from the source, including an interactive demo and strategic dialogue with serial innovator Howard Lerman.