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Launch HN: Tandem (YC S19) – A Virtual Office for Remote Teams

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Launch HN: Tandem (YC S19) – A Virtual Office for Remote Teams

#1

Post by bernatfortet »

Hey HN community!

We're Bernat, Tim, and Rajiv, founders of Tandem (https://tandem.chat).

Tandem is a desktop app designed to give distributed teams the immediacy and flow of in-person communication. You can see who's online this second and talk/video/screenshare in one click.

What's unique about us is you can see what app your colleagues are working in (e.g. VS Code, Google Docs, Figma), which gives you a surprisingly clear sense of whether you can interrupt them or not. In fact, we've found it makes you feel like you're sitting around a table, without being overly invasive.

We started building Tandem when two of us had kids and started working from home more. We tried a bunch of different tools - Zoom, Discord, Slack, Hangouts, etc. - but hated the friction in all of them.

We felt slower, less collaborative, and more alone when we worked remotely. We built a one-click calling prototype, added video and screenshare, and this eventually became Tandem.

Some details on how instant calls work: - You can click on someone and talk immediately, but they will be on mute until they accept. - All calls start as voice, but can be upgraded to video and screenshare. - Customizable rooms are a nice way to invite teammates to talk when they're free.

Some details on app presence: - Your teammates will be able to see which work app you're currently in (only for a select set of integrated apps) - this gives everyone a sense of being together, and helps you know when a teammate is interruptible. - You can go into Focus Mode if you don't want to be bothered, in which case your app will not be shown.

Pricing: 14 day free trial, then $10 / active user / month

We are doing a beta program where, if you can hop on a short feedback call every-other week, we extend the free trial indefinitely! This has helped us stay in touch with the people using it, and constantly improve.

We are constantly improving the app, so tell us what you think. With your help, we can make remote work more collaborative and social!

-Bernat, Rajiv, and Tim

Re: Launch HN: Tandem (YC S19) – A Virtual Office for Remote Teams

#4

Post by wjossey »

Will give this a try. As a remote team, this is the sort of stuff we’re always interested in iterating and improving upon.

I will say, the pricing feels like it will be a deal breaker. The product will need to add a ton of value to justify that price point. I’d honestly expect something like this to be closer to 4 or 5 dollars per month per person.

What’s the best way to share feedback with the team?

Re: Launch HN: Tandem (YC S19) – A Virtual Office for Remote Teams

#5

Post by rajivayyangar »

wjossey wrote: post #4

Will give this a try. As a remote team, this is the sort of stuff we’re always interested in iterating and improving upon. I will say, the pricing feels like it will be a deal breaker. The product will need to add a ton of value to justify that price point. I’d honestly expect something like this to be closer to 4 or 5 dollars per month per person. What’s the best way to share feedback with the team?

Thanks for the feedback! We have Intercom integrated, so you can ping us founders directly from the app.

Would love to get your thoughts after you've tried it with your team.

Re: Launch HN: Tandem (YC S19) – A Virtual Office for Remote Teams

#6

Post by ekc »

> What's unique about us is you can see what app your colleagues are working in (e.g. VS Code, Google Docs, Figma), which gives you a surprisingly clear sense of whether you can interrupt them or not. In fact, we've found it makes you feel like you're sitting around a table, without being overly invasive.

This seems like it could be invasive. Is it opt out?

Re: Launch HN: Tandem (YC S19) – A Virtual Office for Remote Teams

#8

Post by timfsu »

ekc wrote: post #6

> What's unique about us is you can see what app your colleagues are working in (e.g. VS Code, Google Docs, Figma), which gives you a surprisingly clear sense of whether you can interrupt them or not. In fact, we've found it makes you feel like you're sitting around a table, without being overly invasive. This seems like it could be invasive. Is it opt out?

Absolutely, you can customize what other users see quite easily.

Re: Launch HN: Tandem (YC S19) – A Virtual Office for Remote Teams

#10

Post by rkagerer »

Neat! Some questions on the "WhatApp" feature:

  1) What do you mean by "a select set of integrated apps"?
  2) Can the user tailor which app names are shared vs. those they prefer to keep private?
  3) Did earlier prototypes try a generic approach for ID, e.g. capturing hWND of the focused window and querying
     it's class, title, executable name, etc?  Do Mac/Linux have analogous facilities for window identification?
  4) Was it a challenge to distinguish browser-based apps? (e.g. Chrome, vs. Docs)
  5) Is there any attempt to consolidate contexts that involve switching between multiple apps? (e.g. while I'm
     coding VS Code, I jump to a browser to search docs for an API).
  6) Is there some lag/hysteresis, so if you switch briefly to a different app and back, it doesn't generate noise?
I like the feedback-for-use model, it sure beats advertising. What is long-term pricing, and can I join without having to link to a Slack or Google account?
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