Our Virtual HQ: How We Built a Thriving Remote Culture

For a remote-first engineering team like ours at NextRows, tools like Slack and Zoom are the air we breathe. They are essential for scheduled meetings, direct messages, and asynchronous updates. But they leave a gap. They don't replicate the spontaneous, collaborative energy of a physical office—the quick chats, the "water cooler" moments, and the simple feeling of presence that builds a strong team culture.

We found ourselves asking: How can we feel more like a team and less like a list of names on a video call?

The answer wasn't another chat app. It was creating a place. We built our virtual headquarters on ZEP, a platform that has fundamentally changed how we connect, collaborate, and maximize our efficiency.

What is ZEP?

Think of ZEP as a customizable, 2D virtual world—like a classic 8-bit RPG, but for work. Instead of just a chat window, you get a persistent, shared space where every team member has an avatar. You can walk around, design your office layout, and interact with teammates and the environment in real-time. It's a digital office that provides the sense of place and presence that traditional remote tools lack.

How ZEP Became Our Engineering Hub

Instead of just using a default template, we used ZEP's powerful Map Editor to build a space that truly feels like ours. Here's how we use its features to solve the biggest challenges of remote work:

1. Fostering Spontaneous Collaboration with "Private Spaces"

The biggest win for our team has been the death of the phrase, "Should I schedule a quick call for this?"

In a normal office, you'd just walk over to a colleague's desk. In ZEP, we do the same. We created "pods" for different squads (Platform, AI, Frontend). If an engineer has a question, they can see if their teammate is free and "walk" their avatar over. By entering a designated Private Space—like a virtual huddle room—their audio and video are automatically shared only with others in that same zone.

This creates frictionless, impromptu conversations for pair programming, quick debugging sessions, or brainstorming, all without clogging up Slack or creating yet another calendar invite.

2. Bringing Back the "Water Cooler"

We designed a central "lounge" or "micro kitchen" area in our ZEP space. It's a place where team members can hang out during a break. These informal, non-work-related chats are where team cohesion is built, and ZEP gives us a dedicated place for them to happen naturally. You can see who's there and just join the conversation, just like you would in a real office.

3. Structured Meetings with a Sense of Occasion

For our more formal meetings, like sprint demos or tech talks, we use ZEP's Spotlight Area feature. When a presenter enters this designated zone, their audio and video are broadcast to everyone in the space. It turns a presentation from a passive screen-share into a shared event. It feels less like another monotonous video call and more like a real all-hands meeting.

4. Building Our Brand and Identity

A generic space feels temporary. ZEP's Map Editor allowed us to build our own NextRows HQ from the ground up. We uploaded our company logo as a custom object, designed our "desks" and meeting rooms, and even added fun, quirky objects that reflect our team's personality. This isn't just a tool we use; it's a space we inhabit.

The Impact: More Than Just Fun

Adopting ZEP has had a measurable impact on our team's efficiency and morale:

More Authentic Communication: The biggest shift has been from scheduled, formal meetings to constant, informal check-ins. We spend less time in serious Zoom meetings, but we communicate more often. For a small startup like ours, this high frequency of authentic communication is the key to moving fast, and ZEP has empowered it.

Reduced Friction: The barrier to starting a conversation is almost zero. This means problems get solved faster.

Increased Cohesion: Seeing our teammates' avatars throughout the day creates a powerful sense of shared presence and community.

Better Onboarding: New hires aren't just added to a dozen Slack channels. They have a virtual desk and a visual map of the team, making it easier to navigate and meet people.

Less Meeting Fatigue: Because our interactions are more spontaneous and integrated into a dynamic space, the exhausting back-to-back video calls have naturally decreased.

Conclusion

While Slack and Zoom are indispensable, ZEP fills a crucial gap by providing the connective tissue that turns a group of remote individuals into a unified team. It's our office, our clubhouse, and our collaboration hub, all in one. It has allowed us to build a stronger culture and work more efficiently by giving us a place to call our own.

If building innovative products with a close-knit, collaborative team excites you, we'd love to hear from you. Please reach out to support@nextrows.com with your story and resume.