Welcome to Remote First Innovators, the podcast for leaders and operators scaling remote-first companies.
In our debut episode, host Jake Gump sits down with Robert Phelps, President of Creative IT, to explore the real operational challenges of building and scaling distributed teams. From filmmaking to Apple to leading one of the Southeast's most trusted IT firms, Robert brings unique insights from supporting over 130 remote-first companies.
CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Welcome & Why This Podcast Exists
3:09 - Why 2025 is Different for Remote Work
6:18 - The Moment Remote Became More Than a Trend
9:12 - Data Security Risks Remote Companies Miss
12:01 - The Compliance Wake-Up Call (SOC2, CMMC, HIPAA)
16:33 - Must-Have Policies for Remote Teams
18:17 - Incident Response & IT Hygiene Basics
23:22 - Culture Over Technology: The Real Compliance Secret
26:16 - AI Training Done Right
30:01 - Essential Tools for Remote-First Companies
32:07 - AI Security Risks You Need to Know
36:04 - Robert's Journey: From Filmmaking to Creative IT
40:51 - Leadership Lessons & Mistakes Made
43:33 - What's Next: Remote Operating System & Book Launch
What We Cover:
- Why remote work in 2025 is fundamentally different than 2020
- The compliance frameworks that now have real teeth
- Security blind spots that could sink your company
- Device management and data protection across time zones
- Building security culture from the top down
- AI governance and the tools you should (and shouldn't) allow
- The Remote Operating System launching in 2026
SUBSCRIBE NOW for bi-weekly conversations with founders, ops leaders, and innovators doing remote work right.
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