Guest Bio
Erik Braund is the CEO and Founder of Katmai Tech, a company building immersive, browser-based virtual environments where real people—not avatars—collaborate naturally. Before Katmai, Erik spent years in live audio-video production, creating large-scale, in-person events. When the pandemic halted that industry, he pivoted fast—launching Katmai to close the gap between connection and distance for distributed teams.
Episode Overview
When the pandemic hit in 2020, Erik Braund watched an entire industry vanish overnight. His production company relied on crews gathering in physical spaces—something suddenly impossible. Instead of waiting it out, he and a small distributed team began experimenting with new ways to “feel together” while working remotely. Those experiments became Katmai Tech: an immersive video-first collaboration platform where teams can walk around, bump into each other, and spark the kind of spontaneous moments that build culture.
In this episode, Erik and host Josh Anderson explore the massive shift from scheduled, grid-based video calls to spontaneous, organic interactions. They dive into how Katmai went from scrappy prototype to enterprise-ready platform; why spontaneity fuels creativity; and what it really takes to build culture when your team is fully remote.
Key Takeaways
- Necessity is the mother of invention. Katmai was born from Erik’s frustration with sterile, appointment-only video calls during lockdown. The mission: make remote collaboration feel real again.
- Culture is built in the in-between moments. True culture doesn’t come from a 30-minute Zoom—it comes from hallway chats and quick check-ins. Katmai recreates that flow digitally.
- Spontaneity beats scheduling. Ninety percent of Katmai meetings happen organically. The average Katmai meeting lasts 16 minutes with 2–3 people—versus 52 minutes with 7 people on Zoom.
- Focus breeds longevity. Despite tempting side projects (yes, even laser-tag modules), the team stayed disciplined—evolving from “virtual office” to a broader “collaboration platform.”
- Optimism is oxygen for founders. Erik emphasizes relentless optimism and adaptability: there’s no playbook for building something new during chaos, only persistence and belief.
Favorite Quotes
“June 2020 was the moment—we realized the world was meeting by appointment on a grid of faces. There had to be a better way to collaborate and feel like we were there.” (1:02)
“Ninety percent of our meetings are spontaneous. Katmai turns next week’s 30-minute meeting into today’s five-minute conversation.” (5:25)
“Culture is built by bullshitting with each other—not in the 30 seconds before a call or the awkward silence after.” (11:31)
“People want to see and be seen. It’s not about micromanaging—it’s about connecting.” (12:14)
“If you can’t put everything you’ve got into it and stay endlessly optimistic, don’t do it. But if you believe in it—even when others don’t—you’ve got to go for it.” (16:51)
Playbook: How to Apply
- Recreate Spontaneity.
Build systems that allow unplanned collaboration—digital “hallways,” open office hours, or quick-drop channels. Real innovation happens between meetings. - Design for Visibility, Not Surveillance.
Remote employees crave connection, not micromanagement. Create transparent spaces where people can see activity, join conversations, and feel part of a living workspace. - Prioritize Culture Metrics.
Track engagement signals like time spent logged in, spontaneous chats, or cross-team interactions—indicators of trust and belonging beyond output metrics. - Stay Optimistic & Iterate.
When building in uncertainty, embrace iteration over perfection. Treat every misstep as insight and keep moving forward—there’s no fixed playbook for innovation.
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🎧 Listen to the full conversation with Erik Braund on Making Big Shifts—available on YouTube and Spotify.
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