What Close does

Close is a CRM platform built specifically for small and mid-sized sales teams. Think of it as the anti-Salesforce – fast, focused, and designed to help salespeople actually sell instead of fighting their software. The platform combines calling, emailing, and pipeline management into a single tool with a simple premise: reduce the friction between salespeople and their prospects.

Founded in 2013 by Steli Efti and the team behind Elastic (YC W11), Close has grown profitably and sustainably without the mega-rounds and boom-bust cycles that define most SaaS companies. They’re bootstrapped, profitable, and intentionally lean, which means the job security and culture stability are genuinely different from typical VC-backed competitors.

Remote culture: what it’s actually like

Close has been fully distributed since founding, with ~80 people spanning 20+ countries. What makes them particularly interesting for anyone researching remote work isn’t just that they practice it – it’s that they document and share their practices publicly.

Their blog is packed with detailed posts about how they manage a remote team: compensation philosophy, hiring process, communication norms, and cultural decisions. CEO Steli Efti is one of the most respected voices in the sales and startup community, with hundreds of free resources on building teams and businesses.

The daily reality is async-first, with minimal meetings and heavy use of written updates and Loom videos. There’s a results-only culture – no tracking hours, no surveillance software, no “are you online?” green-dot anxiety. They measure what you deliver, not when you deliver it.

The bootstrapped mindset creates a different kind of stability. There are no sudden layoff cycles driven by investor demands. Growth is organic and sustainable. When Close hires, it’s because there’s a genuine need – not because a growth-at-all-costs fundraising narrative demands headcount expansion.

The honest assessment: Close is small and lean, which means you’ll have significant responsibility but limited support infrastructure. There’s no large HR department, no extensive onboarding programme, and no army of specialists. You need to be comfortable figuring things out independently. The upside is real ownership and direct impact. The downside is that “wearing many hats” is a reality, and it doesn’t suit everyone.

Hiring in Europe: the details

Countries: Close hires globally, with team members across 20+ countries. European employees are part of the team, and there are no blanket geographic restrictions.

Employment model: A mix of contractor and direct arrangements depending on the country. Close is transparent about the employment model during the hiring process. Given the small team size, they handle international employment pragmatically.

Timezone expectations: Flexible, with some roles noting preferences for overlap with specific timezones for collaboration. The async-first approach means rigid timezone requirements are rare, but Close does value some synchronous touchpoints.

Salary approach: Competitive and sustainable, consistent with their bootstrapped philosophy. They pay well – but the proposition is stability and culture rather than eye-watering top-of-market packages.

Language requirements: English is the working language.

Who they’re looking for

Close runs lean, so roles don’t open often. When they do, they typically hire for:

  • Engineering (Python, JavaScript/React)
  • Product and design
  • Customer support
  • Sales and marketing
  • Operations

The hiring process is thorough for a small company. They hire slowly and retain well – when a role opens, they get a lot of applicants. What makes candidates stand out: specificity. Don’t say you “love remote work” – explain how you structure your async communication. Don’t claim you’re “self-motivated” – give a concrete example of a project you drove independently.

What current and former employees say

Employees praise the genuine autonomy, the bootstrapped stability, and the quality of the team. Working at Close is frequently described as calm, focused, and respectful of boundaries – a contrast to the urgency culture of many VC-backed startups.

The cons: limited career ladder in an 80-person company, occasional resource constraints that come with lean operations, and the pace may feel slow for people accustomed to hypergrowth environments. Benefits and perks are solid, but not as extensive as larger remote companies.

People who thrive at Close tend to be self-starters who value independence, quality over speed, and the satisfaction of building something sustainable.

How to apply

Specific tips: Read their blog – especially the posts on remote work culture, compensation, and hiring philosophy. Reference specific blog posts in your application to show genuine research. Follow Steli Efti on LinkedIn and YouTube. His content on sales, startups, and remote leadership is worth engaging with regardless of whether you apply. Close values doers over talkers – their hiring process is designed to filter for people who ship, not just people who interview well.

See our full guide to Remote-First Companies That Actually Hire in Europe.