"Fully distributed with radical delegation -- hundreds of volunteers and employees working asynchronously"
Evidence from the Archive
Automattic
Automattic operates across 90 countries with 1,700 employees, making it one of the largest and longest-running...
Automattic operates across 90 countries with 1,700 employees, making it one of the largest and longest-running distributed companies in tech history
Has operated a 1,700-person fully distributed company across 90 countries for 19 years -- the longest-running large-scale experiment in remote work in tech -- while growing WordPress to power 40%+ of all websites, 10x the next competitor. Their core argument: Fully distributed with radical delegation -- 1,700 people in 90 countries working asynchronously with explicit power structures.
The evidence is specific: Automattic operates across 90 countries with 1,700 employees, making it one of the largest and longest-running distributed companies in tech history. Furthermore, wordPress powers 40%+ of all websites globally -- 10x the number two platform (Shopify at ~4%), built almost entirely through distributed contributors. Gutenberg block editor: a conviction bet that would have been voted down by the community, requiring 200+ biweekly releases over years of iteration -- only possible through clear leadership authority in a distributed structure.
In Matt Mullenweg's own words: "There has been a radical delegation. However, there's ultimately a hierarchy, and I'm the CEO, so I'm like the final final decision-maker." (How distributed work requires clear authority structures.)