Wethod’s Flat Structure and Zero-Distance Culture
Traditional project management tools and practices often reinforce rigid hierarchies and top-down decision-making. Wethod, an Italian SaaS startup founded in 2014, set out to break that mold. Based in Treviso, the company has grown into a tight-knit group of ten people dedicated to rethinking how a tech company can operate from the inside out. With a flat organizational structure, radical transparency, and a customer-driven approach, Wethod is proving that a small, self-managing team can create smarter and more adaptable solutions for the future of work. What sets Wethod apart is that it is not only a product but also a living organizational experiment closely aligned with RenDanHeYi principles. Its internal practices remove barriers between staff and users, empower autonomousteams, and link collective gain to business success. These principles are woven deeply into its daily operations, shaping decision-making, learning, and customer engagement.
This blog post is part of 80+ case studies of progressive organizations we created for the ZeroDX awards 2025. These organizations embody the principles of RenDanHeYi in their work structures:
Zero Distance to customer: Decision what to build is based on insights from the marketplace
Autonomy: Small teams with full decision-making autonomy enable speed in execution
Shared Rewards: Everyone in the micro-enterprise participates in its financial success.
Central to Wethod’s structure is the absence of traditional managerial roles. There are no bosses or layers of middle management. The CEO acts not as a figure of command but as a product owner working alongside the team. Coordination emerges naturally within the group, with a senior developer stepping in to facilitate when needed, yet authority remains distributed. Each team member shares collective responsibility and is trusted to take initiative. Anyone can lead a project, solve a client issue, or improve a process, depending on their insight and skills. Roles shift fluidly to meet current needs. Even client support is not outsourced to a department; it is embedded in everyone’s role.Designers, developers, and strategists all engage directly with customers. This dissolves silos, acceleratesresponsiveness, and reinforces the belief that every individual contributes directly to customer value.
This decentralized model is supported by a culture of deep transparency. One of its defining practices is full salaryvisibility: everyone knows what others earn and why. Compensation is directly tied to business performance. Bonuses and raises are determined collectively and reflect shared outcomes, not personal negotiation. Transparency also governs access to operational data. Every team member can view real-time financial indicators, including profit-and-loss metrics, via Wethod’s own platform. With information openly accessible, the company fosters sharedunderstanding and informed decision-making. Trust replaces control. Decisions are grounded in shared facts rather than hierarchy. The team operates not as employees reporting upward but as partners managing a shared business.
This trust-based system is further strengthened by a commitment to learning and experimentation. The team holds regular retrospectives and uses methods such as the "5 Whys" to investigate and resolve issues at their root. Failureis not punished but seen as a path to insight. This approach allows Wethod to evolve continuously without losing momentum.
Internal projects initiated by employees are common. Whether simplifying workflows or improving internal communication, these bottom-up efforts often lead to real innovations. The freedom to experiment is not just permitted but expected, reinforcing ownership and creative responsibility. Innovation is not something delivered from the top, but something grown organically from within.
The principle of zero distance to the customer is perhaps where Wethod’s philosophy is most visible. Clients are givenimmediate and direct access to the entire team through shared Slack channels. There are no intermediaries. Questions and feedback go straight to the people building and maintaining the product. This creates not only faster responses but also greater mutual understanding. The Wethod team sees the impact of their work as it happens, and customers feel seen and heard. Complementing this daily interaction is a public product roadmap updated weekly, offering visibility into what has been released, what is in progress, and what is next. This openness invites customers into the process and builds trust.
Wethod also nurtures personal connection. Each year, it hosts a major customer event, bringing users together for workshops, in-depth discussions, and informal exchanges. These gatherings are not treated as sales opportunities but as spaces for dialogue and collaboration. Even Wethod’s pricing reflects its values: each subscription includes consulting hours, meaning support is never an extra, but a core part of the offer. The company works side-by-side with each client to configure the tool, improve workflows, and solve strategic challenges. These practices eliminate friction and establish a feedback loop in which the product evolves in response to real use, and clients become active contributors rather than passive consumers.
What Wethod demonstrates is that organizational clarity and customer proximity do not require scale or hierarchy. With a team of just ten people, the company has created an environment where initiative, responsibility, and responsiveness are naturally embedded in everyday work. Rather than building layers of roles and protocols, Wethod has chosen to trust in the capacity of individuals to lead themselves, act transparently, and stay close to those theyserve. In doing so, it offers more than a software platform: it presents a quietly radical model for how modern companies can function when guided by simplicity, openness, and shared purpose.
