Lona Alia
Lona is a Venture-Backed, Y combinator founder, Head of Revenue @SafetyWing and an advisor to startups and EU for Innovation. She is a remote work thought leader and an expert at building revenue channels & fully remote teams from zero to one. Lona is a location-independent digital nomad who has worked and travelled to 80+ countries. She is also building the first country on the internet @Plumia! Lona is based in Miami but lives a nomadic lifestyle with her partner George and her two kids, aged 5 and 3.
What does your normal working day routine look like?
I usually dedicate eight hours of the day to work. And spend the rest of the time with the kids. For the last five years, we have been living in different countries for 1-3 months at a time, so our routine looks very different to families living in the same place year-round.
For instance, right now, we are in different countries in Europe for the Summer. We pick a place where we want to stay for a month and set up our Airbnb, workstation and kindergarten for kids. Once we are set up, we spend a good portion of the day on our laptops, find some time to sneak a 20 min low-impact workout and then pick up the kids from school and take a stroll in the city we are in.
We like to cook our meals at home so we can control the ingredients that are used. So although we love to eat out, we eat most of our meals at home. During the summer, we usually spend our weekends on a beach in the Mediterranean or in the mountains to stay cool as temperatures have been dangerously high with climate change.
What boundaries have you set around your work and how did you work with your colleagues to enable them?
Evening time after 5pm and weekends are family time. I have no computer access whatsoever during these times.
I’m big on boundaries, as I know how unproductive I can be when I overwork. I am an overachiever and overworker by nature, so I have been so lucky to find a company that respects those boundaries very much.
What systems do you have in place to have a successful day?
Sleep well—at least 8 hours per day.
Eat clean, healthy, organic nothing processed.
Exercise 20 mins or walk 30 mins to 1 hour.
Prioritise the most important tasks first thing in the morning.
Only look at Slack 2 x per day—once around midday and once at the end of the day.
Use no social media except for 5 minutes at the very end of my day when the kids are asleep.
Spend quality time with my partner.
Spend time with friends.
What productivity tools/processes do you use in your work?
ChatGPT, Anthropic, Loom, Pitch, Calendly, Notion
Do you have anything that works particularly well in your childcare situation?
We are lucky to have grandparents travelling with us for part of the year.
What have been the most impactful things that you've automated or outsourced in your family?
Virtual Assistant
Everything Automated bill pay
Utilizing Grandparents for 6 months a year to aid with child care, meal prep and house chores.
What principles have served you best in your parenting?
Love: Unconditional love and full expression of affection at all times of the day. Lots of kisses and hugs in our family.
Setting Boundaries and Consistency: Establishing clear and consistent boundaries has helped our children understand expectations and consequences. It has provided them with a sense of security and helped them develop self-discipline.
Lead by Example: We are big on this one. Children often learn by observing their parents. Being the best version of yourself and demonstrating the values and behaviors you want to instil in your child can be highly influential.
Promote Independence: They started travelling at two months old internationally, so they have fostered a sense of independence and built their confidence by trying things on their own.
Quality Time: Because we work from anywhere, we also spend a lot of quality time with our kids regularly. Instead of wasting time commuting, getting ready or traveling for work, we use all of that time to do activities they enjoy. Travelling and working from anywhere has strengthened our connection and has created cherished memories.
Balance: We always strive for a balanced approach in parenting. We use a mix of nurturing, discipline, and guidance that suits our kids’ unique personalities and needs.
Is there a primary parent in your household or do you split the parenting evenly?
For the first 3.5 of being parents, my husband was the primary caretaker. I was working full-time, and we consciously chose to have one parent fully dedicated to the kids' needs when they were very young. We still utilised daycare/childcare, but one parent was always available to them. We now both work full-time remotely and split the responsibilities.
If there is a primary parent, how do you set the boundaries, expectations, and breaks for that parent?
This is a tough and very good question. When my husband was the primary caretaker, he felt the need to have some kind of a break, so he would go running/exercising for 1-2 hours a day. At the time, it felt long to me, but now I understand that without that break, he would not be able to be the best version of himself with our family. It’s so important to honor and validate the hard work the primary caretaker is doing. Money is not the most important thing.
We try to split things “evenly”, but there are ebbs and flows. Sometimes one of us will do more; other times, it is the other way around. It all depends on the jobs to be done and our full-time work – particularly how demanding each of our work is at a specific time.
What is your most life-changing parenting purchase under $100?
We are minimalist parents. Because we travel so much, we rarely bring anything with us anywhere we go. This makes it easy logistically on us and lets the kids figure out what to play with using their imagination. For instance, we go to the beach daily in some places, and we never bring toys because a) we don’t own any and b) we go to the beach early 9-11am max. We go with just the bare necessities, and our kids will figure out playing with other kids.
What is your top trick for making it through flights?
For transatlantic flights, get bulkhead seats when kids are under 1 yr old—they can sleep in the bassinet provided by the airline.
Get lounge access through credit cards like Amex.
Give yourself plenty of time before the flight so you don’t stress. The more relaxed you are, the more relaxed your kids will be.
How do you bring play and fun into your time with your children?
Our kids love playing rough with their dad, so he will get on the ground with them and play for hours. Sometimes they get hurt, and I get upset, but their fun outweighs the minor injuries here and there.
What piece of advice do you give to all new parents? What advice should they ignore?
It’s ok to be selfish if you still want to be adventurous after having kids—like travelling the world. You don’t have to be location dependent for the rest of your life if your job allows you to go out and explore the world with your kids.