The Remote Show · Tyler Sellhorn, Matthew Hollingsworth

Tony Jamous, CEO of Oyster

·25 min·2 clips

Tony Jamous left a public company to build Oyster, aiming to reduce brain drain and wealth inequality globally.

Tyler Selhorn opens warmly. He describes The Remote Show as a place for conversations about remote work with people who understand it, then introduces Tony Jamous as Oyster's CEO and founder. Tony starts with his own story. To explain Oyster's mission, he goes back to being born in Lebanon in 1980 and moving to France at 17 to study computer science. Tyler gives him room to connect that history to remote work and to what Oyster is trying to build. Then the episode turns useful. Tyler names the people listening: remote job seekers, hiring managers, and distributed organizations trying to prove they are ready for remote-first work. Tony's answer is employee branding. Companies, he says, need to speak to candidates and prospective employees with the same care they use with customers. Distributed work, partial or full, comes down to helping employees succeed wherever they are. That promise has to be visible. Tony says companies should show clear guidelines for how work gets done, what Oyster calls tools and rules. They also need examples. Candidates should be able to see people inside the company succeeding and growing even when they are not based at headquarters. Tyler's question fits the show's larger point. He is asking how a company can make remote-first language feel real on a careers page, on social media, and in the public signals candidates notice. Tony keeps returning to responsibility. A CEO or team leader has to create an environment where success does not depend on location. The close stays warm, with Tyler thanking Tony for learning out loud. WeWorkRemotely returns as the sponsor, framed as a place to find remote jobs or hire remote workers.

As heard by us

A CEO's remote-work origin story becomes a practical test of how distributed employers prove their promises.

Tony Jamous brings The Remote Show a grounded origin story for Oyster's remote-first mission. Born in Lebanon in 1980 and later moving to France at 17 to study computer science, he traces a path through company-building, a Nasdaq listing, and hiring across 45 countries.

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Want a sharper way to judge whether a distributed employer is serious about remote work?

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