Liam Martin

Liam McIvor Martin is a Canadian entrepreneur and remote work advocate who co-founded Time Doctor, a time tracking and productivity software platform that reached $35 million in annual revenue and serves 140,000 customers as of 2024.^[4] Martin currently serves as Chief Innovation Officer at Time Doctor, which he co-founded in 2011 after experiencing challenges tracking remote tutors in a previous venture.^[2]

Martin co-organizes Running Remote, which bills itself as the world's largest conference on building and scaling remote teams.^[1] He co-authored the book "Running Remote," which became a Wall Street Journal bestseller in 2022.^[1] Based in Ottawa, Martin operates his businesses remotely and travels three to six months per year while working.^[2]

Martin earned both bachelor's and master's degrees in sociology from McGill University.^[2] He originally aspired to become a sociology professor before pivoting to entrepreneurship.^[2] Martin was also a professional figure skater who retired from the sport due to injury.^[2]

Early ventures (2005–2011)

Martin's first business was a skate guards company that sold innovative products for ice skates using chamois leather for moisture absorption.^[2] He operated this business from approximately 2005 to 2009, when he sold it.^[2]

Around 2009, Martin founded an online tutoring company focused on premed students that grew to employ 200 remote tutors across Europe and North America.^[2] The challenge of tracking tutor hours and productivity in this distributed workforce directly inspired his next venture.^[2]

Time Doctor (2011–present)

Martin co-founded Time Doctor in 2011 as a time tracking and productivity software platform for remote teams.^[4] The company was bootstrapped without external funding and grew to $35 million in annual revenue with 140,000 customers and 323 employees by 2024.^[4] Martin serves as Chief Innovation Officer.^[1]

Time Doctor provides detailed analytics on employee productivity, time management, and work patterns to help organizations optimize workforce performance.^[4] The platform serves remote, hybrid, and offshore teams across various industries.^[4]

Staff.com and Running Remote (2012–present)

In 2012, Martin co-founded Staff.com, an online staffing agency focused on long-term remote work placements.^[1] The company operates as a complement to Time Doctor's time tracking capabilities.^[5]

Martin co-launched Running Remote in 2017, starting with 250 attendees in Bali.^[1] The conference has grown to attract over 20,000 virtual attendees and positions itself as the world's largest event focused on building and scaling remote teams.^[1] Martin co-authored a book of the same name that became a Wall Street Journal bestseller in 2022.^[1]

Martin's book "Running Remote," co-authored with other remote work experts, appeared on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list in 2022.^[1] He is a frequent speaker at conferences and podcasts focused on remote work, entrepreneurship, and productivity.^[5]

Martin is a member of the Young Entrepreneur Council, where he shares insights on building distributed teams and scaling remote businesses.^[3]

Martin operates his businesses remotely from Ottawa and travels three to six months per year while working.^[2] He describes his management philosophy as "ready, fire, aim" and uses the Entrepreneur Operating System (EOS) to run his companies.^[2]

Martin's mission statement centers on empowering workers to work wherever they want, whenever they want, which guides all the products and services he develops.^[1]