About one totem
What is one totem?
one totem is a fully remote digital agency founded in 2006 and operating as Red Forest USA LLC. The homepage describes the firm verbatim as "a people-first, fully remote house of digital ideas" that lives "at the intersection of design, strategy, and technology." The agency's work philosophy: "freedom, independence, accountability, commitment, creativity, craft and personal development."
Under the one totem umbrella sit three sub-brands (verbatim from the homepage):
- TakeFortyTwo — "We increase sales for ecommerce brands through brilliant marketing, impeccable design and outstanding technical proficiency."
- DuckDuckChimp — "We work as an extension of our client's teams delivering perfect strategies to unleash Mailchimp's full potential."
- 4dias (4dias.es) — "Part directory, part blog, and part community, 4dias.es is our way to foster change and showcase pioneering brands applying the 4-day workweek."
The agency's brand identity, articulated on its dedicated /brand page, is built around the totem concept — "a collection of avatars creating a whole stronger than the sum of its parts." The narrative resolves to a four-line credo: "Many Views. / Many Ideas. / Many Skills. / Many Cultures. / One Team. One Totem." Each team member's personal logo is customised within a shared visual framework — "the logo becomes nothing but a canvas, a sawabona that reflects our singularities as it introduces us to the world."
Where will I work?
Fully remote, distributed across timezones. The team page footer states: "Our team calls Madrid, Córdoba, Málaga, Montevideo and Sao Paulo home." Spain (Madrid, Córdoba, Málaga) and South America (Montevideo, Sao Paulo) form the two primary geographic clusters, but the company's self-description emphasises that everyone works "remotely four days a week and ditching rule books as we go."
What is the one totem team like?
The twelve named team members on /team: Santiago Melluso (Founder & CEO), Daniel Rico (Founder & CTO), Laura Cavada (COO), Alicia Moreno (Marketing Specialist), Patricia Antuña (Communications), Marina Almeida (Solutionist), Francisco Cavada (Design & QA), Bruno Melluso (Frontend Developer), Gustavo Zago / Edilson Samuel / Ramon Cipriano / Mateus Machado (Web Developers). The /team page describes the team verbatim as "a quirky gang of misfits building a unique company, and ditching rule books as we go. A rare breed of experts, leaders, rebels and geeks working 100% remotely four days a week."
Work-Life Balance
From the homepage verbatim: "We're committed to working remotely in an environment that tackles burnout before it can happen. We challenge ourselves to be focused and become better professionals every day. That's why our team operates on a 4-day workweek." The schedule is 32 hours / four days, at 100% salary.
Perks and Benefits
Five standard benefits, verbatim from the homepage:
- Fully remote — work from anywhere
- Work from anywhere — distributed across timezones (Madrid, Córdoba, Málaga, Montevideo, Sao Paulo)
- 32-hour working week at 100% salary
- Home office improvement budget
- Professional development budget
The hiring process (per /recruiting-process) runs ~1 month and ~5 hours total: application via LinkedIn or /careers → 1-2 week qualification → TestGorilla culture-fit assessment (35-50 min, English, optional webcam) → technical assessment (tailored to role) → 15-min screening interview with Director of Operations → team interview with future colleagues → meet-the-founders final round. Applications for marketing role last open closed before publication; speculative applications welcome via /careers.