My "co-founder" (I was solo until she joined up with me and we decided to re-invent how the company operates) is 1,000 miles away. We're on Slack when we're awa

My "co-founder" (I was solo until she joined up with me and we decided to re-invent how the company operates) is 1,000 miles away. We're on Slack when we're awake, have notifications set to trigger on keywords like "need" and "help" and "problem" and "ticket" and so on rather than every message. Our systems all log updates to their own channels, including file sharing (so we can "see" what the other is working on) and git commits (for projects not just shared via Dropbox). We have a short call (15-20 minutes) every morning, and a project in Asana for those daily agendas so we have a quick list of "checkins" we each make. Throughout the day, if a question isn't an urgent one, we just add it to tomorrow's check-in agenda. We cheerlead for each other during those calls, too. Hubot listens in on Slack (using the pseudonym @walken, as in Christopher Walken) so if we post what looks like a Jira issue for a client we're working on, he'll helpfully summarize it and link it. Same with HelpScout conversation IDs, the system where all other inbound email goes. She's a designer-type and I'm a ... Well, a crossbreed of designer/developer/big thinker. When we are working on something together, we'll often just open FaceTime and leave it open while we work, for the immediacy of it. Every other month, we get together in the same place to work, and to have some non-work interaction, like a dinner or a museum or something. We agree to use emoji in our messages (don't groan, dear reader) because "text lacks tone", and emoji can make the difference between perceived sarcasm and playfulness. We have phrases we've committed to using to avoid misunderstanding. For example, sometimes one of us needs to vent, and if the other were to try and help, it would only feel like we're not being heard. So we formalized saying "I'm venting:" as a sign that the other should just listen. We also don't say "I'm sorry" when the other person is done venting. Instead, we've made a game of stringing together three random-ish words as a response, trying to be funny without referring to the context of the message at all. "Purple goats warble" or "database staffordshire shitballs". iOS auto-suggestions for us are weird. Basically, we do what we can do be "present" for the other, even when we're not actively doing work stuff. And sometimes we do Hearthstone duels. She's awesome. And we have a great partnership because of all of this.