Option 4. While it may seem daunting, with technologies like Skype, and interactive whiteboards it is as good as being right there. Once you force yourself out

Option 4. While it may seem daunting, with technologies like Skype, and interactive whiteboards it is as good as being right there. Once you force yourself out of your comfort zone you will also find that these technologies can make you more productive. I currently work with a team that is distributed around the globe and we do well, some developers had to adapt there work times so some guys work 2am-12am'ish. Anyway we do just fine, we are as productive if not more so than a structured office development team. It completely changed my perception of a fully distributed team. The collaboration is there just like an office, the comradeship is there just like the office but many times the distractions are not. Anyways, long story short I would recommend it even for a first employee. I used to have the perception that developers would be isolated and that that innovative environment would not be fostered over the distance of communication technology. It is one of the many cases in my life where I could not have been more wrong. Not only should you not exclude it, you should strongly consider it. The saving implications from not having to provide infrastructure and space for developers alone is enough to give it consideration from a start-ups perspective. As a side note: these are really interesting times to be in the start-up development world. With cloud based application and the possibility of distributed teams. One can achieve their idea on almost pure effort alone. The capital required is becoming more and more marginalized.