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I shall disagree with swombat. I co-founded a company a few years ago with some remote co-founders I had worked with on other projects. I thought it would be f

I shall disagree with swombat. I co-founded a company a few years ago with some remote co-founders I had worked with on other projects. I thought it would be fine. However, there are major barriers to remote co-founders that can kill a business - Inability to brainstorm at any moment - Weakened brainstorming - It's just not the same via video, IM, or phone - Paperwork takes longer - Often you both have to sign it. Mailing that crap is just horrendous - Harder to keep on task - Having each other to keep pushing each other and set tasks and to-do lists is vital - Meeting with investors is a pain when coordinating two different travel plans - You just don't get to interact with your co-founders enough to REALLY know whether you're compatible for working together on a startup. You're going to have to be at the same place later on, might as well be now so you know this partnership is going to work 100% The geographic distance was one of the big factors that killed our startup. Don't do it if you can avoid it in any way.

brianlash 18y ago
This hits home.... I'm working with a distant co-founder right now. I second each of Mystalic's points, with a single addition: motivation. Everyone -- even startup founders -- needs motivated now and again. When you need it your co-founder will be little help. And (what's much, much worse) when your co-founder needs it your attempts will likely be in vain. Motivation, passion, drive... it's hard enough to sustain those things in a physical setting. Trying to do so in a virtual setting is near-impossible. I should add a caveat: Motivation is almost never an issue in the beginning, which is why this is such a precarious problem. You'll be tempted to disregard the likelihood for issues down the road in light of the current, rosy status quo. Fact is it's when you hit the dip (like when you miss your first deadline) that things turn sour. Just hope you don't find yourself there without recourse. My advice is that if you think you absolutely have to found a company with someone in a different geographic region, ask yourself if that's really the case. Chew on it for a night (or a few weeks) if you need to. Err on the side of working with a local co-founder, and if you must work with someone in a different geographic region, move forward with caution.
swombat 18y ago
Well, as I said - the guy I started it with is my best friend. I didn't just "work with him" - I lived with him for 2 years 10 years ago and have been in close contact ever since. We also used all the latest technology to break down that distance barrier... iChat (almost daily), regular trips up to Leicester (where he lives), etc. We still had major issues (who doesn't), but we pulled through and built a successful business that made money.
metajack 18y ago
As a founder of several companies that worked almost completely virtually, you can overcome all these issues. Inability to brainstorm at any moment? Hardly. Chat is reasonable for this task. Weakened brainstorming? Maybe. But you can always get together now and then in physical space. We do this every few months if possible. Paperwork? Um, fax machines, scanners and pdfs. It takes the same amount of time. Meeting pain? You still have to coordinate both schedules. This is work aroundable. Motivation and keeping on task? This is a function of personality. It's very true that not everyone can work well virtually. I've found several winners in this regard, but I have also had to fire some people who might have been great in person, but just couldn't cut it remotely. There are many benefits to working virtually. The talent pool is _much_ larger when it is national or international. The hours are better for everyone. One of my co-workers travels all over surfing in the mornings and working the rest of the day. All your communication (assuming you aren't using the phone much) is logged and can be searched, which is quite handy for those brainstorming sessions. It forces you into decent dev practices and into good communication. It's not for everyone, surely, but neither is working in an office with your co-workers.

brianlash 18y ago

This hits home.... I'm working with a distant co-founder right now. I second each of Mystalic's points, with a single addition: motivation. Everyone -- even startup founders -- needs motivated now and again. When you need it your co-founder will be little help. And (what's much, much worse) when your co-founder needs it your attempts will likely be in vain. Motivation, passion, drive... it's hard enough to sustain those things in a physical setting. Trying to do so in a virtual setting is near-impossible. I should add a caveat: Motivation is almost never an issue in the beginning, which is why this is such a precarious problem. You'll be tempted to disregard the likelihood for issues down the road in light of the current, rosy status quo. Fact is it's when you hit the dip (like when you miss your first deadline) that things turn sour. Just hope you don't find yourself there without recourse. My advice is that if you think you absolutely have to found a company with someone in a different geographic region, ask yourself if that's really the case. Chew on it for a night (or a few weeks) if you need to. Err on the side of working with a local co-founder, and if you must work with someone in a different geographic region, move forward with caution.

swombat 18y ago

Well, as I said - the guy I started it with is my best friend. I didn't just "work with him" - I lived with him for 2 years 10 years ago and have been in close contact ever since. We also used all the latest technology to break down that distance barrier... iChat (almost daily), regular trips up to Leicester (where he lives), etc. We still had major issues (who doesn't), but we pulled through and built a successful business that made money.

metajack 18y ago

As a founder of several companies that worked almost completely virtually, you can overcome all these issues. Inability to brainstorm at any moment? Hardly. Chat is reasonable for this task. Weakened brainstorming? Maybe. But you can always get together now and then in physical space. We do this every few months if possible. Paperwork? Um, fax machines, scanners and pdfs. It takes the same amount of time. Meeting pain? You still have to coordinate both schedules. This is work aroundable. Motivation and keeping on task? This is a function of personality. It's very true that not everyone can work well virtually. I've found several winners in this regard, but I have also had to fire some people who might have been great in person, but just couldn't cut it remotely. There are many benefits to working virtually. The talent pool is _much_ larger when it is national or international. The hours are better for everyone. One of my co-workers travels all over surfing in the mornings and working the rest of the day. All your communication (assuming you aren't using the phone much) is logged and can be searched, which is quite handy for those brainstorming sessions. It forces you into decent dev practices and into good communication. It's not for everyone, surely, but neither is working in an office with your co-workers.