Ask HN: have you ever worked on a startup with remote co-founders? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: have you ever worked on a startup with remote co-founders?

8 pointstaigeair10 comments

I'm interested in building a mobile app startup but all my contacts are scattered geographically and I keep getting referred to potential tech co-founders in different cities. Does anyone have experience building something with remote co-founders? Is there any way for this to work?

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I tried it, company didn't ultimately work out but remote cofounders is fine as long as there's a high degree of trust and mutual commitment.

Remote vs. non-remote each have advantages. Remote gets fewer distractions (I find working in offices/near others very challenging when try to do focused work vs. home office), access to bigger pool of people, 2x "people coverage" for B2B sales/fundraising/partnership discussions, and more emphasis on results vs. ass-in-chair syndrome. Whereas local will have better and more frequent communication, less potential for misunderstanding, easier to bring the whole team to meetings, etc.

Bottom line: it can work, but you have to have the right people. I actually enjoyed it a lot.

I haven't directly cofounded a company remotely, but I've contracted at early stage startups (<5 members) multiple times from afar. They were always in DC or SF, I'm in NY. I'll no longer agree to do so, however. In fact, I no long freelance offsite at all, because I don't believe it's possible to get results of the same caliber.

The best ideas are born of spontaneity, and the hardest work of camaraderie. Despite the best intentions on all sides, remote hires don't feel either.

I remember staying up all night drinking and eating pizza hunched over a conference table, or slouching back after a brainstorming session that literally covered 3 walls of a room in marker, basking in an afterglow that can only be described as "post coital".

Remote hires don't feel that. I've felt it - I know what it's like, I know why it's good, and I know what it takes to cultivate it - but try as I might, it can't be replicated over a google hangout.

There's no agility. You can't see the light in the other guy's eyes, where you both pause for a moment and let the breakthrough sink in before passionately attacking it.

Startups are able to pull such great work from so few people because they're intense. They're hugely intimate. It can't be faked online.

I know there are ample exceptions to this. Whatsapp comes to mind. But, in the same way, there were those couples in high school who managed to make it work despite 4 years of distance, to the surprise of everyone around them. It's anomalous to the same degree. A lucky few pull it off, but most fail and slink away to try again.

If given the choice between a 9/10 employee across the country, or a 6/10 employee that's in the same suite with me, I'll take the 6 every time. Proximity matters.

But those people have prior working relationships right? It's not like they met through an introduction online and then started working on building a product.

Actually, no, that's exactly what happens a lot of the time. One of my longest and most enjoyable work experiences resulted from a craigslist post. Good fit can be built, but also found. It's why "fire fast" is a thing. Chemistry, when apparent, is visible early on, I've found. If anything, it's as likely to flourish in the honeymoon period and die as it is to start small and build over time.

Currently working on a startup with a remote co-founder. We meet maybe 7-10 days in a year.

Steps to increase odds of success:

a) Honest/open conversation & agreement on expectations upfront. No topic can be taboo from the first moment onwards. If you can't even get this far just forget it. This applies whether the person is your lifelong friend or not. A business relationship if not a friendship.

b) Written agreement on those expectations - including everything from vesting upto what can lead to either one of you getting fired

c) Clear definition of roles/responsibilities, including who has the final say on specific tasks

d) Someone needs to be CEO and have 51% of the company so that when it comes to difficult decisions/disagreements on major strategic decisions, the CEO has the final say and that's that.

e) Have weekly calls (audio/video doesnt matter) to check in and catch up. More calls as needed.

f) Manage tasks/responsibilities using a tool like Trello so that at all times there is complete transparency on who is doing what and by when.

Bottom line communication & transparency is key - and you cannot have enough of both.

Hope that helps

Started with a developer who was local and we all worked together for a period of time. He then decided to move and although we've continued to work together remotely, I'd venture to say it's been about 40% as effective as when we were all together. It's not that it doesn't work, it's just alot harder than being in person in the early stages, IMO.

Doesn't seem like it's worth it to pursue working on a startup with someone I've not worked with in another city.

I want to try it, I just haven't met the 'right' guy yet.

Too many guys wanting to build shitty things out there (uber for food, airbnb for trailer-parks, etc.) ...

Agreed. Too many founders these days are thinking way too small, doing trivial things instead of solving real problems. A startup should change the world. Piggybacking off some other startup's concept is a waste of human potential.

Where are you located?

Africa :-) (expensive internet, significant levels of corruption, rampant crime, poor infrastructure).

We sure do have a lot of problems ;)

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