Ask HN: Never physically met your co-founder?
I'm about to submit a YC application but after getting a couple of people to take a look, they both found it problematic that I've never physically met my co-founder.
My co-founder and I have a healthier relationship than probably most people we both know physically. We've spoken every other day for at least the last 3 years, his neighbor has (quite literally) fallen in love with me and his other neighbor contacts me for life advice. My co-founder and I have worked together on large projects (albeit not technical) and have exchanged money for services (that's actually how we got to know one another-- I hired him to tutor me over Skype). Our personalities don't clash at all-- we even both have the same obscure interests (Jamaican Patois anyone?). Even when I consider all of the people I know, physically or otherwise, I cannot think of a person who would be better suited to act as a co-founder.
But still: I'm in Sydney, Australia, and he's in Florida, USA. I emailed PG about this and he said it would be a problem.
Has anyone been in this situation for YC? What does HN suggest I do? Should we bring in a third co-founder that one of us has met physically (there are a few people who have contributed and we'd eventually hire but we don't expressly consider them founders)-- would it remedy things?
Advice on this would be extremely appreciated.