My cofounder and I worked together from cafes on nights and weekends, but also did a whole lot of remote collaboration, in our first couple of years. We did a 3-month summer accelerator where we were f2f every day early on, as well. But when that was over, we switched back to mostly remote collaboration. For the bulk of our first 2 years of operation (which was really a bootstrapping period), we worked mostly over the web. This despite the fact we were both in/around NYC. But, he was based in Manhattan at the time and I was in Astoria, Queens, so we'd save ourselves the trouble of meeting up f2f, though occasionally would co-work together.
I think what you'll find is that in the founding period, f2f can help a whole lot, and, of course, if you are pitching for fundraising or enterprise clients, you almost always need to do some f2f visiting with people. So, don't be religious about it. But for "the work itself" (e.g. code, design, writing) there is no need to be colocated.
Thanks. What’s shaping up to be is that my technical co-founder could be remote while I’ll be dealing with the F2F interactions. While I feel somewhat comfortable having a remote co-founder, I worry if it will come back to bite me.
Also, for your remote employees outside of the US, how do you structure your payroll, determine compensation and pay them? Seems like it would be quite an extensive HR payroll setup, which might not sit well with investors or potential acquirers?
I think what you'll find is that in the founding period, f2f can help a whole lot, and, of course, if you are pitching for fundraising or enterprise clients, you almost always need to do some f2f visiting with people. So, don't be religious about it. But for "the work itself" (e.g. code, design, writing) there is no need to be colocated.