Re:Are Co-Founders in the Same City Really an Advantage to a...
by swombat on Monday July 21, 2008 @06:42AM
(#252138)
1. It's easier to communicate, and thus easier to get things done. (But with modern communications devices, e.g. a screen recorder to capture exactly what's going on my system so that the programmer can how I produce the bug, I remain unconvinced that in-person speed of communication is anything more than a slight advantage that is greatly outweighed by the disadvantages of not being an entirely virtual company.)
That's easy to under-estimate. The best way I've seen this explained is the following: imagine that each time you have a question, there's a ten minute delay to getting an answer. In a start-up, things are constantly shifting, and the product design will need to shift with them, so chances are you'll have a lot of questions. If you have, say, 15 (serial) questions a day, that's 2.5 hours of extra waiting time a day, so more than 25% extra time added to the critical path, roughly. That could make the difference between delivering within your tight budget and failing to do so.
Even worse is the questions you choose not to ask because it's too much overhead. Those can cost you abortive work, or cause you to miss out on a cool idea because you didn't discuss it with your cofounders.
I started my first start-up with a friend in Leicester while I was in London, and while it's definitely possible, that friend is basically my best friend that I've known for ten years, and I took trips up to Leicester regularly, and still we struggled somewhat. Obviously it can be done, but it is an extra hurdle, and you should be aware of it and spend extra effort to make up for the downsides.
For my current start-up, I work from home, and we have one developer in Kansas, but our CEO/product guy is in London too, and I spend a day a week with him, and that's working alright. We don't have offices, but at least we have strong communications between the business and tech sides.
Overall, I support the idea of a completely virtual company, and that's the direction we're trying to take this company in - but you should be fully aware of the challenges of it. It seems you are, so go for it! Good luck! :-)
That's easy to under-estimate. The best way I've seen this explained is the following: imagine that each time you have a question, there's a ten minute delay to getting an answer. In a start-up, things are constantly shifting, and the product design will need to shift with them, so chances are you'll have a lot of questions. If you have, say, 15 (serial) questions a day, that's 2.5 hours of extra waiting time a day, so more than 25% extra time added to the critical path, roughly. That could make the difference between delivering within your tight budget and failing to do so.
Even worse is the questions you choose not to ask because it's too much overhead. Those can cost you abortive work, or cause you to miss out on a cool idea because you didn't discuss it with your cofounders.
I started my first start-up with a friend in Leicester while I was in London, and while it's definitely possible, that friend is basically my best friend that I've known for ten years, and I took trips up to Leicester regularly, and still we struggled somewhat. Obviously it can be done, but it is an extra hurdle, and you should be aware of it and spend extra effort to make up for the downsides.
For my current start-up, I work from home, and we have one developer in Kansas, but our CEO/product guy is in London too, and I spend a day a week with him, and that's working alright. We don't have offices, but at least we have strong communications between the business and tech sides.
Overall, I support the idea of a completely virtual company, and that's the direction we're trying to take this company in - but you should be fully aware of the challenges of it. It seems you are, so go for it! Good luck! :-)