Startups Stack Exchange Archive

Opening and managing a start-up with developers in different locations

• posted by: killswitch on 2014-07-30
• tagged: tech-company, freelancing
• score: 9

I am planning to have my own startup, but as I am currently working with Apple I change my country every year, I have a few people who like to be a part of my startup but then again they are spread all over the world.

My question is should I leave my job(which I love) and go for the startup(Which again I would love to go for) by setting a base in one country, or Is there an online tool which can help me manage the startup?

Basically how to make the start up work when I am not present there physically!

Answer 31

• posted by: yochannah on 2014-07-30
• score: 7

There are many tools that will allow you to collaborate with others online. To list a few:

• Skype
• Email
• Project management software, for example Redmine: http://www.redmine.org/

That said, however, there is a lot more to a startup than online collaboration tools. Consider the following aspects:

1. What country will you be marketing your product/service? Will it be all of the countries you have presence in? Only some? Will the people responsible for marketing and sales be based in the right place?
2. You’ll need to be aware of labour and employment laws in more than one country. It could make paying people, hiring, firing, taxes, etc. very messy, and you might need legal advice.
3. How do you manage staff issues when someone works in a different country? if someone doesn’t turn up one day, or is constantly slacking… How do you handle it?
4. Time zones can make communication tricky. This depends on the subset of countries, but if some people are only awake while you’re asleep, communication will be tricky.
5. The list goes on…. Team meetings are ridiculously expensive. A fair wage in one country might be a pittance in another.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that opening a start up that is spread amongst different locations is a terrible idea - I’m sure there are plenty of good sides too. Just remember it can be tricker than you think at first glance.

Answer 57

• posted by: SilentSteel on 2014-07-31
• score: 2

It depends on your passion but be prepared for things to take longer than you expect. If you leave your job at Apple, if you can, have cash reserves for at least a year. Also Id strongly recommend speaking to an incubator first and consider getting a partner. Startups are tons of work to get off the ground. Raising a seed, assuming you want one, can be 6-8 months depending on certain factors and some people fail to ever raise.

Worksnaps.com is a great way to manage remote workers. I even use it on myself to keep me focused and accountable.

Odesk is also good and can help with talent gaps. Very easy to manage.

Finally, for programmers I’ve had most success with Pivotal Tracker and Assembla. Redmine is good too.

I would also recommend

• having each worker take the last 15 minutes to send an email update.
• it’s important to skype regularly with remote workers. For new workers- no matter where they are and no matter how bad their English may be- you must skype with them at least twice per week for the first month of work. Once per week thereafter.
• Because they are working from home, you must create a proper human connection and work culture. Otherwise things tends to break down. It also takes too long to review GIT logs and screenshots so the emails are critical.

Answer 21

• posted by: g_tec on 2014-07-30
• score: 1

Every startup should have 100% commitment from their founders. If you got a full-time job, there will be not much time for your business. And if you decide to go forward with it, and continue on your job, you must be aware that your free time is not much and you have to consider that your co-workers/founders will be on a different time-zone. It may be really hard to have a meeting with everyone.

Answer 7904

• posted by: Luke Gedeon on 2015-11-21
• score: 1

If you love your job, keep it. Get a partner to run the business full-time. Get two partners actually. One to build the business and one to lead development and help them hire some great talent. You job is to provide guidance, code (as time allows), vision, and access to investment.

Others suggested removing the brag about working at Apple, but that is relevant, because having partners that work for a big tech company will help attract investment, media, beta testers, other developers, etc. Keep the job it will help the company.

And no, location doesn’t matter any more. Your other partners can handle the user testing, if they are in the target country. If not, there are companies that can do the testing for you.

As for tools:

• slack.com should always be open
• any video conferencing tool just left on during “office hours”
• pick a few hours each day that work across all time-zone and just be there to bounce ideas off of
• all other tools like accounting and project mgmt can be picked by your full-time partners.

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