I can second this. I have two remote cofounders (~2 hours away), both are decade-long friends. So far working out well, but we've had instances where one of us needs to come up and stay with the other for a business week or two to get through some of the tougher collaboration pieces. If you already have a good, trusting relationship and high work-ethic then this can work pretty well via IM and email.
I've also worked a few years telecommuting myself, so I've learned a lot of the tricks to maximize the efficiency of that sort of situation. Using things like Jing, GoToMeeting, daily phone status meetings, and, lately, Chatterous, have helped us keep the communication efficiency high for our startup.
Definitely not for everyone, but it can work pretty well if you try hard.
I started a business remotely with a friend and it didn't work out. He lost motivation and I couldn't get it back. Just because you know them very well doesn't always mean they will work well remotely. But at last you may have some idea going in. Oh, and it _really_ sucks to have to fire your friends.
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I started a successful business with a friend who was in another city, two hours away.
However, he was also my best friend that I'd known for 10 years.
Remote is fine, but you need to know the person well in real life, or else there will be many, many miscommunications.
I can second this. I have two remote cofounders (~2 hours away), both are decade-long friends. So far working out well, but we've had instances where one of us needs to come up and stay with the other for a business week or two to get through some of the tougher collaboration pieces. If you already have a good, trusting relationship and high work-ethic then this can work pretty well via IM and email.
I've also worked a few years telecommuting myself, so I've learned a lot of the tricks to maximize the efficiency of that sort of situation. Using things like Jing, GoToMeeting, daily phone status meetings, and, lately, Chatterous, have helped us keep the communication efficiency high for our startup.
Definitely not for everyone, but it can work pretty well if you try hard.
I started a business remotely with a friend and it didn't work out. He lost motivation and I couldn't get it back. Just because you know them very well doesn't always mean they will work well remotely. But at last you may have some idea going in. Oh, and it _really_ sucks to have to fire your friends.