[elwatto]

Hi! I could tell you that we were visionaries and we knew a pandemic was going to come, so we were super prepared, but that would not be true.

In the early days, Jacob and I discussed a lot whether we wanted to be a remote company or not. We were very attracted to the idea, and firmly believed it was the future. But as you mentioned, we were concerned about the ability to move fast and setting the culture. The first employees we hired from our network were actually based in SF, so it was not a problem.

One of the early employees wanted to move back to his hometown, and we started to move to a more remote first environment (eg more async comms, everyone using their own cam for meetings even if they were in the office, etc). We hired our first engineer remotely (who we had the pleasure to work with in the past) and we never looked back.

It's been challenging (communication, compliance,...). But overall, we are super happy. I have a strong network in Spain and the UK, and we have access to world class talent that do not necessarily want/can live in the Bay Area. Also no immigration issues!

Even Jacob, my co-founder and CEO left the Bay Area. Being prepared was extremely helpful when the pandemic hit, since most processes were already in place.

Important note, we DID NOT do it for financial reasons. We pay same salary (based on SF) no matter where you live in the world.

[elpakal]

>We pay same salary (based on SF) no matter where you live in the world

That's awesome - and thanks for the reply!