Startups

7 Ways to Succeed at Running a Remote Start Up

Published

8 years ago

Mar 15, 2018

Working environments have changed. The 9-5 day born out of the early fifties is no longer so rigid or necessary. Technology has paved the way for the remote worker – those who do their job from a location other than an official company base.

I run noCRM.io, a company of 11 people split across three continents, five countries and eight cities. It started with a regular, office-based structure before moving to a remote company. There are many nuances involved in creating a remote startup but, if done correctly, the positives far outweigh the negatives.

Here are some of the fundamentals of what we have learned during the transition from an office-based location to remote working:

1. Get Pro-Tech-ted

The primary enabler for a remote company is technology. Video Conferencing, collaborative cloud-based SaaS (software as a service), and other web-based tools have removed the importance of an official on-site premises. You can now conduct hours of video conferences around the world for free.

But which tech should you look to implement? The type of business must to be taken into account. Skype and Google Hangouts are the most used video-calling methods, while Slack is the go-to platform for messaging. When it comes to project management, Trello and Asana, two web-based tools, top the list for many.

Even social platforms like Facebook and Whatsapp can act as communication tools and are popular with some companies. The main aspect is to find solutions that work across the team, so everyone is happy to use them.

2. It’s Good to Talk

A crucial aspect of a successful remote startup is communication. There should be a centralized system in place where staff talk to each other. For some that consists of using emails, but the back and forth, along with multiple recipients, can make following trails confusing.

Some companies – especially tech-based ones – create their own internal communications systems for staff to communicate. For others, this is where free message software like Slack shows its worth.

Being remote can lend itself to going long hours without any interaction with peers. At the start of each day, we make sure each member of the company lists three objectives they’re working on for the day. They don’t have to be significant tasks, but it’s a way for everyone to feel included and keep up to date with assignments people are working on.

“Good communication is just as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

3. A Leap of Faith

Finding the right people to work remotely affords a greater opportunity to cherry pick the best talent from all over the world. The interviewing process should take place with an element of caution, however.

Building an understanding with job prospects is harder through video and phone calls. Applicants might have a great resume, but that is only one part of the process. Remote workers need to be competent self-starters.

Be even more thorough than usual when interviewing. Make sure every detail is covered, and no stones are left unturned. Explore the idea of having several video calls with the same candidate before making a final decision.

It’s impossible to be 100 percent sure about a hire even when interviews take place face to face. Nonetheless, remote interviews require a more rigorous process. If something doesn’t feel right, go with your instinct.

Putting more effort into the hiring process has better long-term effects. When you find remote staff that fit the bill, they will take up less of your time. Trust is vital. Once you have it, you can depend on them to use their own initiative.

4. Time Zone Tribulations

While having access to the best staff members from around the world is a bonus, time differences can be problematic. How much of an issue they cause comes down to the type of work your company does and where you are based.

For example, if you are in the US, hiring someone from Australia – where there can be a 16-hour time difference – might not be a good idea. Unless it’s a specific role where regular communication isn’t necessary.

Navigating such a substantial difference in time zones certainly isn’t impossible. But you should weigh up the quality of the candidate in comparison to how much live interaction there will be with them.

5. Let’s Get Physical

While there are many benefits of working remotely, it’s still good practice to get the whole team together at least once a year. An annual meet up (Workation) to talk about strategy and moving forward can re-energize the whole team.

Everybody has the chance to meet in person at least once, which is good for relationship building. Most companies conduct some form of team bonding, and this is a good way to get people together even with remote working as your core structure.

Of course, there are factors to take into consideration, like budgets and logistics. However, bringing the team together at least once a year can help add a new dynamic to the company.

6. Have the Options

Ok, so this isn’t imperative to running a remote startup, but sometimes it’s nice to divide your time between remote structures and an office environment. That doesn’t mean you have to take the plunge and hire a full-time office.

Startup platforms like TechHub have popped up across the globe to offer entrepreneurs a chance to work out of an office at reduced costs. There are usually several options available, including flexi deals that allow you to work out of their bases for a set amount of hours.

The working environments are shared with other like-minded CEOs and business owners. The chances for networking are high, and the atmosphere is a positive one to dip into if remote working is getting a little bit, well, remote.

“Effective networking isn’t a result of luck – it requires hard work and persistence.” – Lewis Howes

7. Setting Yourself Up for Success

Starting a business presents its fair share of obstacles — and creating a remote startup is no different. Working away from an office still isn’t considered ‘the norm’. But as technology continues to improve, the number of people employed from a location other than an office is likely to rise.

Having a process in place is vital to running a remote business. Work out the structures, set strategies for yourself and your staff, and have a viable way of communicating. Do those things, and it shouldn’t be too long before your remote setup is running smoothly.

Have you ever wanted to work remotely from around the world? If so, what would you do and from where would you work?

Image courtesy of Twenty20.com

Related Topics:commitment communication discipline leap of faith Lewis Howes Relationship building remote working self awareness Start Up Taking Risks

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Sunny Paris

Sunny Paris is a serial entrepreneur with a high scientific background and expertise in developing innovative IT start-ups. Prior to founding noCRM.io he successfully co-founded, developed and listed on the French market Weborama (ALWEB Euronext), a European leader of online advertising services industry. The company was created in 1998, funded by leading institutional investors, survived to the first bubble, and was listed in January 2006. Sunny holds a PhD in theoretical physics from the Ecole Normale Supérieure and has several patents in the online marketing field.

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Startups

How an LLC Can Help Shield Your Personal Assets

Published

2 days ago

Aug 1, 2026

Addicted2Success Editor

Image Credit: Addicted2success

You are a freelance designer, and your client sued you over a trademark mistake. If you believe that your personal savings are safe, then you may be wrong. You are operating as a default sole proprietor. You and your business are the exact same person. As a result, your personal bank account, your car, and even your home are legally up for grabs.

However, if you start an LLC, you can build a legal shield between your business liabilities and your personal life. These days, you can easily form an LLC online.

How Does This Legal Shield Work

When you start an LLC, your business gets a distinct legal identity. Now, your LLC can open its own bank accounts, sign contracts, take out loans, buy equipment, and be held responsible for its own actions. You are not liable. This boundary between you and your business is called the “corporate veil.”

Visualizing the Separation

Inside the Shield (Business Assets)

Everything your company owns is included in this shield. If your business faces a debt collector or a lawsuit, only your business assets are at risk, such as:

Money in the business bank account
Inventory and raw materials
Office equipment, computers, and company vehicles
Business intellectual property

Outside the Shield (Your Personal Assets)

You don’t have to worry about your personal assets, such as:

Your personal checking and savings accounts
Your home and personal real estate
Your family vehicles
Your retirement funds (401k, IRA) and personal investments

What LLC Protection Covers

Business Debts and Contracts

When your LLC signs a commercial lease, hires a contractor, or buys inventory on credit, these are the obligations of the LLC. Your creditors will come after the assets of the LLC if your business can’t pay.

Lawsuits

If your business is sued over a contract dispute, faulty service, or an operational issue, lawsuits will be filed against your business. All your personal assets are safe.

What LLC Protection Does Not Cover

Personal Torts

The term “tort” refers to an act that causes harm or injury to someone else. The LLC shields you from the mistakes of your employees and general business liabilities. However, it never protects you from your own personal actions. For example, if you personally commit fraud, you can be sued personally.

Personal Guarantees

Vendors often hesitate to lend money to new, growing businesses. Such businesses don’t have long credit histories. Lenders often require you to sign a personal guarantee.

How Owners Accidentally Destroy Their Protection

The legal shield provided by forming an LLC only works when you run your business properly. The corporate veil can be pierced when a court decides that your LLC is not legitimate and strips away your protection in a lawsuit. This usually happens when you make one of the following three mistakes.

Commingling Funds

Many small business owners often mix their personal money with their business money. You are commingling funds when you use your business debit card to buy your personal groceries or you deposit a client’s payment directly into your personal checking account. The legal wall crumbles when you don’t treat your business and personal finances as completely separate.

Missing an Operating Agreement

An operating agreement is the legal document that outlines:

How your LLC is run
Who owns what percentage
How profits are handled

If the creditor’s lawyer finds out that an operating agreement is missing, they may argue that your LLC is just a shell.

Falling Out of “Good Standing”

When you start an LLC, you must file annual reports and pay franchise taxes to keep it active. The state will place your business in “Administrative Dissolution” or bad standing if you miss any of these deadlines. You could lose your limited liability protection if you operate a business under an inactive or dissolved LLC.

Startups

Move Fast without Breaking People: Product Safety Lessons for Ambitious Startups

Published

3 weeks ago

Jul 15, 2026

Addicted2Success Editor

Image Credit: Addicted2success

Fast growth can hide product risks until customers get hurt, especially when safety comes late in development. A software bug can be patched, but a chair, charger, or smart device can cause a burn, fall, cut, or crash.

For founders moving from a prototype to mass sales, the cases handled by Michael Kelly Injury Lawyers in Boston show why launch goals should not push testing, warnings, and foreseeable risks aside. A product claim can involve the design, how a unit was made, user instructions, or several firms in the supply chain.

Why Minimum Viable Should Never Mean Minimally Safe

A minimum viable product should test whether people want an idea, not how much danger they will accept. Teams can delay colors or premium finishes, but not guards, safe heat limits, sound wiring, or clear instructions.

Set Safety Rules Before the Build

The product brief should define who will use the item, where, and what could happen during setup, cleaning, storage, wear, or mistakes. It should also consider what a child, guest, tired worker, or first-time buyer might do.

Shared rules help teams move faster. Designers know which guards must remain. Engineers know which parts cannot fail. Suppliers know what cannot change without review.

Test How People Really Use It

A neat demo is not the real world. Users place products on wet counters, soft rugs, or rough ground. They skip a guide, use the wrong cable, or handle an item in unexpected ways.

Testing should cover misuse without predicting every extreme act. When a risk can be reduced through a guard, lock, stop switch, or clear signal, that design change is often greater than a warning alone.

How Design and Manufacturing Risks Differ

Some risks are built into the design. Others arise when production fails to match the approved plan. Teams need to identify the source before choosing a correction.

Design Problems Start with the Plan

A design problem can affect every unit. A base may tip, a blade may sit too close to a hand, a control may activate too easily, or a battery space may trap heat.

Final inspection cannot repair a flawed plan. The team may need a new shape, shield, limit, material, or control, followed by testing before more units ship.

Manufacturing Problems Break the Plan

A manufacturing problem occurs when a unit or batch does not match the approved design. A fastener may be missing, a weld may be weak, a wire may be damaged, or the wrong component may enter production.

Good records help define the scope. The team should know who made each part, which batch used it, what checks occurred, and where units went. Fast trace work can keep one fault from becoming a wider crisis.

When Customer Feedback Signals More Than Dissatisfaction

Support teams hear about delays, difficult setups, strange sounds, and refunds. Most reports are routine. Yet heat, smoke, sparks, breakage, sharp edges, sudden movement, falls, or failed guards require review.

Treat Complaints as Safety Data

One report may lack key facts, but similar reports can reveal a pattern. Staff should record the model, batch, date, use, photographs, and outcome, then alert someone who can pause sales or order testing.

Teams should not blame unusual use before asking whether another reasonable buyer could make the same choice. A support ticket can be the first sign of a hazard that lab testing missed.

Preserve the Product and the Record

After an injury, the product can help explain what failed. A repair, disposal, or undocumented test can remove evidence. The same applies to old labels, manuals, test files, customer messages, and design notes.

Startups should keep relevant items safely, record who examines them, and preserve earlier versions of instructions and warnings. This history can show what changed and why.

Why Warnings Must Reflect Real Use

A warning works only when a user notices it at the right time. Dense text at the back of a manual may not help during setup. The message should name the hazard, explain the harm, and state what reduces the risk.

Placement matters too. A charging risk belongs near the port. A weight limit belongs where weight is added. Even so, warnings should not replace a safer design when the hazard can reasonably be removed.

How Founders Can Preserve Speed without Cutting Safeguards

A delayed launch, redesign, or recall can feel like defeat. In practice, early action can prevent harm, protect trust, and give the team better facts for the next version. The strongest startups move quickly because their systems protect people.

When a product injures someone, legal guidance can help preserve the item, collect design and manufacturing records, identify responsible companies, and examine whether a defect or unsafe choice caused the harm.