Remote work doesn't kill culture.
Lazy founders do.
I ran a fully remote team of 15 people.
And now I'm building BuddiesHR 100% remote too.
Here are 3 painful truths I learned about remote culture:
1. Remote isn’t a culture, it’s a constraint.
You can’t just “let things happen” when everyone is spread out.
You need more 1:1s, more rituals, more randomness.
Random coffees, Friday shoutouts, honest feedback loops.
If you don’t actively build it, culture dies in silence.
2. Communication becomes your #1 problem.
If it’s not written down, it doesn’t exist.
If it’s not clear, it’s ignored.
Your writing is your leadership.
You want async freedom? Then start documenting like your life depends on it.
3. Remote can unlock a superpower: deep work.
You don’t need fake urgency. You need space.
We blocked 4h of Slack free time for everyone on the team.
No meetings, no noise, just real work.
What came out of it? The best output we ever shipped.
Remote work isn’t easier.
It forces you to be a better founder.
Or it breaks you.
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👋 Hey, I'm J.Y!
I'm the co-founder of BuddiesHR, the #1 suite of Slack apps.
Using Slack? Give it a try — it's a NO-BRAINER.
I post 1x a day about my journey and share what I've learned along the way.
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