I don't think you need to be in Silicon Valley (and in general would argue against being there most of the time), but at the same time an early stage company where the team is remote is not a good idea IMO.
There are a lot of issues with it, but primarily you need to figure out how to work together, figure out product/company direction, pivot and make quick decisions and overall not screw up too much. So starting out where everyone is remote is a huge burden to add to an already really tough situation. I think even if you look at the successful companies that have a significant number of workers remote, you'll find that when the core team started they had a majority of people in the same location or very close. And you'll still find that a number of the people are in a given area or get together very regularly in person (which has a cost to it).
If you are an already established team with multiple prior successful remote projects, then that might make your chances of success go up some. But the likelihood of being successful still, in my opinion, goes down many times over when core members are not near each other regularly.
I can hear the people saying oh it worked for us blah blah. I am sure you can find cases where it has worked. I am sure I can find cases where it was a massive failure. Neither of those matters as much as the overall statistics and your gut feeling on whether it will work. Just remember, everyone will have to be willing to work extra hours just because they are remote, those extra hours will be spent mostly in communication and clarifications and working across time zones.
Don't get me wrong, I think remote work is awesome and is super successful when implemented properly. But for a small company just starting out or small team barely off the ground I just think the burden is too high to make it successful fast enough.
There are a lot of issues with it, but primarily you need to figure out how to work together, figure out product/company direction, pivot and make quick decisions and overall not screw up too much. So starting out where everyone is remote is a huge burden to add to an already really tough situation. I think even if you look at the successful companies that have a significant number of workers remote, you'll find that when the core team started they had a majority of people in the same location or very close. And you'll still find that a number of the people are in a given area or get together very regularly in person (which has a cost to it).
If you are an already established team with multiple prior successful remote projects, then that might make your chances of success go up some. But the likelihood of being successful still, in my opinion, goes down many times over when core members are not near each other regularly.
I can hear the people saying oh it worked for us blah blah. I am sure you can find cases where it has worked. I am sure I can find cases where it was a massive failure. Neither of those matters as much as the overall statistics and your gut feeling on whether it will work. Just remember, everyone will have to be willing to work extra hours just because they are remote, those extra hours will be spent mostly in communication and clarifications and working across time zones.
Don't get me wrong, I think remote work is awesome and is super successful when implemented properly. But for a small company just starting out or small team barely off the ground I just think the burden is too high to make it successful fast enough.