I started my PhD program in 2017, although I began working on my PhD proposal in 2016 while completing my master’s degree. Our research group was the newest in the department, and I was among its earliest members. Typically, graduate research students are provided with an office in the department, but initially, we did not have one. My thesis focused on a new method in fluid dynamics, which was primarily modeling and did not require lab research. Consequently, we were not required to go to the office every day, even if we had one.

By the second year, the department finally provided our group with a very nice office. By that time, I had developed close friendships with the group members, and we have successfully maintained those friendships to this day. It became a habit for us to see each other regularly.

Although we were not required to go to the office and could conduct our research from home, a colleague and I developed a routine of meeting for coffee. During these sessions, we discussed our ideas, challenged each other’s thoughts, and shared jokes and fun moments. At times, we studied all day to prepare for the next day’s debate. This practice tremendously benefited both of us. Going to the office was not mandatory, but we did it and reaped significant benefits. We pushed each other to achieve better results. On the other hand, it was not obligatory, so we did not feel pressured to go. Both of us published multiple papers and defended our theses a semester earlier than expected.

In contrast, we had teammates who barely showed up, could not build a strong network among their fellow researchers, and took longer to complete their programs.

We started our company in the middle of the pandemic when in-person meetings were not an option. Now, almost four years later, we have been fully remote since the beginning. This setup allowed us to onboard team members from various locations. The advantages of being a fully remote company include providing everyone with a high level of freedom and improving our support time.

The key to having a successful remote team is to have strong trust in your team members to get things done. Regular and irregular, formal and informal meetings are important. In-person meetings are great, and off-site meetings can shape the company culture. However, there were days when I wished we were in person to push things to get done more efficiently.