The Silent Risk of Remote-First Hiring at Pre-Seed/Seed Companies

In the earliest days of a startup, every decision shapes the foundation of what’s to come. One of the most tempting options in recent years for founders at pre-seed/seed is remote-first hiring. It’s easy to see why, the talent pool is wider, the costs can be lower, and you can quickly assemble a team without being tied to geography. But here’s the catch; when your startup is still at 0 to 1, you don’t yet have a culture to scale. And building one remotely is harder than many founders anticipate.

This is not to throw shade at companies working remote, there are plenty of examples where this has worked but if we are being honest with ourselves there are plenty more where it hasn’t.

The real risks

Your engineers are not just writing code, they are co-creating the company’s DNA. Every interaction, every decision, every shortcut or best practice forms the habits that later hires will inherit.

Remote-first hiring at this stage introduces silent risks:

• Culture without a culture yet: If your team only meets through screens, your “culture” may default to transactions, tickets and tasks, rather than shared values and mission.

• Fragmented communication: Slack messages can’t always replace the speed and nuance of a five-minute whiteboard chat. Misunderstandings can multiply before you’ve built strong trust.

• Weakened founder influence: As a founder, your ability to set tone and rhythm is diluted when the team isn’t physically around you. In-person moments of leadership, energy, and vision get lost in translation.

What Founders Need to Weigh

Remote-first hiring isn’t “wrong.” In fact, for many scale-ups, it’s a necessity. But in the early-years, the trade-offs are sharper. Founders should ask:

• Do we need to prioritise fast cultural alignment over speed of hiring?

• Can we afford to invest early in rituals, processes, and leadership presence to offset the gaps of remote?

• Which roles are better suited for remote at this stage, and which ones truly require proximity to the founder?

A Recruiter’s Perspective

At Peritus Partners, we work with founders to weigh these decisions in context, not just “who can we hire,” but “how will this hire shape the team we’re building?” For some, remote-first makes sense if paired with deliberate cultural scaffolding. For others, anchoring the first hires locally creates the cultural heartbeat that later remote teammates can align to.

The allure of remote-first hiring is undeniable, broader talent, lower costs, faster scaling. But the silent risk is culture without a culture yet. Founders who take the time to weigh remote vs. in-person early hires can protect the very thing that will drive long-term success: a culture strong enough to scale.

If you’re navigating this decision, Peritus Partners can help you balance cost, speed, and culture to make sure your early hires set the right foundation. Learn more here.