Building remote culture from scratch: 6 lessons I learned the hard way

I’ve worked remotely since 2012, and in that time I’ve helped over 40 remote businesses scale. That includes generating millions in revenue, hiring dozens of people, and building strong, connected teams, without ever sharing an office.

But it didn’t start that way.

Early on, I joined a tiny startup where we were figuring it out as we went. We weren’t just building a business. We were trying to build a culture too and doing it all remotely, with no playbook, limited resources, and plenty of trial and error.

Looking back, there are so many things I wish I had known sooner. These 6 lessons would have saved us thousands of dollars, hundreds of hours, and a lot of unnecessary friction.

If you’re building a remote company, these insights will help you shape a culture that’s aligned, connected, and built to scale.

Get clear on your mission, vision, and values — and communicate it often.

One of the most important steps in building a strong remote culture is defining your mission, vision, and values.

Clarity around mission and values creates alignment, motivation, and a sense of belonging. It helps your team understand the “why” behind their work, make better decisions, and stay focused on what actually moves the company forward.

Your mission and values are the filter for every hire, decision, and initiative. When you’re clear on what you stand for, the right people lean in and the wrong people self-select out. Without that clarity, you’ll end up with a team pulling in different directions, which burns energy instead of building momentum.

According to Gallup, only 27% of employees strongly believe in their company’s values. And teams without that alignment see lower engagement, weaker performance, and higher turnover. You can’t afford to skip this.

Here’s a quick breakdown:

• Mission is what your company does, who it serves, and why it exists. It’s the day-to-day purpose behind your work.
• Vision is the future you’re building toward.
• Values are the behaviors and beliefs that shape how your team operates and makes decisions.

Here’s how to start:

1. Begin by writing rough drafts, even if they feel clunky. Then refine them.
2. You can use tools like ChatGPT to help generate raw ideas—just don’t copy and paste. Make sure the language feels real and meaningful for your team.

Here are some prompts you can use:

• Mission: Give me at least 10 variations of a mission statement for my business. We [briefly explain what your business does], serve [your target audience], and our goal is to [the core problem you solve or outcome you create]. Keep each version clear and under two sentences.
• Vision: Write at least 10 different versions of a vision statement for my business. I want to describe the long-term future we’re building towar, something inspiring but realistic. We aim to create a world where [describe the ideal future or broader impact of your work]. Keep each version to one sentence.
• Values: Create at least 10 sets of core company values. Each set should include 3–5 values that reflect how we work, make decisions, and collaborate. Our company culture values [insert any qualities that are important to you, like speed, transparency, flexibility, empathy, human centric, or excellence]. For each value, include a short description that makes it actionable, not just a buzzword.

Your values, in particular, should guide behavior. For example, if one of your values is “default to ownership,” that tells a new team member to take initiative when something breaks: don’t wait, take action, and communicate clearly.

When your team knows what the company stands for and how they’re expected to show up, they stop second-guessing and start making smart decisions without constant oversight. That’s the foundation of a healthy, high-performing remote culture.

Slack: channels specific to different uses

One of my favorite tools for building remote culture is Slack.

Unlike project management tools, which are designed around tasks and deadlines (and are definitely important in a remote environment), Slack is a place for conversation. It reminds me of the old-school chat rooms, just more organized. Slack lets you create dedicated spaces for connection through channels, which are the core of how communication happens inside the platform.

When I’m building remote culture, I always stress the importance of using channels over direct messages. Channels are focused on specific topics and use cases, and using them helps keep conversations visible, organized, and accessible to everyone. They not only support faster, more transparent communication, but also create space for sharing personal updates, photos, and wins, all essential parts of building culture.

Another reason I love channels is that people can be added or removed at any time without losing context. Channels can be public or private, but I generally recommend keeping them public to encourage transparency and inclusion.

Here are some common channels we often recommend:

• #events: Use this for anything event-related like team offsites, workshops, launches, etc. If you’re running multiple events, create separate channels for each one to keep conversations focused. When I’ve planned offsites and retreats, I always created a new channel for each one to give the team a dedicated space to connect.
• #general: This is automatically created in every Slack workspace. It should be used for company-wide updates, announcements, and anything that affects the entire team.
• #learn: A space to share insights and lessons. It could be a takeaway from a great book, a new tool tip, or a system you created. When one person learns, everyone benefits.
• #photos: This is about life beyond work. Share your favorite coffee shops, travel snapshots, pets, family moments—anything that helps build human connection.
• #random: Another default channel from Slack. Use it for anything that doesn’t fit elsewhere—funny moments, quick thoughts, or light banter.
• #wins: One of the most important channels. Celebrating wins boosts morale, improves visibility into what’s working, and helps people feel seen and appreciated. Anyone can post here: your own win, a teammate’s, or something worth recognizing.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we added more interest-based channels that helped people connect during a challenging and lonely time. A few examples:

• #baking – Especially during the sourdough craze.
• #cooking – For sharing new ingredients and recipes.
• #plants – Because a lot of us became plant people.
• #funny-at-home – For the hilarious chaos of working from home with kids.

You can also create channels that are specific to your company’s culture. If events are a big deal for your team, create a dedicated channel for them. If you’re big on giving back, create a space to share volunteer work or nonprofit highlights. The key is to use channels with intention, not just for work, but to support the culture you want to build.

Foster psychological safety

When you’re building a remote company and you want real collaboration, connection, and trust, you have to create psychological safety. That means fostering an environment where open dialogue, feedback, and risk-taking are encouraged, without fear of embarrassment or backlash.

And that starts with you.

Model open dialogue by asking your team thoughtful questions like:

• How are things going?
• Are you running into any blockers?
• Am I blocking anything, or could I be without realizing it?
• What projects are you most excited about?
• Where do you want to grow this quarter?

When someone answers, listen. Don’t jump in to solve. Get curious. Ask follow-ups. And when someone shares something hard, validate it. You don’t need a script, just acknowledge what they’re saying. “Yeah, I can see how that would be frustrating” goes a long way.

If you skip that step, people stop sharing what they really think. But when they feel heard, they speak up more. That’s how you build trust.

You also need to normalize feedback and that includes feedback to you. Ask for it regularly. Make it safe for your team to tell you the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable. When you show that you can take feedback without getting defensive, others will follow your lead.

And don’t forget about risk-taking. I once had a boss who left a typo in her all-hands slide deck, on purpose. It was a small move, but it sent a clear message: perfection isn’t the expectation here. Thoughtful mistakes are part of the process.

When someone takes a risk, whether it worked or not, ask:

• What did you learn?
• What would you try differently next time?

Don’t criticize or shame, especially not in public. If something needs to be improved, give the feedback. But frame it as part of the learning process, not a failure to avoid.

That’s how you create an environment where people grow, contribute, and stay.

Cadence

The next piece is cadence: creating regular rituals. When you’re working remotely, you need consistent rhythms that everyone can count on. These are the anchors that keep your team aligned and connected.

That means setting up things like:

• Weekly team meetings to share updates, clarify priorities, and stay connected.
• Regular one-on-ones between managers and team members to offer support, track growth, and build trust.
• Retrospectives after large projects, launches, or events to reflect on what went well, what didn’t, and what could be improved. These aren’t about blaming anyone, they’re about learning and getting better as a team.
• Quarterly momentum check-ins, which are more strategic. These are a chance to zoom out and ask: what’s working, what’s not, and what needs to shift over the next 90 days? They’re also a great opportunity to talk about goals, growth opportunities, and team dynamics.

Without these rituals, remote teams tend to drift. People lose visibility, miss context, or start to feel disconnected. But when you build in steady rhythms, you create structure and belonging, which every remote team needs to thrive.

Encourage employee-led initiatives

When you have team members who are engaged, who care about the company and the people around them, they’re often the ones who come up with great ideas to foster connection, learning, and collaboration.

For example, if someone suggests starting team member lunch-and-learns, where once a month a different team member shares something they’ve built or learned, that’s a great way to build connection and cross-functional knowledge.

If a team member asks, “Could we plan an in-person retreat?” that might require more budget, but if it’s not something you’ve done before, it could be worth considering. And if that happens, invite them to help with the planning process. Let them be involved in scoping, budgeting, and figuring out logistics.

Or maybe someone brings up a new benefit idea, like performance-based rewards, bonuses, or even experiences. It might not always be feasible, but the fact that they’re thinking proactively about improving the team experience is a sign of strong engagement.

Even though you’re the founder, you won’t always be the one who comes up with the best culture ideas. And that’s a good thing. When you encourage your team to share ideas, and actually lean into them when possible, you show that their voices matter. It makes people feel respected, appreciated, and celebrated.

And when their ideas do come to life, take the time to recognize them. Call them out in front of the team. Acknowledge their leadership. That moment of recognition helps build confidence, ownership, and momentum across your team.

Celebrate wins

When you’re working remotely, it’s incredibly important to highlight and celebrate team wins—both big and small. Without the casual in-person energy of an office, it’s easy for great work to go unnoticed. But recognition is what reinforces progress, builds momentum, and helps people feel seen.

Whether someone closes a big deal, lands a new customer, wraps up a challenging project, gets a glowing shoutout from a client, or comes up with an innovative idea—those moments are worth celebrating. They remind your team of what’s working and help everyone feel like they’re part of something that’s moving forward.

We talked earlier about using a #wins channel in Slack. When you post in it, I highly recommend making it as fun as possible:

• Encourage emojis, GIFs, and celebratory reactions
• Create a peer-recognition system where teammates can give points or kudos (HeyTaco is a great Slackbot for this)
• Let team members redeem points for small perks or experiences (Bonusly is a great tool for this)
• Celebrate wins live in team meetings, don’t rely only on async channels

Recognition drives engagement. People want to know that their work matters. It builds confidence. It encourages repeat performance. And in a remote environment, where you don’t have hallway high-fives or spontaneous praise, or even visibility into what everyone else is doing, you have to be intentional about creating those moments.

Consistently calling out wins helps reinforce the kind of behaviors and results you want to see more of. It also helps team members learn from one another: what’s working, what success looks like, and how they can grow.

And the best part? It doesn’t have to cost a thing. Just pulling someone aside (virtually) or calling them out in front of the team with a sincere “this was awesome” can go a long way.

What it all comes down to

Culture doesn’t just happen—especially in a remote company. It’s something you shape every day through how you communicate, how you lead, and how you build systems that support your team’s success.

The good news? You don’t need a massive team or a big budget to do it well. You just need to be intentional.

If something in this post got you thinking, I’d love to hear about it. What’s one small shift you’re planning to make with your team? Drop it in the comments or reach out—I always read the replies.