If it defeats the purpose for you, sounds like this product isn't relevant to you? My guess is something as nuanced as a workplace (of which, there are MANY types, and you're right, a lot are just moving to remote work per COVID) will require different setups for different sets of people.

I won't dispute your jab at the traditional workplace culture/politics, but I certainly wouldn't assume your personal preferences (and perhaps, the common preference of HNers) is the golden standard.

Many people work better with others "around" and enjoy the company/atmosphere, myself included. Sounds like this product addresses that exact market.

Thanks! and yes we totally agree. Sidekick isn't for everyone. For the people that do miss being around others, we want to bring back some of that joy.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!

I'd consider using a product like this and I don't give a shit about draconian politics. The issue is that remote work has downsides. One downside is dramatically less collaboration. I like collaborating with team-mates, not just drudging away by myself. If this could help create more of a spontaneous back and forth in-person feel, that could be valuable. I don't know how it would feel, I'd have to try it and see. But I think you and the other people in this thread are being way too negative and defensive. Not all of us love remote work and especially not the "remote work is better in every way for everybody and anyone who thinks otherwise is a reactionary" culture.

I keep hearing this but it makes no sense to me. If people need to collaborate, what exactly is stopping them from doing it over video? On my team we collaborate all the time remotely.

From our experience, the best collaboration doesn't happen during planned meetings. It happens during spontaneous conversations and that's what we're trying to bring back.

I kind of get that, but none of the remote collaboration I experience is done through planned meetings. It happens during conversations we have spontaneously. It's just those conversations happen over Slack and then over video call.

This isn't to say that I disbelieve your experience, but it still baffles me there are remote teams out there that fail to collaborate at a sufficient level with tools that already exist. I hope Sidekick succeeds to a level that doesn't one day turn my home office into a remote version of Office Space.

The difference is when someone starts a call or an IM, its usually about something specific and so the expectation is that the conversation lasts just as long as it takes to resolve the specific issue. Spontaneity of conversation requires a culture of interaction without a specific aim. In an environment where you want to maximize such spontaneous connections, calls or IMs can't compare to always-on.

Yep, feels like they've fallen over on the whole 'define a problem' thing. Have they got any actual clients or just a bunch of fellow cohort YC companies all clapping each other on the back.

Thanks so much! Yes, we totally understand we're not going after all remote workers but there's a large set of people like you we want to help.

I haven't had that experience, but working over IM/IRC is a mode I'm used to.

> One downside is dramatically less collaboration.

This is simply an excuse for why remote doesn't work. It's a dead horse. If you find yourself collaborating less as a result of remote work, then I question your remote setup and culture.

> If this could help create more of a spontaneous back and forth in-person feel.

I actually feel less shitty by spontaneously reaching out to my colleagues via Slack or by phone when remote than I do tapping on their shoulder in an office.

> But I think you and the other people in this thread are being way too negative and defensive.

I wouldn't say my comment was that negative. This device is a threat to the upside of remote working, so it should be met with criticism. That doesn't mean I wish them any ill will. My biggest issue with something like this is that a device is now required for remote work and you must sit at your computer from 9am to 5pm. That's why a lot of people hate working from an office, so to recreate that at home would be a nightmare.

Thanks for the feedback, we're still really early so this datapoint is really helpful.

Sidekick works really well for teams that need to be always communicating real-time. This isn't all remote teams, but the subset that needs this is underserved and we're trying to help with Sidekick.

You're being very polite to people who are being very rude. This gives me confidence in using you as a vendor and helps your brand immensely.

>> If you find yourself collaborating less as a result of remote work, then I question your remote setup and culture.

Ah yes, the old "you're doing it wrong retort". Blaming the person who doesn't conform to your ideals, or has had different results is perhaps an even older, dead horse. See also: agile zealot.

We totally agree that for a portion of the remote workforce, asynchronous communication is actually preferable. Sidekick probably isn't for them.

The teams that love Sidekick actually need to feel like they're in the same room to get the job done. They actually want to be on the call at the same time because that's how they can be effective. These are teams like cofounders or operations teams.

"I will never purchase a tampon, therefore tampons are a terrible product with no purpose."