[ccashwell_]

I've worked with lots of great companies, both on-site and remotely, and I can that in my experience proximity is only directly correlated with productivity at the earliest stages. Once everyone understands their piece of the puzzle, sharing a physical space hasn't been important. Remote teams work best when everyone is actually dedicated to the same cause and working toward a common goal, however the same could be said of any team.

I've built three successful teams remotely and I wouldn't trade any of them for one in a shared space. Use Slack for real-time, text-based communication, Google Hangouts for face-to-face chats, ScreenHero for remote desktop sharing (e.g. for pair programming or quick demos), Pivotal Tracker (or similar) for task tracking and weekly check-ins with every employee. If someone seems to be dropping the ball or losing focus, bring it to their attention and ask what's going on.

TL;DR: Communication is key. Not everyone's suited to remote work, but neither is everyone suited to sharing space. With the right tools in place and a dedicated team, you're all set.