I don't understand why this is such a massive problem (front page news for days now, really?). Mind you, I am not a crypto expert, but enough with the bitching already.
Crypto experts, just crack it then.. who cares about the special conditions in the contest which make it so difficult. Just do it, prove your point and carry on.
This article is all wrong. I am a consumer, and the publisher should be interested in what works for me. While one can argue the merits of Newsstand, I've used it, and I've used standalone native apps as the OP suggest. I prefer consolidation to mess. I prefer a consistent experience across all reading material, much like the physical counterpart found in the magazine / newspaper format.
I would also be curious to see some actual numbers behind this topic. Especially the number of employees + founders, and the skill sets of that combined team.
I think having everyone in office in a small company is often more about building a great office culture, and less about it being the only way to build a company. Small teams tend to do more than just work together, they integrate their socials lives. When that is the type of company you are trying to build, remote workers don't fit into that picture right away.
Also you cannot forget the difference between good distractions and bad distractions. Overhearing a conversation (between other developers), is less of a distraction than overhearing a couple of suits on sales calls or talking about the game last night. You can still be in the zone, have good distractions, be an introvert, noise cancelling headphones, etc.
A small team on-site is going to rapidly move through ideas, faster than chat rooms or even facetime/skype can truly allow, as natural as it appears it is nothing compared to in person conversations. That moment when your team discovers their Epiphany, in my opinion, is much more likely to happen in person.
Crypto experts, just crack it then.. who cares about the special conditions in the contest which make it so difficult. Just do it, prove your point and carry on.
$200k is PR, everyone knows that already.