I don’t regret this, but...

If I were starting from scratch today, I wouldn't build another remote company.

That might sound strange coming from someone who runs a fully remote team spread across multiple continents. 

Lemon.io is lean, profitable, and global. Remote works for us.

But if I were doing it all over again, I wouldn’t just bring people together virtually — I’d bring them together physically.

I’d build an innovation campus, like Pete Sena did.

Don’t tell Pete “no”

Pete is the founder of Digital Surgeons, a creative agency headquartered a few miles from Yale University in New Haven, CT.

Long before the pandemic made remote work the default, Pete and his team were already betting on the value of in-person collaboration. 

One of Digital Surgeons’ biggest clients at the time was Epic Games, and he was blown away by their energetic company campus in North Carolina

He later visited the Silicon Valley campuses of Facebook, and Google, and felt similarly inspired by the cross-disciplinary collaboration taking place.

Why couldn’t something like that be created in New Haven?

So when his office lease was nearing an end, he approached WeWork to expand into New Haven. He would sign up as their first tenant, and work with them to attract other great local companies.

But they weren’t interested.

New Haven didn’t have the population density, or the “coolness” they were after.

So he said, “screw it, I’ll do it myself,” and began conceiving what would eventually become District—

A 100k+ square foot multidisciplinary playground where startups, creatives, investors, educators, and technologists collide in real time.

We're wired for connection

Pete knew this before most of us did. 

A self-professed introvert, Pete began studying the science of collaboration and human behavior long before the pandemic forced us all into virtual boxes, and we had to start thinking about the consequences.

And the neuroscience is simple — there are parts of our brain that just don’t activate the same way when we’re staring at a screen. 

Something happens when you're in the room with other people. There's energy. There's serendipity. There's momentum.

But if Pete was going to build a physical space to exploit human collaboration, he couldn’t just throw together some coworking desks and call it a day.

He needed to engineer “intentional collisions”.

District isn’t just a business campus, or even a co-working community.

It’s a thoughtfully designed hub that brings the right people together at the right stage of their journey—

From having an idea, to raising capital, to scaling a team, the space is designed to support the community when they need, and in the ways they need it the most:

• Legal support? They have a law lab.
  

• Venture capital? They brought the largest VC group in the state onto campus.
  

• Content creation? There's a full podcast and video production studio.
  

• Social connection? There’s a beer garden and event space packed with programming.

But what makes it special isn’t just the amenities — it’s the mix.

Technologists, designers, VCs, agency teams, founders, students — all under one roof. Not randomly. Intentionally.

Pete believes that bringing together people from different disciplines sparks better ideas, faster growth, and deeper relationships. 

When you work in isolation, you miss out on the friction that leads to progress.

Optionality is the future

People don’t want to be forced back into an office five days a week. They want flexibility. 

But they also want connection. 

That’s the paradox of the post-pandemic workplace. You need a space where people can show up because they want to.

Pete said something that really stuck with me:

"AI can do the transactional stuff. But humans are craving connection more than ever."

We’re entering a new era:

• Smaller teams

• More automation

• Less overhead

But the one thing AI can’t replace is a shared meal, a hallway conversation, or the creative buzz of being in the room when something clicks.

Physical space matters. Not always. And not for everyone. But if you're building for the long haul, it's worth thinking about how you can get people together in person.

I missed that chance when I started Lemon.io. 

I don’t regret it. But if I were starting again, I’d build something like District.

–Aleksandr

P.S. — If the thing you’re building requires top tech talent, I’d love to help you find your next hire. Reach out anytime.

Catch you next Sunday!