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What? Why would you do something that doesn't scale? This is like the exact opposite goal of a startup...?
by ryguytilidie 11y ago
What? Why would you do something that doesn't scale? This is like the exact opposite goal of a startup...?
- brianwawok 11y agoNew around here? http://paulgraham.com/ds.html http://paulgraham.com/ds.html
- ceejayoz 11y agoPG isn't saying "do stuff that won't ever be possible to scale" in that, though.
- brianwawok 11y agoSure. But if the other providers don't have an API, it may take hiring a bunch of fax machine runners for a few years. Doesn't mean that was the end game plan... especially if they could automate as much of the fax machine running as possible.
- traviscj 11y agoMy take: you try to do something that could scale, but maybe doesn't. You might start with something that doesn't scale to explore market fit and figure out whether it's worth genuine automation. Seems like the problem here was either choosing not to or simply not being able to automate their process.
- brianwawok 11y agoMy take is prove if it works and gets enough traction before you fuss over how well you scaled. If that meant you had to hire 100 people to fax things for a year or two, that seems reasonable (especially if you aren't losing massive money because of it). I suspect you could still be profitable without automating 100% of selling insurance. Source: Every other insurance agency out there.