> Where scale matters is at big companies. When you already have a lot of customers, you’re first version of any new feature or product must already be at scale

> Where scale matters is at big companies. When you already have a lot of customers, you’re first version of any new feature or product must already be at scale. Amazon couldn't have launched a non scalable prime now, or echo. Google can't launch a non scalable chat service, etc. This is the point I was going to make. When you are designing the very platforms on which all these "does it scale? who cares" startups are going to be built, you do not have the luxury of having that attitude. Definitely don't take that mindset into an interview at google or amazon. :) I do agree with the OP's sentiment for startup projects in general. I have had the experience of worrying about scale too early and over-engineering a system which never had more than a few dozen users, and the opposite experience of tossing something together that wouldn't scale and then going through the hairy scrambling at every order of magnitude of scale through tens of millions of users. The latter was definitely a better strategy.