5 ms·
Ask YC: What should one skimp on?
There are a lot of articles on hacker news about how important it is not to skimp on x for x = lawyers, graphic designers, people, people not in your core competency, marketing, gear, chairs, etc. I'd like to ask the opposite: of all the things a startup usually buys, what should one skimp on?
- Raphael 19y agoGraphic design, if your concept or implementation is really stellar. Google and Reddit get by just fine. I've noticed that sites such as Digg will actually reduce graphics when redesigning the page, reducing clutter and bandwidth at the same time. That is, as long as your target audience isn't primarily composed of Apple users. Then it's graphics all the way!
- yan 19y ago''Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like,'' says Steve Jobs, Apple's C.E.O. ''People think it's this veneer -- that the designers are handed this box and told, 'Make it look good!' That's not what we think design is. It's not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.'' http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E7D8113BF933A05752C1A9659C8B63 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C02E7D8113BF...
- mynameishere 19y agoHe specified "Graphic Design" and there he is probably right, if only because your typical hacker will un-self-consciously design a graphical monstrosity. My answer to the OP's question is: "Everything outside your core competence". It's relative, of course...
- attack 19y agoWith the lavish resources they can throw at any project, it seems hardly appropriate for us to try to develop like them.
- jrockway 19y agoThe best design is one you don't notice. To make a page look simple and "good", you need a skilled designer. One data point -- I'm not a skilled designer and have tried to "keep things simple". My sites still end up looking like crap :) That is why I let the designers design, though. Making something complex is easy. Making something simple is hard.
- asdflkj 19y agoPeople often say that what they design ends up looking like crap. But that's like saying that your program "ends up" working like crap. If it's not good enough, all it means is it's unfinished.
- brlewis 19y agoIt isn't just a matter of who your target audience is. It's also what their relationship is to the information you're managing. More detail than you probably want re. my struggle with this issue can be found here: http://ourdoings.com/2008-02-12 http://ourdoings.com/2008-02-12
- andr 19y agoPremature optimization. For most Web 2.0 startups, you can also skip IE6 support, at least in the beginning.
- aaronjames 19y agoAre you joking? IE6 is still a massive percentage of visitors. It's not hard to do, unless you're just lazy. IE6 is definately not something to skimp on.
- xenoterracide 19y agoif you write standard html4 and make sure that you use css that IE supports (even if it's not quite right) you can wait on the IE optimization. because it should still work.
- dkokelley 19y agoAll of that in addition to the fact that most early adopters of your site will be on FF, or really anything other than IE6(7).
- yan 19y agoI agree with this. Knuth quipped that 'Premature optimization is the root of all evil.' Get your stuff working correctly first, attract an audience, then if your current set up is lacking, try to optimize, or just throw more hardware at it. Hardware is typically cheaper than human time.
- epi0Bauqu 19y agoIE6 is still a significant %, and in most cases will be the second biggest browser for a Web site. In one large random sample on one of my sites, IE is 90% and IE6 is 45% of those.
- asdf333 19y agoan office space, office furniture, luxury items like candy/soda
- motherwell 19y agoIs the answer, everything too vague? I would say the first place to skrimp is lifestyle, and from there, build up.
- ken 19y agoDesks. A perfectly functional desk can be constructed out of an ordinary door in mere minutes. http://web.archive.org/web/20010606140033/image.pathfinder.com/time/poy/images/desk.jpg http://web.archive.org/web/20010606140033/image.pathfinder.c...
- xenoterracide 19y agomm.... I would buy cheap desks. you know the $50 kind. And the cheap chairs are always the most comfortable, believe it or not. I can't stand working at a desk without a proper keyboard tray and mouse pad. In many ways having a comfortable working environment is very important. But comfortable != luxurious. Keep it cheap, just not so cheap that you can't get work done because it's not comfortable.
- rms 19y ago>And the cheap chairs are always the most comfortable, believe it or not. Surely spoken by someone who has never sat in an Aeron...
- xenoterracide 19y agodon't even know what that is. But chair brands don't matter to me. From what I have had to choose from in office supply/department stores. The cheap ones are more comfy than the expensive ones on average, and especially on a cost/value ratio.
- mrtron 19y ago> But chair brands don't matter to me. Surely spoken by someone who has never sat in an Aeron...
- handelaar 19y ago>>And the cheap chairs are always the most >>comfortable, believe it or not. >Surely spoken by someone who has never sat >in an Aeron... I've sat in many an Aeron. It's the Slackware of chairs. IMHO it takes weeks to get all the settings right, and at the end of the process you've still got the unsettling feeling that your ass feels really hot for some reason not fully apparent.
- skmurphy 19y agoI would worry a lot more about where you spend your time than your money.
- dkokelley 19y agoOf all the things a startup usually buys, what should one skimp on? I would say the bottom line is skimp on things that do not directly have a significant impact on your valuation, profitability, primary product/service, or ability to "do well" in your business. A shorter way to say this is don't spend money on things outside of what you are doing. There is no reason for fancy furniture, ping-pong tables, the absolute latest computer hardware (unless critical to your startup), or any of the other 'perks' of a stereotypical startup. After you are beyond the initial startup phase, then you could make arguments for nicer secondary items, to attract talent, or create a certain work environment.
- trevelyan 19y agoHire people with laptops and you don't need to buy a lot of computers. Build a bigger office network when you have the money coming in to buy machines.
- maheshcr 19y agodo not spend on people who dont understand customers