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I started a company 8 years ago. I went through startup literature. I tried to follow the advices. We got our product going for 2 years. But we couldn't make it

I started a company 8 years ago. I went through startup literature. I tried to follow the advices. We got our product going for 2 years. But we couldn't make it big. We eventually transitioned to contracting work. We were basically working for a bigger company. Except we had the freedom to work from home. We're about to fold during this pandemic. I'm happy with the choices I made. My take away lesson is most of the startup advices are molding us into stereotypes. You have to come up with a business model and projection. You have to have more than 1 founder. Silicon Valley is where you want to be. We have to do xyz to raise funding. These advices distract us from building products and selling to customers. They also create unhealthy relationships. I think corporate structures and funding industries have baked-in inequalities. They are optimized for pattern matching. They discriminate against a lot of things: company size, gender, race, etc. When you follow company building advices, you are trying to retrofit into these structures. Stereotypes and discriminations come with them. You'll be disappointed and unhappy. For my next projects, I don't seek out for advices. I build stuff, find users, find customers. The only advice filter is: help me find customers.

alexpotato 6y ago
I think it was Maciej Cegłowski, founder of https://pinboard.in https://pinboard.in, who related the following story: - He had a competitor who couldn't make the product work given revenues < costs - He ended up buying the competitor - Because his infrastructure costs were much lower (I believe due to NOT using AWS whereas the competitor did) he was able to make money on the cash flow from the competitor because he ran his business more efficiently. This story struck me because it was a vivid reminder that two companies, in the same industry and with the same product can have VASTLY different operating models when it comes to people, costs, infrastructure etc. I 100% believe you are correct in that pattern matching plays a role. That being said, it's important to add that there are "a thousand right ways and a million wrong ways." Just because one of the 1000 is the hot ticket doesn't mean it's the only way.
WalterBright 6y ago
The pattern that matches best is "making a fat profit". A real estate agent told me once that a client has decided whether he wants to buy the house or not before he opens the front door.
- rexreed 6y ago
  Have you ever bought a house? More than one? That real estate agent is feeding you a line of baloney. If you aren't interested in a house you don't go looking at it. If you want to buy a house before you even step foot in it, you're a fool. Would you buy a house that way? I agree with the OP commenter here. Silicon Valley advice is a load of malarkey. Focus on the customers. Focus on your market. Stop listening to stupid advice.
  - WalterBright 6y ago
    Yeah, I have. And he's right. Once you open the door, you're looking for a reason to not buy it. For example, you don't hire a home inspector if you don't want to buy the property.
    - rexreed 6y ago
      That's not how the quote is said above. The real estate agent says the client has decided on the house before they step foot in it. I have bought and sold many a house and I've never made a decision that way. Looking for insight / looking for reasons, ok, I agree with you. But clients who make decisions without stepping foot in a house? That's crazy talk.
      - WalterBright 6y ago
        > That's not how the quote is said above. That's not how English works. I did not say "the client has always decided". Nobody expects statements are absolute when talking about the behaviors of people. The non-literal meanings of English is why each profession has its own specialized jargon (like lawyer legalese, military jargon, and aviation terms).
toadi 6y ago
Seems like most people cargo cult companies together or even keep big companies running by cargo culting. Getting praised if they are successful but it''s maybe not on purpose they got successful.
- pm90 6y ago
  How else would they do it? Starting companies is not exactly a science, is it? AFAIK MBAs teach you to run businesses efficiently and maybe understand how markets work but they won’t tell you how to build a firm. You have to start somewhere. Seems like the cargo curling involves a bunch of relevant advice mixed in with a fair amount of virtue signaling.
rexreed 6y ago
This is the best comment here. Absolutely right. Take advice with a grain of salt. Focus on your customers.

alexpotato 6y ago

I think it was Maciej Cegłowski, founder of https://pinboard.in https://pinboard.in, who related the following story: - He had a competitor who couldn't make the product work given revenues < costs - He ended up buying the competitor - Because his infrastructure costs were much lower (I believe due to NOT using AWS whereas the competitor did) he was able to make money on the cash flow from the competitor because he ran his business more efficiently. This story struck me because it was a vivid reminder that two companies, in the same industry and with the same product can have VASTLY different operating models when it comes to people, costs, infrastructure etc. I 100% believe you are correct in that pattern matching plays a role. That being said, it's important to add that there are "a thousand right ways and a million wrong ways." Just because one of the 1000 is the hot ticket doesn't mean it's the only way.

WalterBright 6y ago

The pattern that matches best is "making a fat profit". A real estate agent told me once that a client has decided whether he wants to buy the house or not before he opens the front door.

rexreed 6y ago
Have you ever bought a house? More than one? That real estate agent is feeding you a line of baloney. If you aren't interested in a house you don't go looking at it. If you want to buy a house before you even step foot in it, you're a fool. Would you buy a house that way? I agree with the OP commenter here. Silicon Valley advice is a load of malarkey. Focus on the customers. Focus on your market. Stop listening to stupid advice.
- WalterBright 6y ago
  Yeah, I have. And he's right. Once you open the door, you're looking for a reason to not buy it. For example, you don't hire a home inspector if you don't want to buy the property.
  - rexreed 6y ago
    That's not how the quote is said above. The real estate agent says the client has decided on the house before they step foot in it. I have bought and sold many a house and I've never made a decision that way. Looking for insight / looking for reasons, ok, I agree with you. But clients who make decisions without stepping foot in a house? That's crazy talk.
    - WalterBright 6y ago
      > That's not how the quote is said above. That's not how English works. I did not say "the client has always decided". Nobody expects statements are absolute when talking about the behaviors of people. The non-literal meanings of English is why each profession has its own specialized jargon (like lawyer legalese, military jargon, and aviation terms).

toadi 6y ago

Seems like most people cargo cult companies together or even keep big companies running by cargo culting. Getting praised if they are successful but it''s maybe not on purpose they got successful.

pm90 6y ago
How else would they do it? Starting companies is not exactly a science, is it? AFAIK MBAs teach you to run businesses efficiently and maybe understand how markets work but they won’t tell you how to build a firm. You have to start somewhere. Seems like the cargo curling involves a bunch of relevant advice mixed in with a fair amount of virtue signaling.

rexreed 6y ago

This is the best comment here. Absolutely right. Take advice with a grain of salt. Focus on your customers.