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I remember VCs telling me to be a platform, not a product. "Look at what FB is doing!" It made sense for FB, but that doesn't mean it makes sense for everyone.

I remember VCs telling me to be a platform, not a product. "Look at what FB is doing!" It made sense for FB, but that doesn't mean it makes sense for everyone. A sticky platform will be stickier than a sticky product. But that doesn't mean every product should be made into a platform.

JumpCrisscross 4y ago
> "Look at what FB is doing!" It made sense for FB Except Facebook started as a product.
- gnicholas 4y ago
  The VC's point was that FB was moving to be a platform, and I should too (despite having approximately 0% of the number of users that FB had at the time).
  - haacked 4y ago
    Right. Your VC was trying to convince you to start at the finish live. If only it were that easy!
gumby 4y ago
I don’t think you understood my point. Being an advertising platform is good for facebook. But I don’t use FB for that reason (actually it’s a negative) I use it to keep up with my friends and family, and their kids. FB started by “selling” access to the freshman* picture book. They only became a platform later. * hopefully a less sexist term is used these days.
- gnicholas 4y ago
  I don't think you understood my point either, so I guess we're even! They used to just be an app, and now they have an ecosystem of products (Whatsapp, Instagram, etc.). I wasn't referring to the fact that they also run an advertiser-facing platform at all. I was just pointing out that they started as a single product and have expanded to being a larger platform, with all the network effects/benefits that such growth entails. That's great for them, at that stage. But it doesn't make sense for all earlier stage products to try to become platforms. To me, the VC was showing a not-uncommon tendency to swing for the fences (or rather, to suggest that an undiversified startup founder should do so).
- pcthrowaway 4y ago
  I hadn't considered that freshman was compound of "man", but after thinking "how is it different from human" I realized the plural of freshman is not freshmans
bigiain 4y ago
> I remember VCs telling me to be a platform, not a product. VCs incentives may not be aligned with your incentives. They are looking for Unicorns (Decacorns? Centocorns?) and are prepared to have _you_ take on a high risk of failing to improve their 1:100 successful investment upside calculations. You building a comfortable 8 figure revenue and 7 figure profit company over 5 or 10 years is basically a failure in their eyes. For every Facebook or AWS, there are a 100,000 profitable "product companies" and probably a million successful-enough "lifestyle businesses". If you want to take on the risk and shoot for the stars, sure - follow that VC advice. If you'd personally be happy with an 8 figure exit or a high six figure salary for as long as you want it, you can reduce your risk of failure substantially by _not_ following that advise to the letter.
- gnicholas 4y ago
  You read my mind (err—my downstream comment)!

JumpCrisscross 4y ago

> "Look at what FB is doing!" It made sense for FB Except Facebook started as a product.

gnicholas 4y ago
The VC's point was that FB was moving to be a platform, and I should too (despite having approximately 0% of the number of users that FB had at the time).
- haacked 4y ago
  Right. Your VC was trying to convince you to start at the finish live. If only it were that easy!

gumby 4y ago

I don’t think you understood my point. Being an advertising platform is good for facebook. But I don’t use FB for that reason (actually it’s a negative) I use it to keep up with my friends and family, and their kids. FB started by “selling” access to the freshman* picture book. They only became a platform later. * hopefully a less sexist term is used these days.

gnicholas 4y ago
I don't think you understood my point either, so I guess we're even! They used to just be an app, and now they have an ecosystem of products (Whatsapp, Instagram, etc.). I wasn't referring to the fact that they also run an advertiser-facing platform at all. I was just pointing out that they started as a single product and have expanded to being a larger platform, with all the network effects/benefits that such growth entails. That's great for them, at that stage. But it doesn't make sense for all earlier stage products to try to become platforms. To me, the VC was showing a not-uncommon tendency to swing for the fences (or rather, to suggest that an undiversified startup founder should do so).
pcthrowaway 4y ago
I hadn't considered that freshman was compound of "man", but after thinking "how is it different from human" I realized the plural of freshman is not freshmans

bigiain 4y ago

> I remember VCs telling me to be a platform, not a product. VCs incentives may not be aligned with your incentives. They are looking for Unicorns (Decacorns? Centocorns?) and are prepared to have _you_ take on a high risk of failing to improve their 1:100 successful investment upside calculations. You building a comfortable 8 figure revenue and 7 figure profit company over 5 or 10 years is basically a failure in their eyes. For every Facebook or AWS, there are a 100,000 profitable "product companies" and probably a million successful-enough "lifestyle businesses". If you want to take on the risk and shoot for the stars, sure - follow that VC advice. If you'd personally be happy with an 8 figure exit or a high six figure salary for as long as you want it, you can reduce your risk of failure substantially by _not_ following that advise to the letter.

gnicholas 4y ago
You read my mind (err—my downstream comment)!