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I came here to write this exact response. Folks work in mission driven organizations. In organizations that are optimizing for dollars you see quality fall by

I came here to write this exact response. Folks work in mission driven organizations. In organizations that are optimizing for dollars you see quality fall by the wayside. Mission driven organizations that understand the levers of capital are the most enjoyable workplaces of my career. You want a CEO who is customer obsessed, not a CEO who is maximizing for dollars in the bank at all costs. It has to be mission first for a startup to be great, really for any critical endeavor.

scarface_74 1y ago
Every for profit organization is optimizing for dollars, the next round of funding or to be an acquisition target. “Customer obsession” only goes as far as getting enough customers to be an attractive acquisition or another exit.
- exceptione 1y ago
  This might be a frame of reference issue. There are quite some small-medium businesses with a founder who is able to have more concerns in scope than "maximize dollars - screw it".
  - scarface_74 1y ago
    Has that founder taken outside funding? If so, it doesn’t matter what their belief system is.
    - exceptione 1y ago
      I understand what you mean, but over here bootstrapping is the norm. Also funding can be boring loans from the bank, family loans, or business loans based on trust in the skills of the business owner. So it doesn't always have to be an: you owe me the money, so I own you.
      - TheNewsIsHere 1y ago
        Exactly. Tech has become a place where “funding” has become synonymous with “find a VC to fund you”. Most businesses don’t go that route, and plenty of tech ones don’t either. Savings, bank loans, lines of credit, private loans between people, local angel investors, and so on are how most businesses bootstrap. I co-own a technology business that has never taken outside money (well, we do have a credit card) and I’m not really interested in doing that. I think VCs are more trouble than they’re worth because they’re so obsessed with growth that little else matters to them, and we’ve seen where that gets us in terms of customer relationships and product quality. And they always want just enough control to eventually oust executives they don’t agree with. We’ve built our business up the old fashioned way: from a personal capital contribution from each co-founder and modeling pricing based on what the business needs. Clients who see value in that approach from their critical technology vendors are not impossible to find at all. Without the runway of functionally blank checks, you do have to continually monitor your business model though.
        scarface_74 1y ago
        Can you name one tech company of note that hasn’t gone that route? BaseCamp and who else?
        onli 1y ago
        Microsoft is listed often as example. Dell as well. Apple startet without VCs, but added one a bit later.
        scarface_74 1y ago
        Microsoft and Apple were founded in the late 70s not exactly applicable in 2025 with a completely different landscape.
        mattmanser 1y ago
        GitHub, MailChimp, stack overflow, craigslist, Zoho, pluralsight. Just ask an ai. Or do you want to shift goal posts again? And it's totally applicable right now given the recent collapse of VC funding.
babyent 1y ago
Maybe it’s a PE backed company

scarface_74 1y ago

Every for profit organization is optimizing for dollars, the next round of funding or to be an acquisition target. “Customer obsession” only goes as far as getting enough customers to be an attractive acquisition or another exit.

exceptione 1y ago
This might be a frame of reference issue. There are quite some small-medium businesses with a founder who is able to have more concerns in scope than "maximize dollars - screw it".
- scarface_74 1y ago
  Has that founder taken outside funding? If so, it doesn’t matter what their belief system is.
  - exceptione 1y ago
    I understand what you mean, but over here bootstrapping is the norm. Also funding can be boring loans from the bank, family loans, or business loans based on trust in the skills of the business owner. So it doesn't always have to be an: you owe me the money, so I own you.
    - TheNewsIsHere 1y ago
      Exactly. Tech has become a place where “funding” has become synonymous with “find a VC to fund you”. Most businesses don’t go that route, and plenty of tech ones don’t either. Savings, bank loans, lines of credit, private loans between people, local angel investors, and so on are how most businesses bootstrap. I co-own a technology business that has never taken outside money (well, we do have a credit card) and I’m not really interested in doing that. I think VCs are more trouble than they’re worth because they’re so obsessed with growth that little else matters to them, and we’ve seen where that gets us in terms of customer relationships and product quality. And they always want just enough control to eventually oust executives they don’t agree with. We’ve built our business up the old fashioned way: from a personal capital contribution from each co-founder and modeling pricing based on what the business needs. Clients who see value in that approach from their critical technology vendors are not impossible to find at all. Without the runway of functionally blank checks, you do have to continually monitor your business model though.
      - scarface_74 1y ago
        Can you name one tech company of note that hasn’t gone that route? BaseCamp and who else?
        onli 1y ago
        Microsoft is listed often as example. Dell as well. Apple startet without VCs, but added one a bit later.
        scarface_74 1y ago
        Microsoft and Apple were founded in the late 70s not exactly applicable in 2025 with a completely different landscape.
        mattmanser 1y ago
        GitHub, MailChimp, stack overflow, craigslist, Zoho, pluralsight. Just ask an ai. Or do you want to shift goal posts again? And it's totally applicable right now given the recent collapse of VC funding.

babyent 1y ago

Maybe it’s a PE backed company