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> It’s literally the ads and bloatware I hope more companies and MBAs open their eyes to this: that the long term cost of user-hostile changes is negative comp

by callc 9mo ago

> It’s literally the ads and bloatware I hope more companies and MBAs open their eyes to this: that the long term cost of user-hostile changes is negative compared to respecting users and building good products. Also currently it helps to stand out from the sea of crap products. Play the long game. Make good products. Bring joy and positive experience to peoples lives. Sleep well at night.

monero-xmr 9mo ago
I’m a big fan of staying private. I own a company that took VC many years ago but we strategically stayed private for a decade now and made peace with the VC. You just keep being honest, stacking customers, playing the long game. I see the value of being public but as a 100 to 500 person company that grows steadily, you keep it private and remove the quarterly earnings. The constant drive to hit the quarterly nut at all costs causes so many stupid short term benefits that hurt long term value. There is an enormous number of small companies you have never heard of like this. It’s just so short sighted to kill the golden goose to juice some profit
- callc 9mo ago
  That’s awesome! I want to do the same if I start a company. Indeed quarterly earnings make people think short term, disregard long term. Focus on growth above all else
- machomaster 9mo ago
  How did you manage to agree with VC?
  - monero-xmr 9mo ago
    Bought them out
theturtletalks 9mo ago
It won’t help, because once those MBAs take VC money, the incentives push the product toward enshittification sooner or later. What we’re seeing instead is open-source becoming the real alternative. People used to look for other proprietary tools, but now open-source options are getting good enough, and more people are building personal software that fits their needs instead of bloated do-everything apps. That’s the shift. Open-source is rising, and I don’t think these companies can reverse course fast enough.

by callc 9mo ago

monero-xmr 9mo ago

I’m a big fan of staying private. I own a company that took VC many years ago but we strategically stayed private for a decade now and made peace with the VC. You just keep being honest, stacking customers, playing the long game. I see the value of being public but as a 100 to 500 person company that grows steadily, you keep it private and remove the quarterly earnings. The constant drive to hit the quarterly nut at all costs causes so many stupid short term benefits that hurt long term value. There is an enormous number of small companies you have never heard of like this. It’s just so short sighted to kill the golden goose to juice some profit

callc 9mo ago
That’s awesome! I want to do the same if I start a company. Indeed quarterly earnings make people think short term, disregard long term. Focus on growth above all else
machomaster 9mo ago
How did you manage to agree with VC?
- monero-xmr 9mo ago
  Bought them out

theturtletalks 9mo ago

It won’t help, because once those MBAs take VC money, the incentives push the product toward enshittification sooner or later. What we’re seeing instead is open-source becoming the real alternative. People used to look for other proprietary tools, but now open-source options are getting good enough, and more people are building personal software that fits their needs instead of bloated do-everything apps. That’s the shift. Open-source is rising, and I don’t think these companies can reverse course fast enough.