3 ms·

I've noticed lots of articles where people give the same advice: Don't worry if your plan isn't scalable at first. Is this really a problem? Do that many found

I've noticed lots of articles where people give the same advice: Don't worry if your plan isn't scalable at first. Is this really a problem? Do that many founders throw out an idea because it won't scale?

sailfast 13y ago
If the idea doesn't scale it could be a problem, especially if your revenue model is based on scaling or if you're planning on raising money. I think the sentiment you're referring to is mostly "my idea scales but my prototype doesn't - I can't ship before my prototype scales!" and commenters saying don't let that stop you. That's definitely a mental hurdle to get over but a much more fixable problem.
jonnathanson 13y ago
The advice in this article isn't "don't worry if your plan [or product] isn't scalable." It's "getting your first 1,000 users is usually not a scalable process." The idea is that you need to do some serious legwork, and involve high-touch, high-response tactics to nurture and cultivate your early userbase. You're tending to every plant in the garden, personally, by hand. That's not a scalable process, but it can be necessary before being able to transition into scale mode. This advice is offered in opposition to the "build it and they will come" approach, in which you build a product, throw in a few theoretical viral loops and growth-hack mechanics, maybe go for a bit of PR pickup, and then assume the product will achieve scale on its own. A lot of growth plots don't start off linear or exponential. They start off with a few staircases.
marioluigi 13y ago
I believe that it truly is a problem - specifically with respect to scalable marketing and especially if the founders are engineers with a great dislike of anything marketing related (yours truly included). We like to believe that once we launch and get a handful of users, the viral effect will take place and bada-bing bada-boom we will have a million users. Movies like social network make it look like Facebook reached its first million users drinking and coding 24/7 (I still love that movie) - but the truth is that you have to put the effort in building relationships with your users and there is no scalable way to do that.
- normloman 13y ago
  I can relate. Building the website is fun. Promoting it takes a massive effort, and can make you feel like a sleazy door-to-door salesperson. I feel the same way applying for jobs.
  - dshanahan 13y ago
    Fortunately there are those of us who love that part:) (minus the sleazy stuff)

sailfast 13y ago

If the idea doesn't scale it could be a problem, especially if your revenue model is based on scaling or if you're planning on raising money. I think the sentiment you're referring to is mostly "my idea scales but my prototype doesn't - I can't ship before my prototype scales!" and commenters saying don't let that stop you. That's definitely a mental hurdle to get over but a much more fixable problem.

jonnathanson 13y ago

The advice in this article isn't "don't worry if your plan [or product] isn't scalable." It's "getting your first 1,000 users is usually not a scalable process." The idea is that you need to do some serious legwork, and involve high-touch, high-response tactics to nurture and cultivate your early userbase. You're tending to every plant in the garden, personally, by hand. That's not a scalable process, but it can be necessary before being able to transition into scale mode. This advice is offered in opposition to the "build it and they will come" approach, in which you build a product, throw in a few theoretical viral loops and growth-hack mechanics, maybe go for a bit of PR pickup, and then assume the product will achieve scale on its own. A lot of growth plots don't start off linear or exponential. They start off with a few staircases.

marioluigi 13y ago

I believe that it truly is a problem - specifically with respect to scalable marketing and especially if the founders are engineers with a great dislike of anything marketing related (yours truly included). We like to believe that once we launch and get a handful of users, the viral effect will take place and bada-bing bada-boom we will have a million users. Movies like social network make it look like Facebook reached its first million users drinking and coding 24/7 (I still love that movie) - but the truth is that you have to put the effort in building relationships with your users and there is no scalable way to do that.

normloman 13y ago
I can relate. Building the website is fun. Promoting it takes a massive effort, and can make you feel like a sleazy door-to-door salesperson. I feel the same way applying for jobs.
- dshanahan 13y ago
  Fortunately there are those of us who love that part:) (minus the sleazy stuff)