TRC 039: Do things that don't scale

Read time: 5 mins

Founders and investors love software businesses because of their potential to reach global scale at low marginal cost.

For example, ChatGPT reached 1 million users in five days, 100 million users in two months, and 200 million active users as of July 2024.

But that doesn’t mean that you need to have that ability to go vertical from the first moment.

In fact, it can often pay to do things in the early days that don’t scale.

In the early 1990s, Marc Andreessen was the sole support administrator for the entire internet after the launch of the Mosaic browser.

Here’s what founders can learn and why operating this way can be crucial for long-term success.

1. Personalise Customer Interactions

Spend time interacting with your customers one-on-one.

Respond to their emails, take their calls, and address their concerns personally.

This not only builds a loyal customer base but also provides direct feedback to improve your product.

Personal interactions create lasting impressions and help you understand your customers' pain points.

2. Handcraft Early Experiences

Focus on creating exceptional experiences for your early users.

Whether it’s through personalised onboarding, custom solutions, or dedicated support, these handcrafted experiences can turn early adopters into evangelists.

This level of attention to detail helps build a strong foundation and reputation for your startup.

It also helps you understand which parts of your product will genuinely delight them.

3. Solve Problems Manually

Before automating processes, do them manually.

This approach helps you understand every aspect of your operations and identify potential improvements.

Manual problem-solving also fosters creativity and resourcefulness, essential traits for any startup where every penny counts.

4. Engage in Community Building

Invest time in building and nurturing a community around your product.

Engage with users on forums, social media, and events.

Participate in discussions, offer help, and build relationships.

A strong community can provide support, spread the word about your product, and offer invaluable feedback.

Don’t hide behind your email.

5. Focus on Quality Over Quantity

Prioritise delivering exceptional value to a smaller audience rather than spreading yourself too thin.

High-quality products and services lead to word-of-mouth referrals and organic growth.

Focusing on quality helps you build a loyal user base that can sustain your startup in the long run.

6. Continuously Gather Feedback

Create channels for continuous feedback and be proactive in seeking it.

Use surveys, direct conversations, and user testing to understand how your product is being used and where it can be improved.

Continuous feedback loops are essential for iterative development and staying aligned with user needs.

Why it matters

Unscalable actions might seem counterintuitive in a world obsessed with scaling rapidly.

However, these actions are crucial for several reasons:

• Deep Understanding: They provide a deep understanding of your users, their problems and needs and how you can solve them with your product.
• Strong Relationships: They help build strong, loyal relationships with early customers.
• Quality Foundation: They ensure a high-quality foundation upon which you can build scalable processes.
• Agility: They make your startup more agile and responsive to changes and feedback.

Don’t think that absolutely everything has to be automated from the off.

Doing things that don’t scale so you can get really intimate with your customers’ problems can be the foundation upon which you build your business.

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