Do What Doesn’t Scale: PM Edition

I doubt there is anyone serious about building software startups who haven’t read or at least heard of the now-famous “Do what doesn’t scale“ article by YC’s Paul Graham, especially in the last 12 months. However, as a product manager, I’d like to bring the action a little closer to home and perhaps distill one or two lessons that we can apply in our day-to-day as product people.
Paul Graham posits that while it’s tempting to chase after scalable solutions that promise exponential growth, you want to have a big launch for your product, you want to hire Twitter influencers to get you to the top of the trends table, you want to run a ton of ads, all fine and good. However, some of the most successful founders have learned that doing things that don’t scale—at least in the early stages—can be the key to building a solid foundation for growth. Walk with me as I explore why and how product managers can embrace unscalable actions. Of course, we’ll be using real-world examples and anecdotes.

The Power of Manual User Acquisition

One of the first lessons in unscalable tactics is the importance of manual user acquisition. Startups often need to go out and recruit users rather than wait for them to come naturally. it’s choppy waters out here with sharks; if you want to eat, you have to grab your spear and dive right in.
Take Stripe, for example. The founders, Patrick and John Collison, didn't just sit back and wait for users to flock to their payment processing platform. They actively sought out potential users, often taking their laptops and setting them up on the spot. This hands-on approach not only helped Stripe gain traction but also built a loyal user base from the very beginning.

Similarly, Airbnb faced a daunting challenge in its early days. To get their marketplace off the ground, founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia went door-to-door in New York City, helping hosts improve their listings while personally recruiting new users. This level of engagement was crucial during a time when Airbnb was fragile and needed that initial push to survive. A fragility that is a component of most nascent startups whose founders tend to ignore, hoping that all they’ll need is one big fancy colorful launch or a partnership with some big company that draws users to them like Nigerian police to bribes, a PM with that mindset is in for the shocker of a lifetime.

Manual user acquisition might sound tedious, but that one-on-one experience observing and onboarding these customers provides invaluable feedback that no survey or onboarding tool will give you.

Delight Your Users

Once you've acquired users, the next step is to ensure they are delighted with your product. A great example comes from Wufoo, a form-building software company that took the time to send handwritten thank-you notes to each new user. This personal touch made early users feel valued and appreciated, fostering loyalty that would pay off as the company grew.

The lesson here is simple: when your user base is small, you have the unique opportunity to provide exceptional service that larger companies simply cannot match. As a product manager, consider how you can create memorable experiences for your early adopters—this could be through personalized communication, surprise gifts, or even just attentive customer service.

Focus on a Narrow Market

Another effective strategy is to start with a deliberately narrow market focus. Facebook is a prime example of this approach. Initially exclusive to Harvard students, Facebook created a sense of belonging among its early users. This exclusivity not only fostered community but also generated buzz that allowed Facebook to expand gradually into other universities before going global.

Basically, concentrate on validating your value proposition with a small group initially; this way, you refine their offerings based on direct feedback from users personally invested in the product’s success.

Pulling a Meraki

For hardware startups, an approach known as "pulling a Meraki" involves doing everything manually at first. The founders of Meraki assembled their routers by hand before scaling up production. This hands-on experience provided invaluable insights into their product's design and functionality.

Similarly, Pebble, a smartwatch startup, initially assembled its first batch of watches themselves before launching on Kickstarter. This intimate knowledge of their product allowed them to innovate rapidly and address issues that might have gone unnoticed had they outsourced manufacturing from the start.

Consulting as an Unscalable Strategy

Finally, consulting can serve as an effective, unscalable strategy for B2B startups. By treating your first few customers as partners in development rather than mere clients, you can improve your product to meet their specific needs. You also get to build deep relationships with early adopters who can become advocates for your brand.

For instance, if you're developing software for a niche market, consider working closely with one or two clients who represent your target audience. By acting as their consultant—understanding their pain points and iterating based on their feedback—your chances of creating a product that resonates with similar users down the line rises exponentially.

Here’s my conclusion: of course, you have to scale, that is where the money is for most products. Embracing these unscalable actions as a product manager that often feels like unnecessary grunt work is important to gain valuable insights and loyal customers. I believe it is better to quickly validate your product than to scale to the moon and drop like a rock when the fuel runs out right from under you.

Until we meet again, keep on playing the Game of Product.