Do Things That Don't Scale

My favorite essay for anyone starting a small business is still Paul Graham's "Do Things That Don't Scale". I go back to it every few months, and it reads like it was written for founders here in Vilnius.

The idea is simple. In the beginning you do the work by hand. You find the first users one by one. You talk to them, help them set up, answer the email yourself late in the evening.

Most of us want to skip this part. Build the product, run some ads, wait. But bootstrapping in Eastern Europe does not give you a big budget to burn while you wait.

And this part is not something to rush. Those first conversations are where you learn what makes you different, and what people would really pay for.

Automation can come later. First, stay close to your clients.

If you never read it, here it is. Ten minutes well spent.