What Does It REALLY Mean To Do Things That Don't Scale?

Reddit's Start

Reddit's early days were marked by creative strategies to simulate user activity and attract real users. Michael Seibel and Dalton Caldwell discuss how Reddit's founders, Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian, initially populated the site by creating fake accounts to submit links, making it appear active to new visitors. This approach was crucial in reaching a milestone where real users began contributing content, marking a turning point for the platform 1.

The story the first day someone else other than them submitted a link, which was not day one.

--- Michael Seibel

This tactic exemplifies the concept of doing things that don't scale, a theme central to startup growth strategies.

   

Doordash's Start

The founders of Doordash embraced unscalable methods by personally delivering food to understand their market and refine their service. Dalton Caldwell highlights how this hands-on approach allowed them to directly interact with customers and restaurant owners, gaining invaluable insights into their business 1. This strategy not only helped them delight users but also provided a unique opportunity to learn from the ground up.

You race to the freaking restaurant, you make sure you get the right thing.

--- Michael Seibel

Such personal involvement, though not scalable, was instrumental in establishing a strong foundation for their startup.

   

Driverless Cars

Early efforts in driverless car technology also involved unscalable, hands-on work. Michael Seibel recounts how Kyle Vogt and his team at Cruise retrofitted an Audi to create a rudimentary driverless car, which was essentially adaptive cruise control that stayed in its lane 2. Despite its limitations, this prototype marked the beginning of a journey towards more advanced technology.

We're driving down 101 and Kyle says, oh, a shadow. Let's see how the car handles that.

--- Michael Seibel

This example illustrates the importance of starting small and learning through direct experience in the development of groundbreaking technologies.