![\"\"](\"https://endler.dev/2024/move-slow-and-fix-things/work.jpg\")
Last updated on\n17th of August, 2024
\nGrowing up as a kid in rural Bavaria, I always dreamed of moving to the US to run a startup.\nMany kids in my generation shared that dream.\nTo me, it felt like the only way to combine my two greatest passions: writing code and building things.
\nAs I got older, I became disillusioned with the narrative surrounding Silicon Valley.\nThe hockey stick growth, the VC money, the “get rich quick” mentality – it was all one big illusion.\nFor a long time, I couldn’t put my finger on what exactly bothered me about it.
\nPart of what made me increasingly uncomfortable was the glorification of hustle culture –\nthe idea that you have to work yourself to the bone to make it big against all odds.
\nThe other part was the “winner takes all” mentality and the mindset that you have to “move fast and break things” to succeed.
\nI don’t believe that has to be the case.
\nAs it turns out, I’ve always been drawn to the exact opposite:\nsustainable growth, robust solutions, and a long-term mindset.\nThat’s why I’ve been contributing to open source for 15 years, why I only run small, bootstrapped businesses or non-profits,\nand why I focus on writing and knowledge sharing.
\nPaul Graham and his VC buddies would have you believe that your ultimate goal as a founder should be to build a unicorn.\nBut when I look at the Ubers, Facebooks, and Googles of this world, I see greed, gatekeeping, systemic exploitation, user tracking,\nexcessive resource consumption, and lawsuits against competitors.\nThese companies will do anything in their power to stay on top – even if it means bending the law or finding legal loopholes.\nWhat kind of role model is that?
\nWho’s on the “other side”?\nIt’s the humble minority building small but meaningful things.\nThese people advocate for privacy, develop civic tech, try to live within their means, move deliberately, and fix what’s broken.\nThey fly under the radar because their success isn’t measured in dollars, and they lack big marketing budgets.\nInstead, they focus on their product, doing a lot with very little.\nI find that far more inspiring.
\n![\"\"](\"https://endler.dev/2024/move-slow-and-fix-things/bootstrap.jpg\")
It’s incredibly rewarding to build something people love that can provide you with a comfortable living.\nThere’s no need to risk it all, drop out of college, work insane hours, and leave a trail of destruction in your wake.\nYou can build something small and useful instead, without a venture capitalist breathing down your neck.\nIt’s still hard work, but you’re leaving the campsite a little better than you found it.
\nNote that moving slowly doesn’t mean you can’t make quick decisions.\nIt’s just that the execution should be deliberate.\nDon’t wreak havoc along the way.\nBecause the time to fix what you might break rarely comes.
\nIn “Why to Not Not Start a Startup”, Paul Graham writes:
\n\nSo, paradoxically, if you’re too inexperienced to start a startup, what you should do is start one. That’s a way more efficient cure for inexperience than a normal job. In fact, getting a normal job may actually make you less able to start a startup, by turning you into a tame animal who thinks he needs an office to work in and a product manager to tell him what software to write.
Let me be blunt: that’s nonsense. It paints a black and white picture of the world that simply doesn’t exist.\nYou don’t have to choose between starting a startup and working a soul-crushing job as a “tame animal” in a cubicle.\nThere’s a whole spectrum of possibilities in between!\nFor instance, you could work for yourself or with a small team, making use of your creativity and coming up with your own ideas.
\nPaul wants you to start a startup because he wants to fund you and profit from your hard work. His motives are purely egoistical.
\nIf you happen to hit the startup jackpot, Paul gets even richer and you might become wealthy too. If you don’t, you’re left with nothing while Paul, already rich, gets to write an essay about your failure.
\nThat’s a whole lot of risk for very little upside.
\nYou might wonder why I’m picking on Paul Graham so much.\nIt’s because I once looked up to him and valued his essays.\nHe represents a worldview I used to believe in, but now consider harmful.\nMost of his essays seem true on the surface, but dig deeper and you’ll find his claims are based on a narrow worldview and rarely supported by evidence.
\nMisleading young, impressionable people is dangerous.
\nStartup founders bear all the downside risk, while venture capitalists are well-insulated from failure. VCs spread their bets across numerous startups, ensuring they profit regardless of individual outcomes. For you, the founder, it’s an all-or-nothing gamble with your time, energy, and often your financial stability.
\nOf course not. But I’d argue it’s becoming less and less relevant in today’s world.\nTake building a software product, for example. You don’t need a fortune to get started anymore. There are website builders, cloud hosting solutions, and open source software at your fingertips.\nWhy take on VC money when you’re just starting out?\nSome might argue that you profit from valuable networking opportunities and business advice along with the funding.\nBut most of that information is freely available online these days. There’s an abundance of podcasts, videos, and books on the subject if you’re willing to learn.
\nIt’s trickier, of course, if you’re building a physical product.\nBut even that has become much easier in recent years.\nCould you sell a 3D printed prototype before scaling up production?\nOr launch a Kickstarter campaign to fund your first batch of products?\nThere are now print-on-demand services for t-shirts, mugs, posters, and books.\nPlus, there are plenty of brick-and-mortar stores you could approach with your business idea if you’re looking to collaborate.
\nLet’s say you do become wildly successful and urgently need capital to scale. Maybe then VC money is one way to go. Or you could take out a loan.\nEither way, remember that money always comes with strings attached.\nFunding might force you to do things you’re not comfortable with, like compromising your users’ privacy or your own values.\nAnd even if not, you’ll constantly be pressured to find new avenues for growth.\nWouldn’t it be nicer to focus on making your product better instead?\nThat’s often far more rewarding.\nBut often, if you spend enough time thinking through a problem, you might find a way to prove your concept at a smaller scale.
\nAsk yourself: What truly motivates you? Is it power, money, or fame?\nIf so, there are more meaningful things in life.\nYour self-worth isn’t tied to building a unicorn.\nI don’t know who needs to hear this, but it’s perfectly fine to be 23 and not be a millionaire founder.\nIf you’re a high school or college student dreaming of running a startup, know that there’s another path.
\nDon’t sell out your moral compass for a quick buck.\nYou don’t have to jump on the AI bandwagon just because it’s the flavor of the month.\nAt least 144 out of 251 companies from the YC W24 batch are building products with “AI”.\nThat’s 57% of the batch.\nHow many of them are actually doing something meaningful with it?\nHow many will still be around in 5 years? What lasting value do these companies bring to the world?\nWe’re accumulating a massive amount of tech debt while rewarding short-term thinking and profit over sustainability.
\nSure, Paul will benefit if one of them hits it big. You can read all about it in his next essay.
\nBut maybe there’s another way.\nMaybe it’s okay to have a small business with a loyal user base that pays the bills.\nMaybe you don’t need to grow exponentially.
\nMaybe you can move slow and fix things instead.
","headings":[{"level":1,"text":"Move Slow and Fix Things","id":"move-slow-and-fix-things"},{"level":2,"text":"The Other Side","id":"the-other-side"},{"level":2,"text":"VCs Are Not Your Friends","id":"vcs-are-not-your-friends"},{"level":2,"text":"Is All VC Money Bad?","id":"is-all-vc-money-bad"},{"level":2,"text":"There Is No Infinite Growth","id":"there-is-no-infinite-growth"}]}}