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A two-person startup already uses twenty-eight other tools

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Re: A two-person startup already uses twenty-eight other tools

#191

Post by nerdywordy »

Hendrikto wrote: post #180
bad_user wrote: post #151

IMO many people end up with a tool fetish, but some of these tools aren't worth it in a small startup: 1. You don't need Slack ($13 / month) as a two person startup — just do email and Skype 2. Notion ($16 / month) — this sounds like a glorified shared note taking app — just use Google Docs, or Dropbox Paper, or text files in a Dropbox folder 3. Sentry ($26 / month) — OK, this might be worth it, but if you have a hig…

> 1. You don't need Slack ($13 / month) as a two person startup — just do email and Skype Also, Email is federated, and your communications are not under the control of a single company. Email is easier to archive as well.

Looks like their product is built specifically for Slack.

Re: A two-person startup already uses twenty-eight other tools

#192

Post by gumby »

omnimus wrote: post #75
apk-d wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this only true for US-based companies? Where I'm from, I rarely see use of subscription services (especially ones that incur per-seat costs). Developers here tend to earn roughly the same number , but in a different currency , which makes all software and services several times more expensive. This results in preference of OSS alternatives and free tiers whenever possible. We use Discord for communication, Gitlab…

Lackrack is magnificent. First time i am seeing this.

Look at the history of google. Enclosures made of LEGO, and just laying motherboards on sheets of cardboard in shelves rather than buying “server pc”s. This kind of attitude plus the quality of their search, was what got them enthusiastically funded before they had any idea of revenue.

(They took so long to figure out the revenue model that they almost had the money taken back by the VCs, and had a CEO thrust upon them)

Re: A two-person startup already uses twenty-eight other tools

#193

Post by pijora »

bad_user wrote: post #151

IMO many people end up with a tool fetish, but some of these tools aren't worth it in a small startup: 1. You don't need Slack ($13 / month) as a two person startup — just do email and Skype 2. Notion ($16 / month) — this sounds like a glorified shared note taking app — just use Google Docs, or Dropbox Paper, or text files in a Dropbox folder 3. Sentry ($26 / month) — OK, this might be worth it, but if you have a hig…

I disagree.

Slack is so much more than a discussion app.

With integrations you can monitor your whole app in one place:

- sales

- bizdev

- ops

- deployment

- support

Same goes for Notion.

We pay $16 but it is an awesome bang for the buck:

- crm

- collaborating blog draft

- project management

- finance

- knowledge base

And again, in one place.

Re: A two-person startup already uses twenty-eight other tools

#194

Post by robenkleene »

bad_user wrote: post #151

IMO many people end up with a tool fetish, but some of these tools aren't worth it in a small startup: 1. You don't need Slack ($13 / month) as a two person startup — just do email and Skype 2. Notion ($16 / month) — this sounds like a glorified shared note taking app — just use Google Docs, or Dropbox Paper, or text files in a Dropbox folder 3. Sentry ($26 / month) — OK, this might be worth it, but if you have a hig…

I agree with your point in principle, and it's my natural tendency to optimize out dependencies on recurring charges for services. But I actually think this perspective is wrong, or more precisely, focusing on this type of optimization will make your business less likely to succeed.

The problem is ROI, $227 a month adds up to $2724 a year, which, assuming you're in the US (or similar cost of living area), is just such a small sum of money, relative to even just living expenses, that even spending time thinking about it, let alone actually using less efficient solutions, is going to negatively impact your business's chances of success.

I say this as someone who is really drawn to optimizing out these expenses. So I don't want it to be true, but I truly believe focusing on these types of costs lowers my businesses chances of success.

Re: A two-person startup already uses twenty-eight other tools

#195

Post by krapp »

war1025 wrote: post #188
krapp wrote: post #184

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, yes. Trump good, Clinton bad, leftists bad, Bernie bad, Democrats bad, pew pew pew. Your partisan flag-waving is noted, but also tediously predictable.

> Your partisan flag-waving is noted, but also tediously predictable. And so is your childish response. Great chat.

zingaroo!

Re: A two-person startup already uses twenty-eight other tools

#197

Post by gumby »

golergka wrote: post #132
elcapitan wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is that a country with good internet connections for consumers and small companies? Here in Germany I wouldn't dare to run a lackrack server in the office, because the internet connection is crap almost everywhere.

Many otherwise crappy countries, especially in Eastern Europe, have excellent ISPs for some reason.

Because they didn’t have a functional telecom monopoly at the end of the Cold War, so built all new infrastructure, not just wiring plant but organizationally as well. While the old western countries had strong monopolies or cartels with regulatory capture. Of course not every one of the eastern states got this, and some “entrenched” systems worked out fine too (e.g. South Korea and Singapore).

But in the case of Eastern Europe, where neoliberal ideology gripped most of the newly independent states, this is one of the few examples, but quite a good one, of where that ideology did in fact work out exactly as intended, for good.

Re: A two-person startup already uses twenty-eight other tools

#198

Post by ryandrake »

afarrell wrote: post #150
hef19898 wrote: post #113

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I tend to agree. Bootstrapping, and small budgets, force discipline. Even without procedures. Practically infinite budgets tend to have the opposite effect. If senior management isn't forcing discipline things can get out of hand pretty quick.

> Bootstrapping, and small budgets, force discipline. This is only true in the evolutionary sense -- Example: "parachuting forces people to be good at checking their gear." Telling someone that they are going to jump out of a plane won't magically give them a skill like meticulousness.

It’s a skill like any other, and requires study and practice. There is a reason why half of pilot training is checklists and drilling procedures until they are permanently encoded into your muscle memory.

Re: A two-person startup already uses twenty-eight other tools

#199

Post by Onawa »

radlad wrote: post #164
goatherders wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every conferencing solution shares one trait: at least one person on a call of N+1 people will have trouble joining and getting everything to work. I have been making the same "joke" for years on calls that everyone on the call should join me in quitting our jobs to create a teleconference solution that works. Hardyharhar. (The practical solution for teleconferencing issues is to get people to join a couple minutes e…

FWIW, our company used and loved Zoom for many years. We switched to Webex and it has been far more difficult to use. I wouldn't discount the parent's post so quickly.

Do you know why they switched to Webex? I work at NIH and there is talk of moving from Webex to Zoom and I can't be more excited. Of course being the government it probably won't happen for another 2 years...

Re: A two-person startup already uses twenty-eight other tools

#200

Post by paulie_a »

Hnrobert42 wrote: post #33

I am the CIO of a mostly remote, cybersecurity startup (50 FTEs). I balance between not single-threading all choices through me and not letting things get too out of hand. That means no one is every really happy. E.g., we use Uberconference for videoconferencing. We thoroughly looked at a bunch of others and chose UC for its functionality, price, and simplicity (every conference gets a simple phone number, no stupid…

As many people as possible should post their salary on slack.
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