VC money is more readily available than in the 70s, which means startups staff up faster, which means more ability to polish around the edges. I’d say the core functionality is often similarly incomplete, but design, packaging, docs, localization, etc. are more complete aka polished.
Ask HN: What happened to startups, why is everything so polished?
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Re: Ask HN: What happened to startups, why is everything so polished?
#72Expectations and abilities have changed. Consumers now expect things to look polished, or at the very least, have a defined aesthetic. Businesses also expect that you have other customers and want assurance that you will not disappear.
I believe the bigger story here is that individuals are now capable of doing much more than before. I'm a product designer. And over a decade ago I started my career building Wordpress themes. I'm starting to redesign my personal website—and I'm not going to build a theme from scratch like I used to. I'm going to use the Wordpress block editor because it's just easier.
So expectations are higher and individuals are more capable than ever before.
Re: Ask HN: What happened to startups, why is everything so polished?
#73Costly signalling is a decent way to think about it. Having a polished website/UI used to be more work/money so it served as a costly signal - companies would invest in that polish only after having some measure of success.
Now its easy to achieve, so it no longer serves as a signal of success. But if you still believe it signals quality as it once did, you will be confused.
Re: Ask HN: What happened to startups, why is everything so polished?
#74You're surely joking. It's gone the other way. Maybe your memory is better than mine. All the apps today look all the same, made on electron, single page landing page, same live chat/support, same style of charging, same flat design, same email campaign styles. Everything is set up from a SaaS or tool to help deploy it so rapidly the polish and self character is almost non existent. Everything is rushed to the point…
I’m not sure that you and OP really disagree that much. Everything looks very similar. Whether you find the look polished or uninspiring is almost tangential.
I think when you know how the nuts and bolts work, you realize that the shiny chrome is just cheap metal.
Re: Ask HN: What happened to startups, why is everything so polished?
#75[flagged]
Re: Ask HN: What happened to startups, why is everything so polished?
#76thanks
Re: Ask HN: What happened to startups, why is everything so polished?
#77[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: What happened to startups, why is everything so polished?
#78sign up for pi.fyi if you want a brand new buggy app that's fun
Re: Ask HN: What happened to startups, why is everything so polished?
#79You're surely joking. It's gone the other way. Maybe your memory is better than mine. All the apps today look all the same, made on electron, single page landing page, same live chat/support, same style of charging, same flat design, same email campaign styles. Everything is set up from a SaaS or tool to help deploy it so rapidly the polish and self character is almost non existent. Everything is rushed to the point…
op literally used the word generic so not sure why you think you're in disagreement.
Re: Ask HN: What happened to startups, why is everything so polished?
#80Expectations and abilities have changed. Consumers now expect things to look polished, or at the very least, have a defined aesthetic. Businesses also expect that you have other customers and want assurance that you will not disappear. I believe the bigger story here is that individuals are now capable of doing much more than before. I'm a product designer. And over a decade ago I started my career building Wordpress…
Hi Sam, are you open to an email? I didnt see a way to contact you directly on your site.