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Do things that don't scale, and then don't scale

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Re: Do things that don't scale, and then don't scale

#141

Post by ipaddr »

ncruces wrote: post #133
mojuba wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google's Circles is a classical example of something that seems like a great idea on paper but doesn't work in practice. It had too much friction: categorizing people by circles and then also deciding which circle should receive what. Apparently nobody liked it and it's one of the reasons Plus failed so spectacularly.

No, it didn't fail. Circles is group chats (WhatsApp, or whatever's popular in your neck of the woods), which I'd argue is how (most?) people in 2025 actually do “social networking.” Instagram/TikTok/Xitter is… something else entirely.

Chat programs are not social networking.

Re: Do things that don't scale, and then don't scale

#142

Post by Ar-Curunir »

coldtea wrote: post #119
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a relative threaten his daughter, because her daughter-in-law posted some political stuff he disagreed with. Basically, he had been helping her out financially, and pulled it, because she refused to sanction her daughter-in-law on his behalf.

This goes both ways (old to young and reverse), but family goes before politics. You don't cut out, or disown, or stop visiting, or badmouth family because you disagree with their politics... If you do so, you were a shitty relative to begin with.

Where does it stop? What if your relatives support, eg, racist policies? What if they support genocide? How personal does it have to be?

What if you’re dating a person of another race, and your relatives support keeps making racist comments to you, even after you try to explain why that’s not okay?

Re: Do things that don't scale, and then don't scale

#143

Post by Ar-Curunir »

ipaddr wrote: post #141
ncruces wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, it didn't fail. Circles is group chats (WhatsApp, or whatever's popular in your neck of the woods), which I'd argue is how (most?) people in 2025 actually do “social networking.” Instagram/TikTok/Xitter is… something else entirely.

Chat programs are not social networking.

They absolutely are. Maybe less so in the USA, but they have replaced Facebook for many (most?) people in the subcontinent, Africa, and south america

Re: Do things that don't scale, and then don't scale

#144

Post by mkoubaa »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #95
wincy wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember saying something on Facebook that wasn’t even that inflammatory but had a curse word and my grandma messaged me telling me to delete it. Instead I blocked grandma. Much happier just seeing grandma at holiday gatherings. I don’t think she even noticed honestly.

I had a relative threaten his daughter, because her daughter-in-law posted some political stuff he disagreed with. Basically, he had been helping her out financially, and pulled it, because she refused to sanction her daughter-in-law on his behalf.

What a stupid reason to cut off your child - so late in life too.

Re: Do things that don't scale, and then don't scale

#145

Post by stouset »

coldtea wrote: post #119
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a relative threaten his daughter, because her daughter-in-law posted some political stuff he disagreed with. Basically, he had been helping her out financially, and pulled it, because she refused to sanction her daughter-in-law on his behalf.

This goes both ways (old to young and reverse), but family goes before politics. You don't cut out, or disown, or stop visiting, or badmouth family because you disagree with their politics... If you do so, you were a shitty relative to begin with.

No, sorry. Nazi family members come last. Family members with no respect for the rights and freedoms of others and who encourage and support inhumane treatment of others don’t get a free pass.

Re: Do things that don't scale, and then don't scale

#146

Post by RangerScience »

coldtea wrote: post #119
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had a relative threaten his daughter, because her daughter-in-law posted some political stuff he disagreed with. Basically, he had been helping her out financially, and pulled it, because she refused to sanction her daughter-in-law on his behalf.

This goes both ways (old to young and reverse), but family goes before politics. You don't cut out, or disown, or stop visiting, or badmouth family because you disagree with their politics... If you do so, you were a shitty relative to begin with.

AFAIK, you cut off shitty relatives…

…and you usually find out they’re shitty because of how they handle (or don’t) “political” conversations.

Pro tip: You don’t get to decide for someone else what’s “just” politics. If someone else says it’s important, while you’re interacting with them, it’s important.

Re: Do things that don't scale, and then don't scale

#148

Post by dghlsakjg »

timr wrote: post #122
salomonk_mur wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Building a particular type of company - a tech startup. I'd argue that we need to apply this to companies too. Stop building startups (which start losing money and may never ever make a profit in the process of scaling) and start creating companies (which make a profit ASAP and may never scale).

"Tech startups" that make enough money to be interesting [1], but do not have the property of being a winner-take-all market, are the truly magical unicorns of software. If you have one, you should covet it and guard it viciously, because otherwise someone with more money is coming to eat your lunch [2][3]. OP wasn't talking about this kind of thing, of course. The phenomenon of hobby projects being "startups" has al…

Is the vet clinic thing a lasting phenomenon? Are independent vet clinics not economically viable or is there just a VC/PE market imbalance where capital is overbidding for a business that doesn't really have a great moat. I would be perfectly willing to believe that if you knock on the door of a perfectly viable business and offer them more than it's worth as well as a salaried position at the new business, (almost) no one says no.

I think the cash merry go round will stop eventually because the moat, in as much as there is one, is the vet themselves, not the business. If my vet leaves and opens a new practice, I will follow the person. Vet services don't really scale either, you can hit efficiencies with admin, but I'm sure a software company is willing to eat the PE firm's lunch there. With software, costs are heavily weighted to the fixed side. With vets, seeing twice the number of dogs takes twice the number of vet hours, vet tech hours, etc.

Re: Do things that don't scale, and then don't scale

#149

Post by [deleted] »

RangerScience wrote: post #146
coldtea wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This goes both ways (old to young and reverse), but family goes before politics. You don't cut out, or disown, or stop visiting, or badmouth family because you disagree with their politics... If you do so, you were a shitty relative to begin with.

AFAIK, you cut off shitty relatives… …and you usually find out they’re shitty because of how they handle (or don’t) “political” conversations. Pro tip: You don’t get to decide for someone else what’s “just” politics. If someone else says it’s important, while you’re interacting with them, it’s important.

[deleted]

Re: Do things that don't scale, and then don't scale

#150

Post by timr »

dghlsakjg wrote: post #148
timr wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Tech startups" that make enough money to be interesting [1], but do not have the property of being a winner-take-all market, are the truly magical unicorns of software. If you have one, you should covet it and guard it viciously, because otherwise someone with more money is coming to eat your lunch [2][3]. OP wasn't talking about this kind of thing, of course. The phenomenon of hobby projects being "startups" has al…

Is the vet clinic thing a lasting phenomenon? Are independent vet clinics not economically viable or is there just a VC/PE market imbalance where capital is overbidding for a business that doesn't really have a great moat. I would be perfectly willing to believe that if you knock on the door of a perfectly viable business and offer them more than it's worth as well as a salaried position at the new business, (almost)…

Vet clinics have a moat (exactly as you're implying): the customer relationship. That relationship, plus optimization on the fixed costs, gives an incentive to acquire the practice, maintain the staff as employees, and collect the operating margin. It's not like you really care if your favored pet doctor works for Brand A or Brand B, and -- let's be honest -- you're price sensitive. No matter what you say, there's a limit to how much you'll pay in order to follow your favorite vet, because veterinary services are a commodity, and your pet doesn't know the difference. So there's price pressure as well.

You're right that vet clinics aren't like software in the variable cost structure, but that just makes the software business more attractive for consolidation, not less. Bigger players will have the customer relationship, lower fixed costs, and high margins, with little threat of competition.

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