Bloat is a function of time, people, and money

Mark Gallagher 24 May 06
…It’s also leadership. Having smart people at the top that understand the power of simple design. In particular the product managers need to get it and communicate the priority of a simple UI to the project managers.

Google and Apple have tons of money and time for new product development, yet they keep the UI of their products pretty simple.

Smart leadership.

How to shoot a bullet through your startup

Mike Rundle 24 May 06
By following B2’s advice regarding funding/spending, you’re pretty much guaranteeing that your new for-profit company will forever remain a “non-profit”.

Whatever happened to starting a company on money you save, and then building something that actually makes you money?

Brandon 24 May 06
I agree that this does not apply to a web-based business. In terms of developing a software app, if you drop that kind of money to launch a product you’re insane. We used opensource software at every opportunity, put in long hours and a lot of sweat equity and were able to get to over $1 million in sales in one year, we were (and remain) profitable, and we did not have 20 employees at that time - it was closer to 5. It is now 3 years later and we’ve recently raised funding, but only took what we needed to achieve our current goals. By carefully watching our expenses in the beginning and every step of the way, bringing people on board with a range of talent and utilizing viral marketing we were able to achieve a lot with very little. You’ll find that when starting a business online (especially a web app) you’ll have a ton of leverage that’s tough to emulate “offline”. Definitely don’t listen to Business 2.0’s advice if you’re launching a web app.

37signals lingo: cheap/expensive

Anonymous Coward 25 May 06
More people should be like this in not only software development, but life in general. Just like I try to buy the bargain brands, don’t go out when I can fix something cheaper and healthier at home and won’t get women who are over $30 an hour, I won’t develop something that takes too long for an end user to download that it becomes worthless or implement something that takes days to develop for very little worthwhile functionality.

joe 25 May 06
I once had a client tell me to “never say cheap.” “Cheap implies lack of quality…Say Less Expensive. -That means less costly.”

filmnut 25 May 06
The more money you save, the more money your customers save (via lower prices). Lower prices equals undying customer loyalty. This is why Walmart works, because lower costs are a serious competitive advantage. The important thing to remember is that long-term savings is king. What’s less expensive in the short run isn’t always less expensive long term. That’s the tight rope you have to walk.