On building of All Trades

Paul Graham said, “when people visit your startup, they should be surprised how few people you have.”

The Operating as One Issue

Generalists get you more with less.

You walk down your high street. What do you prefer to see there? The economist will say: Walmart, Best Buy, the Gap. Scale economies — cheaper prices — better for “consumers”! But the human being will say: an independent cafe, a good bookshop, a boutique clothing store. Why? Because they offer many things that mega scale organizations don’t.

Sari Azout • 10 things worth sharing this week

“Lots of folks have said to us, ‘You’re growing, you could grow faster if you hired more people.’ I think a lot of companies and investors overpitch growth at all costs, but sometimes that causes a ‘more people more problems’ issue .”

It should come as no surprise by now that Foster politely said, “Thanks, but no thanks,” to these well-meaning... See more

The Not So Cookie-Cutter Approach to Company Building — 8 Lessons from Zapier

A company is built on details, not frameworks. It is all the little things, the small touches of craft and culture, that determines that long-term success of an organization. A solo founder will be able to build a small product that is a manifestation of their taste. And, if it turns out that the opportunity is huge, they should probably hire... See more

The One-person Billion-dollar Company

Job titles are just the most visible ladder of them all. It’s interesting that pompous executive job titles were invented during the Victorian era. This is when we started the trend of calling a cleaner a hygiene technician. A bin man became a waste management and disposal technician. Later on, a call-center worker became a communications... See more

Anne-Laure Le Cunff • The tyranny of job titles: from vanity growth to personal growth

Generalists have shirked the the notion of a true job title to fit their work and have followed the thread of providing value and making an impact. No wonder there’s a group of talented professionals hiding in plain sight given how constricting the traditional job titles have become in affirming our professional worth.

Ascending the ladder of success often requires a courageous leap into the unknown. Confronting fears head-on is paramount to overcoming obstacles and achieving ambitious goals. Business is a dynamic landscape, and the ability to pivot swiftly is essential for staying ahead. Embracing change and adapting to new challenges can transform setbacks into

I aspire to live consciously, to follow my own inherent energy, to help other human beings, and to immerse myself fully in the present moment.

Superhuman

Given the pace we are working at, we look foremost for flexibility and initiative. The ability to build constructively in a limited-resource environment (potentially having to wear several hats) is the most important to us.

Lenny Rachitsky • How Perplexity builds product

Perplexity founder’s take on how they prioritize early hires

It’s easy to be excited about what the company seems to do... to choose our path based on the public’s perception of the output. But once the company has more than one person in it, most of our day is about satisfying the customer, meeting supplier requirements and dancing with the tension of doing our jobs.

Often, we use the product we make as a... See more