There's a great article over at Time about 37 Signals, a company I've admired for some time. They have a team of 8 employees and produce some pretty amazing software.
We're a small team too. Our previous project was a vertical search engine and our current one is, of course, LineBuzz.
So here are some random thoughts in no particular order and from no particular category on how to stay lean and nimble and bootstrap on the cheap:
- The closest we ever come to a meeting is a casual chat wherever we find ourselves. Sometimes we grab paper out of the printer and take notes.
- When it comes to project planning, we prioritize, figure out time-scales, write the plan and then walk away from it. We don't live and die by it or beat anyone over the head with it. It's a guideline. The software is ready when it's ready and it's simply assumed that everyone is working as hard and smart as possible.
- I tend to avoid development methodologies or ideologies. Stuff like XP or Agile development is another excuse for a meeting. I also avoid any tools that introduce bureaucracy into the code or development process. Just write the darn code, test and debug it until it's rock solid and then deploy!
- I only use open source. Early in my career I worked as a Systems Engineer on Oracle and Microsoft stuff. I learned early on how much commercial server software and consulting costs (thankfully I was on the receiving end). Anyone who isn't using MySQL and Linux (or other oss equivalents) is spending a lot of money. If you run a diamond mine then that's cool (I used to work for De Beers too!). But if you're running a startup then it's probably a bad idea.
- It's so tempting to spend money sometimes. Yeah I know Rackspace's hosting looks hot. I know you're just dying to hire that PR firm. And it's so much fun tweaking your AdWords campaigns. A lot of that stuff you can do yourself or get it done on the cheap. Instead of PPC advertising become an SEO guru. Instead of Rackspace, use their sister company ServerBeach (same hosting facility, a quarter of the price). Instead of hiring that PR firm, just make a few good friends in the blogging community.
That's it for a Friday night. Have a great weekend!
