In this refreshing post ‘Reconsider‘, David Hansson, the cofounder of Basecamp, exposes his philosophy of startups and why he considers the general view of looking for fast-growing, billion dollar valuation startups to be a general conspiracy.
“Part of the problem seems to be that nobody these days is content to merely put their dent in the universe. No, they have to fucking own the universe. It’s not enough to be in the market, they have to dominate it. It’s not enough to serve customers, they have to capture them.”
On the contrary, David explains his approach: “I wanted to work for myself. Walk to my own beat. Chart my own path. Call it like I saw it, and not worry about what dudes in suits thought of that.” He then declines it on several dimensions:
- “I wanted to make a product and sell it directly to people who’d care about its quality.”
- “I wanted to put down roots. Long term bonds with coworkers and customers and the product.”
- “I wanted the best odds I could possibly get at attaining the tipping point of financial stability.”
- “I wanted a life beyond work.”
I am personally rather on his small, human adventure side. What serves to develop a great venture that will eat me out? Let’s make a significant dent in the universe and stay small and human. And we can do so today with the internet and the Fourth Revolution. Be small and have a global impact.
“Life is too short not to do something that matters”: It can matter immensely and still remain small and human.
