Starting Small Is Better Than Going Big

Starting Small Is Better Than Going Big WorkOS ROGE Vanta Brian Chesky CEO, Airbnb THIS IS COUNTERINTUITIVE. EVERY INVESTOR WANTS TO GO INTO BIG MARKETS. I DON'T LIKE BIG MARKETS. I DON'T LIKE BIG MARKETS. HAVE A LOT OF COMPETITION. GOING TO A SMALL MARKET AND MAKE IT BIG FOR BOTH OF THESE THINGS. Patrick O'Shaughnessy Host, Invest Like the Best THE IDEA THAT IT WORKS IN TORONTO, BUT NOT AT 100 SCALE IN 100 CITY SCALE. A 10 PERSON TEAM CAN OUTPERFORM A 100 PERSON TEAM IS THE SHARED REASON SOME SORT OF LIKE BETTER CONTACT WITH REALITY. AND LIKE SOMEHOW GETTING DISTORTED. YEAH. AS YOU GET BIGGER THE GENERAL PRINCIPLE THIS COMES BACK TO THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF ADVICE I EVER GOT. THE FIRST DAY Y COMMENTER PAUL GRAHAM SAID "IT'S BETTER TO HAVE 100 PEOPLE" "THAN A MILLION PEOPLE" "SORT OF LIKE YOU." AND THAT CAME FROM PAUL BUCHHEIT. PAUL BUCHHEIT WAS A PARTNER, Y COMBINATOR. HE CREATED GMAIL. AND I THINK THAT THE OLD FAMOUS STORY WAS HE CREATED GMAIL, AND IT TOOK HIM TWO YEARS. YOU CAN'T SHIP IT UNTIL 100 PEOPLE INSIDE OF GOOGLE LOVE IT. AND ACTUALLY TOOK LIKE A TO GET 100 PEOPLE TO ACTUALLY LIKE THE PRODUCT. BUT ONCE 100 PEOPLE LIKE SOMETHING, LIKE IT IT'S LIKE THE SAMPLE SIZE IS ENOUGH. THE PROBLEM IS YOU TRY TO MAKE SOMETHING YOU CAN'T TALK TO A MILLION PEOPLE. AND SO YOU END UP LIKE WITH THIS SHALLOW SWIMMING POOL. TO HEAT UP AN OCEAN THE OCEAN JUST IT TAKES TOO LONG TO HEAT UP AND YOU CAN'T TELL. INSTEAD OF HEAT UP A BATHTUB AND LIKE, HEAT UP A BATHTUB AND LIKE, JUST MAKE THE PROMISE SMALL AS POSSIBLE AND YOU'RE CLOSE TO THE CUSTOMER. IF YOU ONLY ARE FOCUSED ON ONE CITY OR EVEN A SUBSET OF A CITY, YOU CAN TALK TO EVERY PERSON. YOU CAN PUT ALL ON A TINY PROBLEM. AND I GUARANTEE YOU, YOU PUT ON A TINY PROBLEM. THE MORE YOU'LL CHANGE THE NUMBERS, THE TRAJECTORY.