Career · Entrepreneur memoirs

Paul Graham:Do Things that Don't Scale, Excerpt 2

Paul Graham《Do Things that Don't Scale》· Do Things that Don't Scale · Leadership · Growth

And that's one of the biggest things inexperienced founders and investors (and reporters and know-it-alls on forums) get wrong about them. They unconsciously judge larval startups by the standards of established ones. They're like someone looking at a newborn baby and concluding "there's no way this tiny creature could ever accomplish anything." It's harmless if reporters and know-it-alls dismiss your startup. They always get things wrong. It's even ok if investors dismiss your startup; they'll change their minds when they see growth. The big danger is that you'll dismiss your startup yourself. I've seen it happen. I often have to encourage founders who don't see the full potential of what they're building. Even Bill Gates made that mistake.

Source: https://paulgraham.com/ds.html
Locator:Essay, additional excerpt 2 · Verified:2026-10-19 · Verification:Short excerpt

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