17 Ways For a Startup To Save Money(calacanis.com)
calacanis.com
17 Ways For a Startup To Save Money
http://www.calacanis.com/2008/03/07/how-to-save-money-running-a-startup-17-really-good-tips/
8 comments
Yes, this advice reads like a naive tale from the dot.com boom.
I thought the first suggestion to buy Macintosh-only (to eliminate the need for office IT) was leading into a satire.
I thought the first suggestion to buy Macintosh-only (to eliminate the need for office IT) was leading into a satire.
The first advice is actually a good one. Buy everyone computers that just work, so they can focus on getting their job done not having to remove spyware from their Windows box (or alternatively put up with draconian restrictions from your IT department).
No! You get people the computers that they work best on. Cramming a Mac down the throat of a developer or designer that's used to Windows will slow 'em down and piss 'em off. Ditto the Linux hackers that are out there.
My primary workstation is a Windows 2K Pro machine. Works great. No problems with spyware, etc. -- I know how to use it.
My primary workstation is a Windows 2K Pro machine. Works great. No problems with spyware, etc. -- I know how to use it.
I should have been clearer. I'm against forcing people to use any particular OS (I would never take a job for example that required me to code on Windows). If your employees want Macs go ahead and buy some. If they need to use Linux make sure to buy a laptop with supported hardware.
Points:
1. If you are a startup, you don't have an IT department to worry about.
2. If your "hackers" can't keep their windows boxes free from spyware, they shouldn't be working for you.
Mac's are good, but you can live with windows if need be.
1. If you are a startup, you don't have an IT department to worry about.
2. If your "hackers" can't keep their windows boxes free from spyware, they shouldn't be working for you.
Mac's are good, but you can live with windows if need be.
I would never require any hacker I hire to be proficient at keeping an XP installation running smoothly. I'd much rather have them know how to use standard Unix tools (awk, sed, grep, etc)
The assumption is that keeping XP running smoothly requires little more than some basic common sense.
Put an antivirus on, stay away from questionable sites, don't use internet explorer and avoid mucking with the registry. I've been running a single version of XP for three years straight now and not once have I had an issue. That's just as good that my mac is.
Put an antivirus on, stay away from questionable sites, don't use internet explorer and avoid mucking with the registry. I've been running a single version of XP for three years straight now and not once have I had an issue. That's just as good that my mac is.
Ditto. XP Since 2001, never any problems except when I tried to setup a dual boot to a Linux partition.
That's across maybe 10 machines, between home, school, and work.
Might not be the world's greatest operating system or most programmer-powerful, but it is stable. Very stable.
That's across maybe 10 machines, between home, school, and work.
Might not be the world's greatest operating system or most programmer-powerful, but it is stable. Very stable.
The article is about startups that have employees, not just co-founders. Did you actually hire anyone out of your $20k?
Once you start hiring people you need to think about what kind of conditions you are providing for them.
Once you start hiring people you need to think about what kind of conditions you are providing for them.
>Fire people who are not workaholics.... come on folks, this is startup life, it's not a game. go work at the post office or stabucks if you want balance in your life. For realz
Spoken like a true single guy. A horrible way to build a company though.
Spoken like a true single guy. A horrible way to build a company though.
I dunno. That point hit home for me, actually. I recently got some help in the form of somebody that's enthusiastic as long as I'm within four feet of him. Beyond that, he doesn't get anything done, and I certainly don't have the time right now to constantly watch over him.
I'm usually a nice-guy manager, but I think there are certain stages in a business where you really need to keep it trimmed down to the folks that are really willing to get in and work for you.
I'm usually a nice-guy manager, but I think there are certain stages in a business where you really need to keep it trimmed down to the folks that are really willing to get in and work for you.
Sure, I'm with you there. But does "the right people" == "workaholics?". I think not.
I'm always brought back to my army days with this one... I tried out for JTF 2, which is Canada's special forces, basically. Special Forces are like the start-ups of military life... Small teams, high-performers, massive flexibility... One of their #1 knocks on me at the time was that I wasn't married.
Marriage showed stability, it showed you were multi-dimensional, that you had a built in support group, and that you weren't too much of a risk taker.
When you relate that back to the situation at hand, I think you want people who have something to lose, but at the same time have an understanding that there are other important things in life that need to be appreciated and respected.
Workaholics tend not to have this, and because of that they often make one-dimensional decisions, get burnt out, and over exert themselves in the wrong direction.
I'm always brought back to my army days with this one... I tried out for JTF 2, which is Canada's special forces, basically. Special Forces are like the start-ups of military life... Small teams, high-performers, massive flexibility... One of their #1 knocks on me at the time was that I wasn't married.
Marriage showed stability, it showed you were multi-dimensional, that you had a built in support group, and that you weren't too much of a risk taker.
When you relate that back to the situation at hand, I think you want people who have something to lose, but at the same time have an understanding that there are other important things in life that need to be appreciated and respected.
Workaholics tend not to have this, and because of that they often make one-dimensional decisions, get burnt out, and over exert themselves in the wrong direction.
I think that your response -- and the one at 37Signals -- both point to problems with workaholics in an unstructured environment.
An effective manager has, among their skillset, the ability to recognize the workaholics, and recognize the early signs of burn-out. That sort of manager knows how to massage people so that the workaholics can get their fix -- and do so in a way that really helps the company! -- without making other employees feel guilty, and without letting the situation evolve into a burn-out scenario.
Workaholics will also tend to develop the workaholic streak only so long as they perceive that there is that much extra work to be done. If you have a company full of workaholics, and they're all working around the clock for an extended period of time, then you're understaffed or horribly mismanaging your projects.
I'm a workaholic. That doesn't mean that I want to spend all of my time working in the same chair, and if I were to find myself (again...) in the situation where I'm putting that much effort into a company that didn't appreciate it, then I'd leave. However, I think I'm a pretty useful asset if suddenly the company finds itself staring down the cold barrel of a deadline that's gonna require a quick burst of 14 hour days. I've also in the past stayed late to implement new features, or just push things a little bit further ahead.
Now, let's say you don't have any workaholics in your company. What happens if something does require the big push? Now you're forced either to demand overtime, which can generate some pretty serious resentment, or you're forced to figure out some other way out of your problem, which'll probably involve missing the deadline.
I would think of workaholics as the 10,000RPM part of the engine that is your company. You can't run the engine that hard for very long, but when you need that power, there's just no substitute.
An effective manager has, among their skillset, the ability to recognize the workaholics, and recognize the early signs of burn-out. That sort of manager knows how to massage people so that the workaholics can get their fix -- and do so in a way that really helps the company! -- without making other employees feel guilty, and without letting the situation evolve into a burn-out scenario.
Workaholics will also tend to develop the workaholic streak only so long as they perceive that there is that much extra work to be done. If you have a company full of workaholics, and they're all working around the clock for an extended period of time, then you're understaffed or horribly mismanaging your projects.
I'm a workaholic. That doesn't mean that I want to spend all of my time working in the same chair, and if I were to find myself (again...) in the situation where I'm putting that much effort into a company that didn't appreciate it, then I'd leave. However, I think I'm a pretty useful asset if suddenly the company finds itself staring down the cold barrel of a deadline that's gonna require a quick burst of 14 hour days. I've also in the past stayed late to implement new features, or just push things a little bit further ahead.
Now, let's say you don't have any workaholics in your company. What happens if something does require the big push? Now you're forced either to demand overtime, which can generate some pretty serious resentment, or you're forced to figure out some other way out of your problem, which'll probably involve missing the deadline.
I would think of workaholics as the 10,000RPM part of the engine that is your company. You can't run the engine that hard for very long, but when you need that power, there's just no substitute.
Certainly.
None of the smartest people I know would stay in such a place. Few would be effective while there. Many would try to sabotage it.
None of the smartest people I know would stay in such a place. Few would be effective while there. Many would try to sabotage it.
As long as he distributes equity and is upfront with people about requiring them to be workaholics (and he obviously is) I think it's a perfectly reasonable policy.
Investing in (great) employees is the best investment you'll ever make. To this day, Google still provides free food to tens of thousands of employees.
A Swiss Espresso machine? Banks... ok, chocolate... check. Espresso comes from Italy though:-)
These are by far some of the worst suggestions for saving money in a startup ever.
At the startup I work at, we just let developers come in with their own laptops - I would be very surprised if I am hiring an experienced programmer and they don't already have a super customized laptop that they swear by. It didn't make sense to buy brand new hardware/software for folks who already have a wonderful setup on their machine.
Of course then there was this guy who didn't want to do official work on his personal laptop. We offered to buy him a laptop of his own choice (we specified a max price of course). He got a HP something (doesn't like Mac's) and runs some version of linux on it.
Likewise we have no artificial restrictions on software they use - say editors, jabber chat clients, mail clients etc etc, as long it all works well.
As long as the programmers are hacking away in an env that can run our stack well we have no problems with what they run. Keeps the programmers happy.
Of course then there was this guy who didn't want to do official work on his personal laptop. We offered to buy him a laptop of his own choice (we specified a max price of course). He got a HP something (doesn't like Mac's) and runs some version of linux on it.
Likewise we have no artificial restrictions on software they use - say editors, jabber chat clients, mail clients etc etc, as long it all works well.
As long as the programmers are hacking away in an env that can run our stack well we have no problems with what they run. Keeps the programmers happy.
1. not everybody has a laptop. I have a own custom build laptop.
2. If I am joining a startup as a founder (or early employee with lots of equity), I will buy my own laptop, otherwise you are just being cheap.
3. That guy is smart. There might be legal ramification with doing personal work on work equipment. So, he wanted to keep his personal and work equipment separate (or maybe he had too much porn on his personal one, who knows).
2. If I am joining a startup as a founder (or early employee with lots of equity), I will buy my own laptop, otherwise you are just being cheap.
3. That guy is smart. There might be legal ramification with doing personal work on work equipment. So, he wanted to keep his personal and work equipment separate (or maybe he had too much porn on his personal one, who knows).
"Anyone else have startup money saving tips?"
Yes. If the first word of your "startup money saving tip" is "Buy", then it may not be a very good tip.
Yes. If the first word of your "startup money saving tip" is "Buy", then it may not be a very good tip.
It might actually be pretty good advice. I once worked for a company that didn't have a supply room (with markers, pens, etc) because they were afraid too much of it went to waste. So if you needed a marker you needed to make a request, get it approved and then someone would get you a marker.
Having your $150/hr consultant have to run around and figure out what they need to do to get a marker does NOT save you money. Often times there is a trade off between money you spend to buy things and time your employees otherwise need to spend to compensate. EMPLOYEES ARE NOT CHEAP.
Outsource the parts that are not core to your business, and buy the things you can afford to buy so you can focus your time (and the time of your employees) on actually creating value for your users (and company).
Having your $150/hr consultant have to run around and figure out what they need to do to get a marker does NOT save you money. Often times there is a trade off between money you spend to buy things and time your employees otherwise need to spend to compensate. EMPLOYEES ARE NOT CHEAP.
Outsource the parts that are not core to your business, and buy the things you can afford to buy so you can focus your time (and the time of your employees) on actually creating value for your users (and company).
These are actually pretty good for a post-living room company.
It was a year before we could afford a coffee pot. (The inexpensive coffee pot, mind you.) The article should be entitled "17 Ways For a Reasonably Well Funded Startup to Save Money".