WARNING: The following is a bit of a rant about some older guys (early 30's) I met with at a meetup yesterday... Please enjoy, take what you can, tell me I'm wrong, or join in on the fun haha.
A lot of startups talk about how "lean" they are and throw out the term "lean startup." I rarely use these terms, but I find it interesting how fat "lean" startups actually are sometimes.
I take a lot of flack for the desk I chose for my 3 monitor computer setup. I searched for days trying to find a table that had no cabinets, was sturdy, and cost-effective. I finally found it covered in dust at my dad's warehouse... a twenty year old wood folding table in near perfect condition for $free.99. My favorite price.
To me, it's a desk. It serves it's function. The value I have to generate comes from the chair to keyboard interface for me, not from the price tag on my desk, or the type of wood it was made from.
None-the-less, the "lean" startup guys always talk about how I need a better desk. I call it... dun dun dun... startup swag. There seems to be a consensus that by looking professional and looking like you make a lot of money, you attract success. I don't deal with customer's in person, so I'm not trying to show off to anyone. I just need something to function. If I walked into a business as a customer and noticed their $5,000 desk with diamond chandeliers hanging from the marble ceiling, I might end up questioning the price they're having me pay for their service. "Hey, I thought I was paying for your service! Not your big fancy mahogany desk!". o.0
As a one man team, I don't see a difference between my "home" and my "workplace." I pay for one area that has room to serve both functions and therefore don't see the need to pay for two areas. But! To a lot of the "lean" startup founders I've been meeting, it doesn't make any sense to have a one man workplace be at your home. They see spending $1200 a month for an office, in downtown Seattle, at $35/sqft an absolute necessity to success. No employees... no customer visits... no function.
Bottom line... I don't like spending money on things that don't in turn make me money.
What I do spend money on:
What I refuse to spend my money on:
So, how do you feel about startup SWAG? Do you spend money on it? Or are you a cheapskate like me? haha
A lot of startups talk about how "lean" they are and throw out the term "lean startup." I rarely use these terms, but I find it interesting how fat "lean" startups actually are sometimes.
I take a lot of flack for the desk I chose for my 3 monitor computer setup. I searched for days trying to find a table that had no cabinets, was sturdy, and cost-effective. I finally found it covered in dust at my dad's warehouse... a twenty year old wood folding table in near perfect condition for $free.99. My favorite price.
To me, it's a desk. It serves it's function. The value I have to generate comes from the chair to keyboard interface for me, not from the price tag on my desk, or the type of wood it was made from.
None-the-less, the "lean" startup guys always talk about how I need a better desk. I call it... dun dun dun... startup swag. There seems to be a consensus that by looking professional and looking like you make a lot of money, you attract success. I don't deal with customer's in person, so I'm not trying to show off to anyone. I just need something to function. If I walked into a business as a customer and noticed their $5,000 desk with diamond chandeliers hanging from the marble ceiling, I might end up questioning the price they're having me pay for their service. "Hey, I thought I was paying for your service! Not your big fancy mahogany desk!". o.0
As a one man team, I don't see a difference between my "home" and my "workplace." I pay for one area that has room to serve both functions and therefore don't see the need to pay for two areas. But! To a lot of the "lean" startup founders I've been meeting, it doesn't make any sense to have a one man workplace be at your home. They see spending $1200 a month for an office, in downtown Seattle, at $35/sqft an absolute necessity to success. No employees... no customer visits... no function.
Bottom line... I don't like spending money on things that don't in turn make me money.
What I do spend money on:
- my computer
- my monitors
- my keyboard
- coffee
- books on kindle to learn what I need to learn
- professional consulting advice
What I refuse to spend my money on:
- Anything that in turn doesn't make me money
So, how do you feel about startup SWAG? Do you spend money on it? Or are you a cheapskate like me? haha
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