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Some thoughts on making engineering decisions to drive growth at a startup - I posit, it's like building a Time Machine... 
Let's unpack this - first, what's a startup? In the words of @paulg
It's all about the rate of change of your "key metric"
But this key metric is influenced by a LOT of factors - some in your control and others that might come from Reddit threads
With engineering decisions, what you can really manage is Time, and it's perception - cc: @AjeyGore
Great engineering decisions let you control time
How? - through the processes you put in place, in how you manage costs, where you invest in tech, and the culture you build
Processes -> Optimising Time
The way we build software is relatively NEW compared to how long we've been building widgets - but is often compared to it
The way we build software is relatively NEW compared to how long we've been building widgets - but is often compared to it
There really is no best practice -- processes start from looking inward, to your self & your team, and adapting them when you change - great examples of this can be found at the best companies
Cost Management -> Buying Time
Building v/s buying is a decision that comes about frequently. Balancing the time it takes to learn what you need to build and the importance of it to your startup helps make these decisions
Building v/s buying is a decision that comes about frequently. Balancing the time it takes to learn what you need to build and the importance of it to your startup helps make these decisions
Tech Debt -> Bending Time
Always know what level of "time risk" you're willing to take with tech debt, because it always costs REAL money when it comes due - in limitations to scale, or in outages. As with money, don't take on a level of debt you can't pay back
Always know what level of "time risk" you're willing to take with tech debt, because it always costs REAL money when it comes due - in limitations to scale, or in outages. As with money, don't take on a level of debt you can't pay back
Tech Investments are the other side of bending time, and much less talked about -- what are you investing in today in your engg stack that will give you compounding returns over time?
Hiring & Culture -> The keys to building a time machine are about the people you bring on, their growth path, and how they work with others.
Culture - over time, as the team grows, the focal point of culture shifts from your personal value system, to the team's value system. And you should let that happen, because you evolve differently than your team does
Growth paths should be built to complement your culture - and adapt with it. People in creative professions - including engineering - don't always want to grow by "managing more people" - create growth paths that are based on your team culture
@arjunsethi made me think of the Interfaces between teams ( https://tinyurl.com/1xkvdmr7 ) -- TLDR; spend less time on trying to make people be like each other, and more time on building interfaces that make people understand each other
So how do you know if you're controlling time?
You'll know what you're going to ship, the bets that you're making and the impact those will make on Growth.
In essence, you can see the future.
You'll know what you're going to ship, the bets that you're making and the impact those will make on Growth.
In essence, you can see the future.
