

Ask HN: Is it possible for a startup to be too lean? - sudomake

I was wondering if it is possible for a startup to be too lean? Is it possible for a startup to be so tight with compensation that they can not afford to hire the talent they need?
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hanniabu
> I was wondering if it is possible for a startup to be too lean?

I'd say that's very dependant on each individual scenario. For instance, if
the MVP(minimal viable product) is built by just the technical founders in
spare time and there is no time limit/urgency, then the answer is that it
can't be too lean. On the other hand, let's say that the MVP is still built by
the founders, but they are working on it full time, then the startup can be
too lean. The less developers working on the project, the longer it'll take to
finish the product. Even if the founders are okay with not paying themselves,
their personal bills still have to be paid, so there's a built in deadline
that has to be met there for positive cash flow/ investment.

The same would apply to if there were paid hires. You can pay one employee a
salary of X and finish the project in Y amount of time, or you can hire 2
employees for a total salary of 2X and finish the project in Y/2 amount of
time. If salary is your only expense then it doesn't matter if you're lean.
However, if you need to pay rent, electricity, hosting, etc, then the faster
the project is done the better and being too lean may hurt you.

Again, all depends on the case at hand. Is there cash flow, are employees
getting paid, is there an urgent delivery date, are there external expenses,
etc.

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monknomo
Yes, but I'd wager they would fail rapidly.

For actual hard problems that require top talent (in opposition to your normal
'rockstars wanted'), a startup would need:

A. Enough talent among the founders to make a demo good enough to get enough
investment to get the talent to make the product

or

B. Enough starting capital to make a demo to get investment to get the talent

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cblock811
I clicked this thinking you meant lean as in the Lean Methodology of build,
measure, learn.

Sure a company can be too tight when they are "bootstrapping" initially.

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brudgers

      lean != starved

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tmaly
of course, its a trade off between getting it done and not

