

Is your startup built to last, or to sell? - whitegloveapps
http://www.whitegloveapps.com/2010/10/17/startup-built-to-last-or-sell/

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jms928
I have a small business, too, and this made me think of the importance of
building and sustaining relationships with clients by doing good work. Each
project I do for a client is not just a one-time, finished-and-it's-done
assignment; it's a building block in my relationship with that client. In
order to keep clients coming back, I have to think from a "built to last"
perspective. I suppose most small-business people do--particularly those of us
who are very small service providers.

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bond
>1) When built-to-sell startups get customers, they aren't really interested
in listening to them to improve the product – the company is supposed to be
sold anyway.

I don't agree entirely with this one. For a company to be able to sell, first
it needs to have customers around or else how will attract buyers?

No customers, no business...

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whitegloveapps
I pretty much agree with you that a company needs to have customers to
attract. (Although I bet there are examples where the product didn't have that
many customers, and the company was bought for the idea or the people on the
team.)

What I'm suggesting is that, like the developer of my apartment complex, if
the company isn't in it for the long haul, they may not pay attention to
improvements or feedback customers are suggesting. The company may figure
they're going to get acquired soon, so if some of the customers just stop
using the product, they can still be claimed as users...

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whitegloveapps
Glad to hear you have that perspective. Especially with project work, keeping
clients happy so they come back to you for the next project is key. Maybe you
should've managed that apartment complex!

