

Growth startup v/s lifestyle startup: why should there be a difference at all? - paraschopra
http://paraschopra.com/blog/entrepreneurship/growth-lifestyle-startup.htm

======
bradleyland
I hate to trot this out, but isn't this a bit of a strawman argument?

"Lifestyle: Slow growth or no growth at all"

It's not black & white. Self-funded lifestyle businesses don't typically grow
as quickly because they can't sustain the high burn-rate on a self-funded
basis, not because they don't want to grow. At least not in all cases.

The focus on profitability is dictated by the fact that lifestyle founders
often have their own money on the line, which they're anxious to get back.

I know from personal experience. I didn't have millions of dollars in a bank
account, begging to be put to work. I had a small chest of savings that I
stored up by busting my ass and living in a 500 sq ft apartment for 7 years. I
wanted that money back quickly because I faced a much higher level of personal
risk if things went south.

------
xiaoma
I think the key difference is whether or not it's a big, winner take all
market. If it is, then you pretty much have to get all the funding you
possibly can and grow as fast as you can as Amazon and Ebay did. Jeff Bezos
has written about how he was aware of the damage such rapid growth inflicted
on company culture and how difficult it made managing the company. But, in
that sort of market, it was the only way to go.

For a small niche or for a market such as fast food that isn't winner take
all, the lifestyle business is possible and probably preferable. VWO is a
medium sized "winner take most" market, so it's reasonable that they're
following a hybrid path.

------
egor83
Joel Spolski had an article on the speed of growth a while ago:
[http://www.inc.com/magazine/20091101/does-slow-growth-
equal-...](http://www.inc.com/magazine/20091101/does-slow-growth-equal-slow-
death.html)

