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Ask HN: Lessons For A Service-Based Startup

4 points by tommizzle ↗ HN
As per title. Go.

5 comments

[ 5.2 ms ] story [ 21.3 ms ] thread
spencerfry
Focus on making a really great product. Everything else will follow.
tommizzle
I'd say choose your clients wisely - avoid timewasters, and clients which aren't likely to scale.
tptacek
What does "Service-based startup" mean? As I was taught to think about it, Reddit is technically a service. My company, Matasano, is a services firm (we consult on software security) and we sell a product. Plenty of companies in my space offer coin-op professional services; log in, push a button, and something will do a network security test for you.

Which kind of "service" do you mean?

tommizzle
I'd meant client based, $P/H work. Design, development, consultancy etc.
tptacek
Even I wouldn't call companies like that a "startup". There's a VC-backed shoot-the-moon vanity startup bias on HN, for sure, and it manifests itself in arguments about what the word "startup" means --- but nobody I know calls consultancies startups.

You should hit searchyc.com and look up submissions containing the word "Freelance"; they tend to have the best info about consulting.