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Ask HN: Is craftsmanship a thing when it comes to building a company?

12 points by hartem_ ↗ HN
It's clear (albeit somewhat subjective) when it comes to product. We all (at least as users) can tell whether the product or the experience are delightful. But what about the company itself? How do you tell a masterpiece of a company from an OK one? Who should one ask to begin with? Shareholders, customers, maybe employees, or the society in general? Is it in principle possible to excel across all those dimensions? Should that even be the goal?

5 comments

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darepublic
If there were a modern version of Republic of Plato they would pose a question like this in there somewhere
codegeek
I am currently building a company bootstrapped and craftsmanship is the last thing on my mind. I am focussed on improving marketing, customer service, sales, team building, streamlining operations, branding and many other things that will hopefully make this a sustainable and profitable business for the long term. If this is what you call craftsmanship, then sure.
hartem_
I agree. Regardless of whether it's bootstrapped or VC funded, at any given day there are so many issues at hand that one rarely has time to think of anything else.

Good luck with your company!

mkilling
From my experience building a company I like to believe that there’s craftsmanship involved in establishing processes (as described in Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth Revisited) that make the day-to-day run smoothly.