Startups: stop being fancy

I’ve been long enough in this game to remember quite a few fads like responsive design, NoSQL, BigData, Microservices, Blockchain, Crypto, etc. Every now and then, some tech will rise up to God like levels, immediately granting access to funding, media praise and fame.

Of course, these tech advancements are not just smoke and mirrors, they have a wide range of applications that enable companies to grow or be more efficient. The problem is when we treat these technologies as trends instead of tools that may or may not be a good fit for what we want to achieve. 

Back when BigData was the thing, I would have to explain every couple of months why we didn't need Hadoop or HFS for our 5GB dataset. I’m sure that many small startups suffer from Bigtechitis where they try to use tools built for problems they do not have. Nowadays, I have to argue about AI and especially with non-tech people that confuse all AI/ML tools with LLMs and want to slap it on everything for quick results.

The reason I’m focusing on tech trends is because they are the main culprit for startups to hop on the fancy bandwagon and forget about their mission.

Startup founders: stop being fancy, you have a mission.

And it's not just tech of course, there are many ways that startups choose fancy over focusing on their goals. Celebrating funding rounds, lavish offices, parties and big talk about valuations are signs of trying to be fancy instead of focusing in adding real value. 

One might say that this is what the system wants, investors have FOMO and the media are easily impressed by buzzwords being thrown around. While generating buzz might be important, given a startup’s limited resources, going for the value creation game will have similar effects in attracting investors and media coverage without losing focus.

If you are a startup founder, don’t worry if your startup’s name doesn’t end with AI or your offices are IKEA desks, you are not fancy, you have a mission.