A directory of startups that did things that don't scale
Hey HN, I've been working on a little side project and could really use your feedback. So, I've always been fascinated by those stories of successful startups doing crazy things in their early days - you know, like Airbnb founders personally photographing listings or DoorDash founders delivering food themselves. I started collecting these stories, and before I knew it, I had a pretty big list. So I thought, "Why not turn this into a website?" And that's how https://dothingsthatdontscale.org was born. It's super basic right now - just a simple directory with about 70 examples. But…
A directory of startups that did things that don't scale launched on September 9, 2024 with 31 votes, #674 of 5,281 launches that month and more than 75% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 2 years on.
In plain words
A directory of startup stories that catalogs unconventional early-stage tactics used by successful companies. The site collects approximately 70 examples of founders engaging in labor-intensive, non-scalable activities—such as manually photographing listings or personally delivering products—to build their businesses. It is designed for founders and startup enthusiasts seeking inspiration and practical examples of hands-on early-stage strategies. The directory presents these stories in a simple, browsable format.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
Do Things That Don't Scale is a collection of stories and advice from people who built successful companies by doing things that don't scale.
Many startups fail because they focus on scaling too soon. The secret? Embrace unscalable tactics that create die-hard fans and explosive growth. Deliver an exceptionally high-touch, personalized service by manually onboarding users and offering rapid support. Physically go to the places where your potential customers are, onboard, and activate them on the spot. Manually fulfill orders yourself or hack existing products before building something scalable. Constrain your initial user base geographically or demographically to create a highly engaging product for a specific audience. Surprise users with unscalable and unexpected campaigns to generate significant buzz and attention. Provide…from dothingsthatdontscale.org
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hey HN, I've been working on a little side project and could really use your feedback. So, I've always been fascinated by those stories of successful startups doing crazy things in their early days - you know, like Airbnb founders personally photographing listings or DoorDash founders delivering food themselves. I…
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