Do Things That Don't Scale
A directory of startups that did things that don't scale
Do Things That Don't Scale launched on September 9, 2024 with 23 votes, #741 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.
What it does
A curated directory of startups that did things that don't scale. Discover 100+ examples of founders' scrappy tactics, from YC-backed companies to unicorns. Get inspired, learn unconventional growth strategies, and share your own startup story.
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
Does a similar job
all alternatives →
Do Things That Don't Scale2018 · dothingsthatdontscale.com · ▲575Discover new unscalable ways to grow your startup
A directory of startups that did things that don't scale2024 · dothingsthatdontscale.org · ▲31Hey 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…
Road to Scale2019 · roadtoscale.com · ▲470300+ curated content items for every stage of your startup
Actionable Growth Hacking Tactics for Startup Marketing2017 · everhour.com · ▲207A curated list of proven growth hacks without a budget
This Won't Scale by Drift2018 · drift.com · ▲17840 free marketing playbooks to help you grow your business
Do Things That Don't Scale2019 · dothingsthatdontscale.com · ▲8crowdsourced collection of unscalable startup hacks
More growth this month
the category →
wallhop is a free paywall bypass. Paste any article link to read it without paywall popups, ads or clutter. No signup, no extension. A simple 12ft.io alternative.
Growth · 11d ago · wallhop.io
Source: Product Hunt launch ↗
Launched alongside, September 2024
the whole month →
BeforeSunset AI 2.0▲1,267Personalized AI daily planning that suits your life
AI · 2024 · beforesunset.ai
