Okay, let's brainstorm some classic "do things that don't scale" examples, categorized for clarity. This concept, popularized by Paul Graham of Y Combinator, is about prioritizing early customer acquisition and feedback through manual, often inefficient, processes that wouldn't be sustainable in the long run. It's about learning what works and building a foundation.

1. Direct & Personalized Customer Onboarding/Support:

• Manually Onboarding Every User: Instead of relying on automated tutorials or documentation, personally walk each new user through the product. This could involve a video call, screen sharing, or even in-person assistance (if feasible). You learn their pain points and what they actually need.


• Personalized Email Responses: Responding to every customer support email with a thoughtful, personalized answer, even if it takes significant time. Avoid canned responses as much as possible. Show genuine empathy and try to solve their unique problem.


• Proactive Outreach: Instead of waiting for users to complain, proactively reach out to them (especially early adopters) to ask how they're doing, what they like, and what they're struggling with.


• "Concierge" MVP: Instead of building a fully automated product, manually fulfill the core service. Imagine a food delivery app where you personally pick up the food and deliver it for the first few weeks. This validates the demand before you invest in the tech.

• Going Door-to-Door (Figuratively or Literally): For a local business, this could be physically visiting potential customers. For an online service, it could be individually reaching out to people who fit your target audience on social media, forums, or relevant online communities.


• Hand-Picking Early Adopters: Instead of launching to the masses, carefully select a small group of ideal customers and give them exclusive access, early discounts, or personalized attention.


• Attending Industry Events (even if they seem small): Actively networking and engaging in conversations, even if the immediate ROI isn't clear. Focus on building relationships and understanding the market.


• Writing Personalized Notes/Gifts: Sending handwritten thank-you notes or small, thoughtful gifts to early customers or influencers. This creates a lasting impression.


• Directly Sourcing Content: Instead of relying on user-generated content, initially create the content yourself (blog posts, tutorials, demos) to set the tone and quality.

• Building Features Based on Individual Customer Requests: Instead of prioritizing features based on a grand roadmap, prioritize the features that your most vocal early adopters are asking for. This ensures you're building something people actually want.


• Shadowing Users: Observing users as they interact with your product (or a prototype) to understand their behavior and identify pain points. Don't just ask them what they want; watch them.


• "Wizard of Oz" Testing: Creating the illusion of a fully automated feature, but manually fulfilling the back-end tasks. For example, an AI-powered recommendation engine that is actually being curated by a person.


• A/B Testing with Small Sample Sizes (Qualitative Focus): While statistically insignificant for large-scale decisions, running A/B tests with small groups of users and focusing on the qualitative feedback can be valuable for early product iteration. Understand why people prefer one option over another.


• Prototype First, Code Later: Before writing any code, create detailed prototypes (using tools like Figma, Balsamiq, or even paper) to test the user experience and gather feedback.

• Manually Processing Orders: Even if you plan for an automated system, begin by manually processing orders. This helps you deeply understand the entire fulfillment process, from order entry to shipping.


• Doing All the Sales Calls Yourself (as the Founder): Even if you plan to hire a sales team, the founder should initially handle all the sales calls. This provides invaluable insights into customer needs, objections, and the sales process.


• Tracking Everything Manually: Using spreadsheets or other manual methods to track key metrics like customer acquisition cost, churn rate, and revenue. This forces you to understand the data and how it's generated.

• Deep Customer Understanding: It forces you to truly understand your customers' needs, pain points, and motivations.


• Rapid Iteration: You can quickly adapt your product based on direct feedback.


• Building a Strong Foundation: You create a loyal base of early adopters who will champion your product.


• Validation of Assumptions: You can test your assumptions about the market and your product before investing heavily in scaling.


• Differentiation: In a crowded market, personalized attention can be a significant differentiator.

• Know When to Scale: The goal isn't to always do things that don't scale. It's about using them strategically in the early stages. Once you've learned enough and validated your product, you need to start automating and scaling efficiently.


• Document Everything: Carefully document the processes you're using, the feedback you're receiving, and the decisions you're making. This will help you when it's time to scale.


• Focus on the Core Value: Make sure the things you're doing that don't scale are directly related to delivering the core value proposition to your customers. Don't waste time on things that don't move the needle.