[discussedbefore]

If I had to pick a more common phrase to research on HN, it would be "growth hacking". By marketing-first I mean growth hacking/PR is priority #1.

I'm not saying anything against this person professionally or personally, it is more a textbook example of marketing hustle as key to financial success. I prioritize technology ahead of marketing, and am currently struggling to flip this around.

PS. I didn't know Docker was YCS10, so props to YC for connecting with this person early. Growth hacking definitely fits into the YC culture.

[sah2ed]

> I prioritize technology ahead of marketing, and am currently struggling to flip this around.

May I ask why you feel strongly about a technology-first approach?

I can think of someone that tried your exact approach, but it didn't end well. He happens to be a member of this community [0] and he wrote a great blog post [1] introspecting as to the reasons why technology-first approaches don't work in the world we live in.

If you've not read it, I encourage you to do so.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=coffeemug

[1] http://www.defmacro.org/2017/01/18/why-rethinkdb-failed.html

[discussedbefore]

I just love tech a lot more than marketing, probably primarily because I'm much better at tech!

I'm glad that RethinkDB seems to be headed toward a happy ineding as a community, and thanks for the pointer to the write up.