[tnolet]

I'll go out and say it. Most Indie SaaS developers don't really really want to start a business.

They might want it consciously and convince themselves of this fact, but sub consciously they are making the wrong choices, optimizing the wrong things, digging their own grave.

The moment things like customers, prices, marketing, money, taxes, lawyers, incorporation, accountants, employees — all SUPER normal things in any business — come around they freeze up. Safer to upgrade Bootstrap.

[spookthesunset]

I was guilty of this. Spent far too much time optimizing database indexes and far too little time actually talking with customers and validating new ideas.

Technology choice is the least important part of a startup. Pick what you know and roll with it. Make sure the first developers you hire "get" startups and aren't in it to tinker with their pet projects or push some bozo agenda (eg: don't use js frameworks because.... they are "bloat". don't use third party libraries because they are "security risks". don't use the cloud because RMS said not to). Developers with strong "unorthodox" opinions about technology are toxic to startups.

[tnolet]

The "bozo agenda" is a great point about early tech hires. I bumped into a few over the years and they can totally kill your dev team and young business.

[spookthesunset]

Tell me about it. It is even worse when they are protected by the founder, who is either non-technical and considers the bozo a "rockstar" or is technical and brought the bozo in because of past relationships (friend, coworker, etc).

The bozo gets protected by the founders and all future developers have no career path, no say in the technology, and get to swim in the sea of an opinionated hot garbage codebase.

People who leave big companies for startups to escape the politics eventually get a rude awakening. Startups, especially very small startups, have a whole different set of frustrating politics. Not even sure which is worse to be honest.