[arkitaip]

It's odd how we all agree that Apple's relentless focus on quality - from the very first day when Woz spent all those hours creating beautiful internal hardware that no one every saw to today's Apple that frets about creating hi-fi prototypes with actual data and not lorem ipsum - is key to their success and yet we seldom invest resources in achieving that level of quality.

On the other hand, things work different in startup land. You need to make sure that they work you put in has actual value and doesn't steal time from other, high priority work. This sometimes means creating stuff that might not reflect our level of expertise or be align with our ideals.

Ultimately, you need to find a balance between these two extremes. A balance that you personally can live with because each end of the spectrum is equally valid. If you find that your core beliefs clash with the rest of your startup, maybe you should start looking for a startup that prioritizes design and user experience much more.

[Buddy7878]

Agree 100% about the Apple philosophy, great comment.

I understand about pressures. However, I've worked at a big company, small, and now at a startup, and none of them seem to have time to focus on quality. Maybe I've just been unlucky, and that the Apples of this world are a very rare breed. It could also be argued that it's more important for a startup to focus on quality, especially if entering a crowded market?

Thanks for the advice, you're right it's all about balance. It's not all bad, there are some people at my company who love spending time on user experience, but at the moment they just don't fight for the cause. Hopefully when things get a big less hectic (if that ever happens) there will be time for improvement in this area.