[madrox]

It’s worth admiring businesses like this, though they may not be for the HN crowd that only thinks about companies that can scale to a billion dollars. If the AI dream becomes real, lots of the businesses around today are going to the next generation’s $200 comb.

For every industry mass production kills, there is at least one company that survives by making an artisan alternative.

[xanderlewis]

It’s interesting you point that out, because businesses that are clearly incredibly successful and have hordes of loyal customers and yet seemingly have zero interest in expansion is something I strongly associate with Japan.

Think of the humble noodle shop with three seats and a constant queue of thirty people down the street. Intensely business-minded (almost imperialistic) people find it very hard to understand people who just don’t think that way. For some, doing one’s best and getting by is enough. But it seems naive and backward to others.