[ryanholiday]

HN is a testament to what happens when you make a thing for a very specific group of people and only them.

It sort of reminds me those companies you hear about every once in a while that say "No" to being sold in Wal-Mart. It seems crazy but there is value in passing on certain kinds of growth.

The only hiccup to this plan in HN's case is that the very specific community it is targeted to is itself growing and growing. So staying "small" might be impossible.

[davidw]

> It sort of reminds me those companies you hear about every once in a while that say "No" to being sold in Wal-Mart.

Speaking of which, I wonder what became of this one?

http://www.fastcompany.com/54763/man-who-said-no-wal-mart

Apologies for deviating from the thread's topic, but I re-read that the other day and got to wondering.

[miles]

Snapper/Simplicity ended up being bought by Briggs & Stratton, which apparently decided to back peddle a bit:

Walmart to sell Briggs & Stratton Snapper mowers http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2013/01/17/walmart...

Here is a forum comment apparently from Jim Wier ("The Man Who Said No to Walmart") regarding the Sears deal after his departure: http://ppecongress.com/showpost.php?s=b79ee2a3f907acf9594e26...