You're a little company, now act like one
19 comments
·May 24, 2025landgenoot
Being small is a unique selling point. Lately, I was talking to a small business owner who runs his business over Whatsapp. He was interested in creating some kind of customer portal.
I advised him against it. No digital concept is going to beat that customer experience.
AaronAPU
One of the best decisions I made as a solo founder was putting a note on product pages to contact me to request a loyalty discount for existing customers.
I get emails on a daily basis and people take that moment to give positive feedback, occasionally bug reports, and I get to see their email signature to get a sense who my customers are.
It’s genuinely enjoyable interacting with customers and most people are so easy to get along with if you just listen and show respect.
mnahkies
I've been a bit of a skeptic around that, but recently had an amazing experience with a small motorcycle rental company where we arranged everything over Whatsapp.
They had a basic website that outlined their general terms and bikes on offer etc, but then actually arranging the booking dropped into WhatsApp which allowed me to outline my specific needs and get a useful steer. Throughout the trip I was able to continue messaging as things came up and it felt more like I was borrowing a bike from a mate than renting one from a business.
SoftTalker
At that point I would prefer a phone call. And I don't like unnecessasry phone calls, but protracted discussions over chat is awful.
dmd
Counterpoint: If I had to talk on the phone with the company instead of using text, I would choose a different company.
collingreen
I see where you're coming from but a text record you can go back and review is very valuable to me in these situations as well.
3dsnano
vulnerability can be a superpower if leveraged correctly… i think it leads towards more authentic conversations and weeds out the folks who don’t “get it” yet
danenania
Great post.
Another benefit of this approach is it’s simply much easier. If you’re trying to act like some smooth corporate salesperson or be overly formal or whatever and that’s not really you, interacting with customers and prospects and… everyone… will feel tiring and painful.
But if you drop the pretense and just act like yourself? Minimal extra energy required. As a bonus, it opens you up to make real connections with people who you click with as you run your business.
So it works, it’s easier, and it’s more fun. And has basically no downsides. But still something that most founders seem to have to learn the hard way for some reason.
ednite
I agree with your comment and couldn’t agree more with this article. It’s solid advice for anyone just starting out with a product or service.
Speaking authentically and admitting you don’t have all the answers is genuine, not weak. That kind of honesty has always worked best for me.
People respond better to real conversations, concrete examples, and the feeling that you’re building with them, not just selling at them.
In my experience, working with smaller businesses has opened more doors than chasing big corporate clients. Smaller companies tend to be more curious, open to new ideas, and quick to take action.
That said, “dress to impress” can work, but in my experience, it’s often a short-lived win. It grabs attention, but rarely builds lasting trust or real traction. Not a playbook I buy into.
For example, I recently sat through a 3-hour pitch from a so-called “AI consultant.” The presentation was packed with buzzwords, vague promises, and a sleek slide deck. Every time someone asked how AI would actually solve a specific problem, the answer was basically: “AI will handle that,” followed by name-dropping a popular AI company like it was the solution to everything. It was clear the consultant didn’t fully understand the tech, but the leadership team still ate it up.
This article was a great reminder that trying to sound big and impressive might get attention early on, but it often backfires later. Being honest and straightforward has always been my real strength, even if it keeps me small.
treetalker
Taleb has written about dressing to impress and looking the part: https://medium.com/incerto/surgeons-should-notlook-like-surg...
ensignavenger
Personally, I like hyphens, a lot. I don't understand the trend of removing them. But whatever.
layer8
Me too, as they improve readability when used correctly. They are there for a reason. In the quote in the article, the hyphens in “risk-analysis” and “decision-support” are incorrect, however. Know your hyphens!
cut3
I do as well which is why im trying something new in a new project. Hard to start but im getting there
moron4hire
Missed opportunity to say that you're a hyphen-enjoyer.
OJFord
Understanding-absent of the removing-them trend.
locallost
Heh, I'm kind of in the same or similar boat. I changed jobs specifically last year to join a smaller company, thinking we'll get a lot done without a lot of fuss and stakeholders, which was bothering me in my previous job -- it was impossible to get something going. But it turned out my new small team spends a lot of time trying to do the work of 50 people with 1/10th the resources, essentially cosplaying a large brand. I said we're not X, we're Y, and let's be that because it has its advantages, but people are busy with case studies, UX, patterns etc. The funniest part is they are laser focused on a competitor and a lot of the talk ends up being "do it like competitor X does".
So yeah, you're a little company, act like one.
dmje
Great, that.
curtisszmania
[dead]
Reminded me of the Paul Graham essay "Do Things that Don't Scale" - https://www.paulgraham.com/ds.html