Venture Capitalists want scale. The media wants it, too. Intellectually, we desire scale. But on an emotional level, I think the rewards diminish rapidly.
Saying “one million people use my thing” is an intellectual impact. But what gets you out of a funk? Statistics don’t usually do it for me.
When I’m feeling down, I need a story. Stories aren’t about a million people or even a thousand. By nature a story is about one or two people. It’s small. It’s emotional and it resonates.
So before we prioritize scale, let’s make sure we’re starting small enough to get those stories. It pays off in the long run.
Let’s stop hiding in scale and make sure humans come first.