Freedom, not numbers.
Meet Sam, the owner of a small deli in Mountain View, hidden on the edge of the Google complex. Quiet and humble, Sam has been operating out of his location for the last fifteen years. Five days a week, year after year he’s been making sandwiches, bagels and yummy deserts. If you look at the Yelp reviews for Plaza Deli Cafe, you will see that most customers are “fanatical” about his place, and for a good reason.
The first time we visited, Sam asked for my name and called me by it ever since. He is funny, sarcastic, and certainly hardworking. He knows his regulars, he remembers details, and he cares that your experience at his place is nothing but the best. Funny jokes and vitamin D is always included with your meal.
Sam makes sandwiches, but so does Subway, WholeFoods, and a handfull of shops that are closer to my place than he is, and yet, we now go to Sam whenever possible. I don’t just get food there, I get impecable customer service that makes food taste better; not just while eating it, but days later, when I think of my lunch, I can remember the taste of it and the cozy feeling. This memory adds to my taste, it makes it three-dimensional, fullfilling and exciting to think about.
I am not a foodie and I don’t care for the food too much, but I am a sucker for good experience.
Meanwhile, in the tech world, I start to think companies are forgetting the pricinples that make real, tangible business so successful. Tech companies, fueled by the VC dollars are focused on growth. Users, revenue, numbers, everything has to hockey-stick and blow through the roof and TechCrunch and Sequoia and IPO … it’s exciting to play this game but it also makes one want to vomit sometimes.
I don’t want my business to be about numbers, I want it to be about people. I don’t want employees to join my company because we have great swag, or because we wear square glasses, or have beer on Friday (we do not, sorry). I want people to join us because we are doing something good for the world and they buy into the idea of a better tomorrow.
At Scoutzie we want to empower creative individuals around the world, but that doesn’t mean make a shit ton of money. Money is only an enzime for doing more faster. As far as the business is concerned, I want to know every one of our users, I want to know that our product makes their life more interesting, more efficient, more fulfilling We want to encourage ultimate freedom to work on one’s own schedule, without worry, doing only what people love to do. That to me, is worth working on; that is worth waking up for. Freedom, not numbers.
