Optimising for Happiness
by David KingWhen Paul and I started this venture, I made it clear that I wanted to build a "lifestyle business". I was naive to use that term.
“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” — Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride
Ultimately "lifestyle business" means minimising the amount of work you do. But... I love work. I love working on the product and engineering. I love working on the systems that make up the wider business. It's thrilling.
After a lot of thought I've come to realise I was really thinking about company culture. I actually want to optimise for happiness. Not just me and my family, but our customers and employees too. How can we build a business that makes the most people the most happy?
Paul and I chat about this a lot and it's quickly becoming an important pillar for our business:
- Customer service is vital
- Our product should be beautiful - despite the "dull" vertical
- Work-Life balance is important
- Employees should be rewarded for owning their role
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PS: A quick overview of things that have happened in the last year+:
- We hit $12k / mo - we're profitable
- We made our first hire - an old friend
- After trying new verticals, we niched-down in Asbestos
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Hey David, congrats on the growth. Agreed on the customer service parr! ive seen a few other companies tackle it different ways, but was curious how you plan on doing it.
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For product (my main area) the key has been to create new features... but make them hidden from our users. This means that:
- We are responsible for using the feature
on behalf of our customers - Which means we must talk to customers to find out what they need to solve
- And gives us the opportunity to refine the product for these problems
These conversations and feedback loops keep everyone happy. Product can do rough-and-ready features without fear of reproach, customers feel listened to, our team are all contributing to the company.
Through this approach our company has (by necessity) become high-touch. It also means that the user experience is fantastic as it's driven by human interaction rather than the usual. It won't scale in its current form, but that's fine for now.
- We are responsible for using the feature
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