The Zombocom Problem

But it is remembered first and foremost as an email system, a feature that's fairly trivial to implement once you have a replicated database and a UI on top of it that can display lists and text. But it had to be an email system first because you can't sell something that can do anything if it doesn't do anything.

Some 'frameworks' or 'engines' budded off from work on a concrete problem, e.g. Django first for a specific CMS, Rails from Basecamp, Unreal Engine from Unreal the game. Work's not as much of an 'engine' as those are, but it's definitely turned out a big focus is on how customers can build their own stuff (both in the frontend and the data side) and integration. But for anyone to care about all that it has to be an app first!

Similarly, with a software solution, you need to make it integrate into an existing stack used in the market, or else build the layers to make it something that can fit neatly into a business's processes. E.g. if there's already an established market for engines or frameworks, then a business can use your conforming engine almost plug-and-play. Otherwise you have to build the app and UI layers on top to make it end-user-facing.

Once you've achieved some success in a vertical or layer (e.g. appointment bookings for salons), you can abstract the core solution/framework and start applying it to other verticals or build adapter layers to start attacking other layers (e.g. appointment bookings for everything).

Sandstorm had a clear goal of getting critical mass and changing personal servers forever and I think in many ways it was close.

Completely agree with this. The person who starts building the ultimate meta-framework or meta-API as step 1 is almost inevitably doomed to failure if they can't articulate a specific problem they solve better for their users.

So even for personal projects, what’s most important is the ugly MVP that does the thing. It’s only after that works that I clean it up.

We should still call it "overengineering" and not "insight". It was a risk and a compromise.

"Building a platform" is such an X. A high risk/reward goal where lots of failure is expected.

Programming languages, operating systems, hypertext, www. The earliest versions may have been small and made for a specific need... but the generalization attempts came soon and excitable zombocon words came out of mouth.

So sure... targeting your new programming language to a specific use case is a strong starting strategy. But.. it's a programming language. A platform.

The whole information superhighway was a big zombocon in the 90s. That's why the parody resonated in the first place.

I'm not entirely convinced that general platformish ideas cannot succeed. They're just hard and tend to attract the naive because if the massive potential.

I think most of us have had the issue with being told to "Write me a Facebook."

I've done exactly what the article talks about, except not for something that makes money. It's a free platform that Serves a fairly neglected demographic.

Starting small is key.

I always say "Success breeds success." I set humble goals, succeed, then raise the bar on the next one.

This is really good for mentoring folks, as well. Get them used to succeeding. It may start with stupidly simple stuff, but, before you know it, they are doing really complex stuff.

Two little boys found a five dollar bill on the street and went to the store to spend it. The first little boy came up to his friend with his arms full of candy. His friend just had a box of tampons. "Why do you want that, instead of candy?" asked the first boy. "Look here" said the second boy. "If we buy this we can go swimming and hiking and horseback riding...."

We were trying to sell an engine and quickly learned that the Tampon Sale fails spectacularly. We had to pivot to vertical solutions.

[insert list here]

No offense, I'm from GenX, we were doing those things before Bezos came along in fact that was the norm. See VisiCalc one paragraph up for an example. Attempting to create markets for your product like with the Metaverse or blockchain solutions versus just creating products for an actual market that already exists is a relatively new phenomena in the industry. I don't know why we started doing this to begin with.

Oh, finally somebody said it, thanks to heaven! Template "product mindset" with only data-driven way and unshakeable faith in the sacred custdev turn as a curse for interesting products and caused a problem of mass creation stereotypical products an gray, dull, soulless startups with only marketing packaging. But this inside-way is a really like some lost components of the product magic.

I am glad author is realizing this is bad! They state their goal is to build a system that is "pliable, re-shapable, open-ended, true to its materials as a universal machine" which is as close to zombocom as it gets.

[0] https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2001/04/21/dont-let-architect...

Understand the environment (market conditions, constraints, fundamental enabling technology, economics, the macro) both now and in the future. The undeniable deep currents.

Look for companies solving a relatively specific, significant, painful problem, particularly one that is a barrier to future success/riches from the developing market it enables/supports. E.g. DWDM telecoms hardware supported the explosion of the Internet. Something you can do some diligence on to figure out the real questions around it.

Once you have a list of companies/founders, look to see if a sub-group is emerging from the gaggle. Focus on those 2-3.

Finally, ask yourself "what is the google on the moon" [1] whiteboard for this company. Meaning, how big can this be, where can this go, what (in those days) could be their 2nd, 3rd, 4th product.

[1] https://www.theregister.com/2006/03/08/you_only_search_twice...

Spreadsheets definitely feel more like a platform. They aren't specific to what they started out on - they're very general purpose. The metaphor of "grid of numbers you can do stuff with" is extremely not-product-specific.

Bezo’s approach is sublime. It holds two seemingly irreconcilable insights in tension and transcends either lesser alternative:

Come on.

Step 1. Be born with silver spoon in mouth