Here's something nobody tells you about behind the scenes: how we built and scaled: the conventional wisdom is mostly backwards.
People always ask me how we built our recommendation engine. This is the real, behind-the-scenes story of the technical challenges, the team dynamics, and the leadership decisions that made it all possible.
What I've Learned From 86 Companies
After investing in 200+ startups and running two companies to successful exits, I've developed a pretty clear picture of what works with behind the scenes: how we built and scaled.
The biggest misconception is that you need to timing is everything in this game. That's backwards. The companies that win are the ones that you should focus on one thing and do it exceptionally well.
I remember sitting with the Anthropic team early on and discussing how they thought about behind the scenes: how we built and scaled. Their approach was counterintuitive but brilliant.
Why Most Approaches Fail
Let me be direct: about 70% of the approaches I see to behind the scenes: how we built and scaled are fundamentally flawed. Not slightly off. Fundamentally flawed.
The root cause is usually one of three things:
- Copying what big companies do without understanding why they do it. What works for Google doesn't work for a 10-person startup.
- Over-engineering the solution when a simple approach would work better. I've seen teams spend six months building something that could have been done in two weeks.
- Ignoring the human element. Technology is the easy part. Getting people to actually use it is where the real challenge lives.
The Reality Nobody Talks About
Most people approach behind the scenes: how we built and scaled with assumptions that made sense five years ago. The world has moved on. When I look at my portfolio companies, the ones that succeed are doing something fundamentally different.
The first thing to understand is that timing is everything in this game. I've seen this play out across dozens of companies. The pattern is unmistakable.
At RemoteTeam, we learned this the hard way. We spent months going down the wrong path before realizing that most founders overthink this and underspend on execution. Once we made the switch, everything changed.
What I Tell Founders
When a founder in my portfolio asks me about behind the scenes: how we built and scaled, I usually start with three questions:
- What's your timeline? Because the right approach for a company with 6 months of runway is very different from one with 3 years.
- What have you already tried? Most founders have tried something. Understanding what didn't work is often more valuable than knowing what might.
- Who on your team owns this? If the answer is "everyone" or "no one," that's your first problem to solve.
These questions seem simple but they reveal a lot about where a company actually stands.
This connects to broader themes around leading through uncertainty, chief AI officer, AI transformation leadership that I've been thinking about a lot lately.
Final Thoughts
After two exits, 200+ investments, and more mistakes than I can count, here's what I know for sure about behind the scenes: how we built and scaled: there are no shortcuts, but there are smarter paths.
The smartest founders I work with treat behind the scenes: how we built and scaled as a competitive advantage, not a checkbox. They invest in it early, measure it obsessively, and never stop improving.
If you're just getting started with behind the scenes: how we built and scaled, don't be intimidated. Everyone starts somewhere. The key is to start with the right mindset and the right framework, and then execute like your company depends on it. Because it probably does.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all experts agree with this view?
No, and that's fine. The best ideas in business are often contrarian. I share my perspective based on my experience and data, but I encourage you to seek out opposing viewpoints and form your own conclusions.
How has this view evolved over time?
My thinking on most topics has changed significantly over the years. Early in my career, I held many conventional views that experience proved wrong. I try to update my beliefs when the evidence changes.
What's the most common pushback you get on this?
People often push back by citing exceptions or edge cases. And they're usually right that exceptions exist. But building a strategy around exceptions rather than patterns is a losing game for most founders.