Embracing the 3-Month Rule: An Innovative Approach to Scalable Development
When it comes to startup culture, one piece of advice resonates with budding entrepreneurs and developers alike: “Do things that don’t scale,” as highlighted by Paul Graham. While this idea is widely acknowledged, understanding how to effectively implement it in technical contexts often remains elusive.
After eight months of painstakingly constructing my AI podcast platform, I have devised a straightforward system: any unscalable solution or hack is granted three months to prove its worth. After this period, we either transition it to a robust implementation or retire it altogether.
Rethinking Scalability in Startups
In the engineering world, we frequently strive to design solutions that can handle vast user bases right from the outset—think microservices, distributed systems, and intricate architectures. However, this approach often caters to big companies rather than the nimble environment of a startup. Frequently, the pursuit of scalability can hinder progress, leading us to optimize for users who may never materialize and tackle issues that might not even exist.
My three-month rule mandates that I focus on simple, straightforward code—code that may not be “best practice” but actually gets deployed. This iterative approach allows me to discern user needs in real-time.
Current Infrastructure Strategies: Smart Hacks that Work
1. Consolidated Operations on a Single VM
At present, my entire platform functions on a single $40/month virtual machine that hosts everything from the database to background jobs. While lacking redundancy and relying on manual backups, this arrangement has provided invaluable insights into my actual resource requirements. I have learned, for instance, that my platform’s peak resource consumption is only 4GB of RAM. An intricate Kubernetes configuration would have been overkill.
When the server experiences a crash (which has happened a couple of times), I gain concrete data about the failure points—often surprising insights into what actually goes wrong.
2. Simple Hardcoded Configurations
My configuration approach is refreshingly simplistic: constants are hardcoded directly into the codebase without the complications of config files or environment variables. Any change necessitates a straightforward redeployment, which I’ve done only three times in three months. This allows me to track every modification through version history and keeps my focus on the code rather than on deployment intricacies.
3. Favoring SQLite for Production Use
Surprisingly, I have chosen SQLite as the backbone of my multi-user application. Despite being
One Comment
This post offers a compelling perspective on balancing agility and scalability in early-stage development. The 3-month rule is a practical framework that allows teams to focus on delivering value quickly without getting bogged down by premature optimization. I appreciate the emphasis on using simple, effective solutions—like consolidating operations on a single VM or leveraging hardcoded configurations—to gain real-world insights before investing in more complex infrastructure.
It’s particularly insightful to see how these “hacky” or unscalable solutions can serve as valuable experiments, providing data that informs future decisions. This approach aligns well with the iterative, feedback-driven nature of startups, ensuring resources are allocated efficiently as user needs evolve.
One point I’d add is the importance of documenting these temporary solutions and the insights gained—this creates a solid knowledge base for scaling up later. Overall, your framework encourages intentional experimentation and disciplined evaluation, which are crucial for sustainable growth. Looking forward to seeing how this methodology evolves as your platform matures!