Embracing the 3-Month Rule: A Practical Guide for Startup Developers
In the entrepreneurial world of tech startups, the mantra of “doing things that don’t scale” commonly echoes through the halls. While many recognize the wisdom in this advice from Paul Graham, the challenge lies in how to effectively implement it—especially in the realm of coding.
After spending eight months developing my AI podcast platform, I’ve devised a straightforward framework: every unscalable solution has a three-month lifespan. At the end of this period, it must either prove its worth and evolve into a more robust system or be discarded entirely.
Why this approach? As engineers, we often approach projects with a focus on scalability from the outset—envisioning grand architectures, microservices, and complex systems capable of handling millions of users. Yet, in the startup environment, pursuing such scalable solutions can delay progress—essentially becoming an expensive form of procrastination. My 3-month rule compels me to adopt simpler, more immediate coding practices that actually deliver products and reveal the genuine needs of my users.
Current Infrastructure Insights: Practical Hacks that Work
1. Consolidated Resources on a Single VM
I host my database, web server, background jobs, and Redis on one $40/month virtual machine—no redundancy and manual backups stored locally. This might seem unwise, but it has provided invaluable insights into my actual resource requirements more effectively than any capacity planning document could. In just two months, I discovered that my supposedly “AI-heavy” platform only peaks at 4GB of RAM. The complex Kubernetes framework I almost implemented would have resulted in managing empty services. When the system crashes (which it has twice), I gain real data about failures—almost always in unexpected areas.
2. Simplified Configuration Management
Instead of employing configuration files or environment variables, I’ve opted for hardcoded constants throughout my code, such as:
python
PRICE_TIER_1 = 9.99
PRICE_TIER_2 = 19.99
MAX_USERS = 100
AI_MODEL = "gpt-4"
Although modifying these values means redeploying the application, the speed of accessing any configuration value across my codebase is drastically increased. Any price adjustment is systematically tracked in my git history, promoting a culture of accountability without the overhead of a complex configuration service. Over three months, I’ve found myself making only three changes—resulting in 15 minutes
One Comment
This is a compelling framework that elegantly bridges the gap between rapid iteration and long-term scalability. I appreciate how the 3-month rule encourages a focus on immediate learning and validation, rather than getting bogged down in premature optimizations. Your insights around infrastructure—such as hosting multiple services on a single VM for real-world resource insights—highlight an important truth: sometimes, simplicity yields the most valuable data. Additionally, your pragmatic approach of hardcoding configuration constants accelerates deployment and reduces cognitive overhead, allowing quicker pivots based on real user feedback.
One thought to consider is balancing this approach with the eventual need for automation and scalability: as your product gains traction, integrating lightweight automation scripts or configuration management tools—even if initially simple—can provide a smooth transition without losing the agility you value. Overall, your method provides a practical blueprint for startups to validate assumptions quickly while avoiding the trap of over-engineering early on. Looking forward to seeing how this evolves as your platform grows!