Do things that don't scale by Paul Graham
Shares rank 37 of 60 articles by recommenders
Paul Graham essay on early startup work that readers call a favorite. One critic says its advice doesn't always fit their context.
Paul Graham essay on early startup work that readers call a favorite. One critic says its advice doesn't always fit their context.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 83%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Favorite essay of several readers
“That's one of my favorite essays right now too.”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “I Stumbled Upon Paul Graham's Essays – and Can't Stop Reading” Useful advice from Paul Graham
“reading Paul Graham's articles is incredibly useful”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “I Stumbled Upon Paul Graham's Essays – and Can't Stop Reading” Fits recommended reading lists
“some of his influential essays ("Do things that don't scale"...) also fit the bill”
Comment from 1 Aug 2026 in “How to Do Great Work”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Advice may not fit every context
“I'd rather share what I learned the hard way than repeat talking points that don't apply to my context.”
Comment from 12 Nov 2025 in “Do things that don't scale' is not valid anymore”
Other articles people recommend
The four most recommended other articles, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Programming as Theory Buildingby Peter Naur | 32 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Ur-Fascismby Umberto Eco | 18 | 2 | 90% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Politics and the English Languageby George Orwell | 14 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
| The Grug Brained Developer by Carson Gross | 13 | 1 | 93% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Do things that don't scale by Paul GrahamThis page | 5 | 1 | 83% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
4 of the 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“some of his influential essays ("Do things that don't scale"...) also fit the bill”
“That's one of my favorite essays right now too.”
“reading Paul Graham's articles is incredibly useful”
“I'd rather share what I learned the hard way than repeat talking points that don't apply to my context.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.