Big Tech → Startup → Scaling Down

The starter guide for engineers and product builders who made the leap from Big Tech to a startup. Whether you’re a solo technical founder, working with the founding team, or thinking of making that leap, this content covers:

• Guiding engineering principles from large companies refined for small teams

• Practical advice for everyday decisions and situations you may not have encountered while working in large companies

• The features and products other Big Tech founders have shipped and what they learned

Writing the guide we wished existed

From the engineers and product builders that brought you Statsig, we’re reflecting on our startup journey and tackling the questions we encountered. Questions like:

• What should your first product growth dash look like?

• Where do you launch your product to get your first 100 users?

• Should you paywall up front, or offer a free tier?

• What technologies are people using nowadays?

Who writes Scaling Down?

Writing great content is a team sport, from engineering to product (and every team in between), here are the contributors that are making it happen:

• Tore Hanssen, the only founding engineer who bikes to work

• Margaret-Ann Seger, head of product and outdoor enthusiast

• Ian Ito, newsletter editor (mainly here for moral support)