Our anti-goals.
Goals tell you where a company wants to go. Anti-goals tell you what it will not do to get there. The second list is often more useful to the people who deal with us.
Contents4.1Why write them down?1 / 4
§ 4.1
Why write them down?Because pressure arrives later.
Every company says it will treat customers and founders well. The test comes later, when a shortcut would help this quarter’s numbers.
A written refusal is easier to keep than a general intention. It is also easier for others to check. So here is ours.
§ 4.2
What we will not do.Seven refusals.
- Buy a business to resell it quickly
- Plan an acquisition around an immediate rewrite
- Plan an acquisition around unsupported price increases
- Hide costs, weaken consent or make cancellation harder
- Take on more businesses than we can run well
- Count improvements before they happen
- Present plans as results
§ 4.3
What each one protects.Customers, founders and our own judgement.
The first three protect founders and customers from an owner who needs the business to change fast. A quick resale, a forced rewrite and a sudden price rise all serve a deadline, not the product.
The fourth protects customers from growth that looks good in a report and feels bad in the product. Better onboarding should make it easier to get value, not harder to leave.
The last three protect our own judgement. Capacity is finite. Forecasts are not results. A record that contains only plans teaches nothing.
§ 4.4
What they cost us.Refusals are not free.
These rules mean we will pass on some businesses that others will buy. Some of those purchases will work out well for their buyers. We accept that.
In exchange, a founder who talks to us knows what we will not ask for. That saves time on both sides.
End of essay 4