The case for small software
Why a tool that does one thing well beats a platform that does ten things badly — and how small, sustainable software is quietly outlasting the billion-dollar promises.
By Shiva Ganesh
Software got big. Features stacked on features, sidebars grew subsidebars, settings pages sprouted tabs. Somewhere along the way we decided that serious products needed to look like airport cockpits.
We disagree.
What small software looks like
- One job. A todo app that is only a todo app.
- One settings screen. You can read the whole thing in thirty seconds.
- One price. No enterprise tiers, no “contact sales.”
- One file, ideally. Or two. Portable by default.
Why it works
Big software assumes it will own the user’s workflow. Small software assumes the user already has a workflow and just needs a specific tool. The first is arrogance. The second is service.
Why it sells
Small software is easier to describe. Easier to demo. Easier to try. A Chrome extension that does one thing costs $5 and gets decided in thirty seconds. A platform that does ten things costs $50 a month and gets tabled for a quarter.
The unfair part
The best business model for small software is almost boring: charge a fair price, keep churn low, maintain it for a decade. It will never be a unicorn. It might, quietly, outlast three rounds of ZIRP.
What we do about it
Every DinoRoyal product gets a single-sentence description and a single screen of settings. If a feature request would break that, it becomes a new product instead.
That is the whole manifesto.
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