If you’re anything like me, when you first started your business, you reached a point where you thought, "I need to stop doing all of this by myself."
When I did, I spent a lot of time researching growth hacks, automation and tools that would—or so I imagined—get me much further, much faster.
I quickly learned that non-scalable actions were the backbone of revenue generation; if my business was ever going to succeed, I couldn’t really get rid of them.
So I learned to embrace them—and now they’re a primary driver for our product’s growth.
Success isn’t about doing less—it’s about doing what matters. Embrace the hands-on work that builds trust and loyalty.Jamie Wareham
What are non-scalable actions?
Non-scalable actions are tasks that require a human touch and can’t be easily automated or mass-produced. These include personal customer interactions, direct outreach and hands-on problem-solving—efforts that may not scale efficiently but create lasting trust, loyalty and business growth.
These sorts of tasks may take seconds or hours, but they always require a human touch.
Paul Graham, co-founder of Y Combinator, popularized this idea in his widely referenced essay, “Do Things That Don’t Scale”. He argued that successful startups don’t just rely on great ideas—they succeed because founders put in a relentless, hands-on effort in the early stages. This means manually acquiring customers, engaging with them personally and iterating based on direct feedback. Graham’s core message? Businesses that commit to these non-scalable actions early on are the ones that ultimately gain momentum and thrive.
Think of it as an entrepreneur relentlessly pushing a boulder uphill. Only a few make it to the top, where the real rewards begin—whether that means selling the business or finally reaching the momentum where growth becomes self-sustaining. Graham argued that those who succeeded recognized one fundamental truth: it was the manual, hands-on effort that got them there.
Non-scalable actions have a more nuanced value than just growth, though—and that’s particularly true early on. They often get you closer to your customer base, drive sales and even set you apart from your competitors. No amount of automated, “if this, then that” tools like Zapier, Webhooks or AI bots will ever match them. But why?
In the next few sections, I’ll share how we built trust, loyalty and increased our customer satisfaction through non-scalable actions–the result? Continued growth in our business.
Non-scalable actions build trust through human connection
When you’re starting a business, trust is everything. It doesn’t matter if you quit your executive role at a major tech company or dropped out of university—when you’re starting a business from scratch, building trust with people is your number one priority.
I launched my business QueerAF as a challenger media model to break the norms of how “business as usual” works, and I needed to persuade people they could trust us. That’s especially true in an industry like journalism, where mainstream platforms have been losing people's trust for decades.
The first action I took was to go door-to-door–albeit digitally–with stakeholders in the sector. I spent hours meeting with senior editors, community leaders and the kinds of marginalized creatives we wanted to help with our non-profit mission.
While the core of our business and mission remained the same, its nuances and impact evolved as we listened to–and implemented–stakeholder suggestions.
Many of these people—sometimes after just one call—went from never having heard of us to becoming founding members, securing our first sales before we even launched.
Taking this personalized—albeit time-consuming approach—did more than generate income. This process was rich with customer insights, community needs and brought in valuable long-term stakeholders.
Non-scalable actions increase customer loyalty and satisfaction
The most common non-scalable action is one-on-one communication. Think about how much more valued you feel as a customer when you can speak to a real person at a call center—it's a clear reminder of why these interactions are so powerful.
But it’s more than just good customer service—it makes people feel like your brand is run by real people who are invested in their customers.
That’s valuable because customers are much more likely to trust what’s said about a brand by a person than by what a brand or organization says.
This is a concept which is valuable at all levels, even down to a comment on a post. On Instagram, one of our main social media focuses, we reply to and thank anyone who tags us in their stories. This is something we could automate with an array of AI bot tools. Yes, it signals to the algorithm that one of our followers engages with us, and will likely push more of our content into their feeds. But our human touch signals to the follower how much it means that they’re engaged with our journalism.
As an outlet that sees our audience as our most important editor, many of our best stories originate from these direct interactions—allowing us to engage with our readers and integrate their voices into our journalism. These followers are much more likely to try our newsletter, purchase a membership, or even become long-term supporters.
Your product is just one way to create a great experience for users, but it's only part of the equation. You and your team play a crucial—often overlooked—role in that experience. Early on, when your product is still evolving and refining itself through user feedback, your direct engagement becomes an even bigger factor in building trust and loyalty.
Non-scalable actions build high-value niche products
When you’re creating a product, sometimes it can feel like it only works if you tap into the biggest audience possible. But in an age where we’re bombarded by notifications, news and algorithms that cater to homogeneity—niche always comes out on top.
Drawing from my experience launching multiple podcasts and building a business around a niche newsletter audience, I’ve learned that choosing a specific focus—and committing to it—has never been more valuable. People actively seek out niche content because mainstream options often overlook their needs. By serving a well-defined audience, you create deeper connections, stronger loyalty and a more sustainable business.
The lesson from running an independent media offering is that you don’t need big audiences to generate high income.
Some of the most popular newsletters have huge growth with small teams. And that’s because they focus on high-value quality output, rather than quantity.
It allows you to create audiences and customer bases that feel like you’re making something directly for them. In a newsletter model, this is often about providing insightful information about something no one else is talking about to a wider pool. Which then allows you to introduce non-scalable one-to-one products, which you can charge at much higher rates because you’ve built trust with an audience.
Doing non-scalable actions ultimately helps you acquire users, make them happy and keep them coming back. But unlike growth hacking tactics, these actions build something far more valuable—a foundation of trust and loyalty that can’t be automated.
In a world increasingly dominated by AI and automation, the most human businesses will stand out. Take the time to connect, listen intently and engage authentically. Your customers will notice and your business will be stronger for it.