I really appreciate the caveat at the end that these rules aren't absolutes, but I thought I'd chime in anyway as someone who is currently running a VC-backed high-growth startup with all the cliches that come along with that.

> Rule #14: Don’t take in any investors

> They will put a lot of pressure on you to grow fast

I work with Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins. Both told us that we should build a team of Navy Seals vs. a bloated whale. I think most VCs are starting to turn around to the idea that growing as fast as humanly possible isn't the way to go. That being said, putting pressure on a company to grow distribution and ubiquity fast is a great thing if you're an internet business that has the ability to monopolize a new category/subspace.

> very often faster than may be compatible with your well-being

If you're taking VC money, you know the ride you're in for. Don't be naive. And then don't be soft.

> mental health, work/life balance and ability to keep finding your work fun

See the last point.

> Rule #21: Don’t do big launches

I've had a lot of success with well-timed ProductHunt launches. It's a huge reason we were able to get early traction that led to sustained bottoms-up growth. I've done multiple 1k+ upvoted PH launches:

https://www.producthunt.com/@vhmth/made

These launches took my co-founders and I no more than a few days and most of the work was put in upfront on build. You can do it quickly - you just need to cram more hours in.