????近來， “實驗室”型公司蔚然成風。移動實驗室Milk公司和手機社交網絡平臺Color公司就是其中的典型。但我認為，這類公司幾乎都注定逃脫不了失敗的命運，因為它們的核心理念存在缺陷，妨礙了它們成長為真正穩健的大型公司。

太易“變心”

????如果一種產品在實驗室型公司胎死腹中，而公司卻安然無恙。我認為這并不是什么好事，相反，這實際上是一件很糟糕的事。如果一件產品可能在兩個月內就會宣告失敗，要燃起公司上下對它的熱情，可謂難上加難。人們也不會再為它經常加班到深夜了。

????要想說服用戶采用初創企業的產品非常困難。試想一下，如果用戶知道這件產品只是個試驗品，會怎么樣？比如，我就曾經拒絕使用Oink（Milk公司開發的移動應用程序），因為我知道它在不久的將來可能就不復存在了。這一點很有可能會成為一個自我實現的預言。它對任何初創企業來說，都是暗藏的危機。如果連公司創始人自己都說并未全身心地投入，那這個威脅就更為真切了。

缺乏執行力

????如果知道很快就會出現新點子，那就無心打磨細節。我不會指名道姓地說出來，但因為實驗室型公司推出的產品缺乏打磨與修飾，已經讓我不止一次地感到失望。如果死神在身后追趕，人們跑得會比以往任何時候都更快。

雇傭問題

????培養優秀的人才對于早期階段的初創企業來說可能是最大的挑戰。如今，融資比以前更加容易。招聘志同道合的人也比原來容易許多。但是，如果公司目標是生產很多產品，那么，樹立愿景就很困難了。全球最大的在線支付平臺貝寶（PayPal）擁有清晰的愿景，對于那些希望投身于革新性支付公司工作的工程師來說，貝寶是第一選擇。如果沒有明確的任務目標，初創企業只會成為千千萬萬大軍中的平庸一員。

股權失衡

????實驗室型公司成立初期并沒有多少激勵措施提供給創始員工，這使得初期招聘更加困難。它也會導致股權的失衡，可能會為將來平添不少麻煩。同樣，我在此不也會點名舉例。希望了解具體案例的讀者可以給我發電子郵件。

錯位的熱情

????如果有人對研發手機極為熱情，但所在的公司卻認為生產手機難以盈利，他該何去何從？答案只有兩種，要么留下來繼續研究他不喜歡的產品，要么辭職。我見過很多人因為這個原因離開了實驗室型公司。

初創企業都是“實驗室”

????初創企業都是圍繞一個（很關鍵的）想法而成立的。如果這一想法在數年內仍未實現，那么初創企業就會以失敗告終，或者著手開發別的新產品。這本來就是初創企業的發展道路，沒必要鄭重其事地昭告天下。

????打造一家大公司非常非常困難。我認為，無論是公司創始人、員工還是投資者，都要在創始階段圍繞某一個強有力的理念眾志成城、共同努力。必須全身心投入。

????Sahil Lavingia是網絡游戲“Crate and Rmmbr”以及iPone限時免費游戲軟件Dayta和Color的締造者。

????譯者：李玫曉/汪皓

????A recent trend is the advent of quite a few "lab" companies. Milk is the most relevant, Color is another. I think almost all of these are doomed to fail because of flaws in the core of the concept that prevent really big, stable companies from being born.

Switching too quickly

????If a product dies within a labs company, the company doesn't die. I think this is actually a bad thing. It will be harder to get yourself and your employees pumped up about a product that may be scrapped in two months. You'll work fewer late nights.

????It already is so hard to convince users to use your startup's product. Imagine if your users knew that this was just an experiment! For example, I refuse to use Oink because I know it may not exist in the near future. This could lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is implicit with any startup, but becomes much more real when the founder himself discloses the fact that even he is not totally all-in on this idea.

Lack of execution

????If you know another idea is just around the corner, less time is spent on the details. I won't name names, but I've been disappointed more than once by the lack of polish of products produced by labs companies. People run the fastest they've ever run when death is right behind them.

Hiring

????Bring on awesome people is probably the biggest challenge of any early-stage startup. Raising money has become easier. It is a lot easier to hire someone that believes in your vision, and it is hard to have a vision when your goal as a company is to produce many things. PayPal had a clear vision, and for engineers that wanted to work on a revolutionary payments company, PayPal was number one. When you don't have a specific mission, your startup becomes one of thousands.

Equity imbalances

????There is less incentive to join a lab company early. This makes hiring your initial employees more difficult. But it also leads to a skew in equity that may lead to significant drama in the company's future. Again, I won't name names, but email me if you want some concrete examples.

Mis-matched passions.

????If someone is really passionate about mobile, and then their company decides that it is too hard to make money on mobile, what does that person do? Stick around, working on a product he doesn't like — or quit. I've seen many people quit labs companies for this reason.

Every startup is already a "lab"

????A startup starts with one (big) idea. The idea doesn't pan out after a couple of years, and the startup fizzles out or works on something new. This is the path of a startup. I don't think you need to make this explicit.

????It is already really, really, hard to build a big company. I think the founders, the employees, and the investors need to rally around just one powerful idea at the very beginning. You need to go all-in.

????Sahil Lavingia (@slavingia) is co-founder of Crate and Rmmbr on the web, and Dayta and Color Stream on the iPhone.