--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My first company, Pure Software, was…" description: "\"My first company, Pure Software, was exciting and innovative in the first few years and bureaucratic and painful in the last few before it got acquired..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/reed-hastings-10304_acquired_my-first-company-pure-software-was-excit_5945.jpg" --- # My first company, Pure Software, was exciting and… ![“My first company, Pure Software, was exciting and innovative in the first few years and bureaucratic and painful in the last few before it got acquired. The problem was we tried to systemize everything and set up perfect procedures.” quote by Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/reed-hastings-10304_acquired_my-first-company-pure-software-was-excit_5945.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/reed-hastings-10304_acquired_my-first-company-pure-software-was-excit_5945.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/reed-hastings-10304_acquired_my-first-company-pure-software-was-excit_5945.jpg) > “My first company, Pure Software, was exciting and innovative in the first few years and bureaucratic and painful in the last few before it got acquired. The problem was we tried to systemize everything and set up perfect procedures.” [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early enthusiasm can be stifled when a startup over‑engineers processes, turning agility into rigid bureaucracy. **In simple terms:** Innovation fades under excessive formalization. Key Takeaway Balance flexibility with structure. Themes growth bureaucracy processes culture innovation Mood reflective cautious Type advice observation When to use this quote - rapid product development - post‑product‑market fit expansion - pre‑acquisition integration Key Concepts scaling organizational design change management Practical Applications - design lightweight SOPs - periodic process audits Questions to Reflect On - When does a process become a hindrance? - How can a company retain its startup spirit after scaling? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acquired](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acquired/) [Before](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/before/) [Bureaucratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucratic/) [Bureaucratic Painful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucratic-painful-309558/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Company Pure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company-pure-309555/) [Everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everything/) [Exciting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exciting/) [Few](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/few/) [First](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first/) [Got](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/got/) [Got Acquired](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/got-acquired-309557/) [Innovative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovative/) [Last](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last/) [Painful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painful/) [Perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Procedures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/procedures/) [Pure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pure/) [Pure Software](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pure-software-309554/) [Software](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/software/) [Software Exciting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/software-exciting-309556/) [Tried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tried/) [Up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/up/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [I think the inhabitants of the past are fighting hard to keep the rents they acquired in the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bennet/i-think-the-inhabitants-of-the-past-are-fighting-hard-to-keep-the/) [Michael Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bennet/) > [We are pleased to have acquired remake rights of 'Comali' for all languages in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boney-kapoor/we-are-pleased-to-have-acquired-remake-rights-of-comali-for-all/) [Boney Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boney-kapoor/) > [Twombly, frankly, was an acquired taste. I was not in love with Twombly the first time I saw one of his paintings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-broad/twombly-frankly-was-an-acquired-taste-i-was-not-in-love-with-twombly/) [Eli Broad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-broad/) > [At least in part, people are attracted to subjects where they can identify at a basic level with the people who do it. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-geller/at-least-in-part-people-are-attracted-to-subjects-where-they-can/) [Margaret Geller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-geller/) > [Mr. Tyler acquired Texas by voluntary compact, and Mr. Polk California and New Mexico by successful war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-toombs/mr-tyler-acquired-texas-by-voluntary-compact-and-mr-polk-california/) [Robert Toombs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-toombs/) > [Nothing jazzes me up like football. I've acquired more passion of the years, not less. Not to love it wouldn't make sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-madden/nothing-jazzes-me-up-like-football-i-ve-acquired-more-passion-of-the/) [John Madden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-madden/) > [In my early teens, I acquired a kind of representative status: went on behalf of the family to wakes and funerals and so on.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/in-my-early-teens-i-acquired-a-kind-of-representative-status-went-on/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [I grew up in South Africa without a television; there was no television, and the year after I left, television arrived in South Africa,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-krige/i-grew-up-in-south-africa-without-a-television-there-was-no/) [Alice Krige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-krige/) > [When I was thirteen years old, I didn't exactly discover epic fantasy on my own. I acquired it as a social defence mechanism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tansy-rayner-roberts/when-i-was-thirteen-years-old-i-didn-t-exactly-discover-epic-fantasy/) [Tansy Rayner Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tansy-rayner-roberts/) > [“I have acquired you, and now I will determine your value to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-peate/i-have-acquired-you-and-now-i-will-determine-your-value-to-me/) [Robert Peate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-peate/) > [The experience of opposing mass movements was acquired by the KGB during perestroika. It was then that the politicians decided to develop and nourish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-bukovsky/the-experience-of-opposing-mass-movements-was-acquired-by-the-kgb/) [Vladimir Bukovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-bukovsky/) > [“it seemed to her that she had acquired not virtues but a form of dementia”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/it-seemed-to-her-that-she-had-acquired-not-virtues-but-a-form-of/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Confidence is acquired through failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-p-smith/confidence-is-acquired-through-failure/) [Corey P Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-p-smith/) > [Maybe you could put it out there that I don't have a built-in dislike of ballads. That was kind of the reputation I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-perry/maybe-you-could-put-it-out-there-that-i-don-t-have-a-built-in-dislike/) [Joe Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-perry/) > [Death is an acquired trait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/death-is-an-acquired-trait/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) ## More by Reed Hastings > [School districts in the US don't adopt technology very quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/school-districts-in-the-us-don-t-adopt-technology-very-quickly/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [Something will eventually replace the Internet. But it's hard to know what and when it will happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/something-will-eventually-replace-the-internet-but-it-s-hard-to-know/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [The Costa Rican government is prioritizing laying fiber optic over paving roads. Costa Rica is trying to become one of the Internet societies. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/the-costa-rican-government-is-prioritizing-laying-fiber-optic-over/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [Comparing Apple to Netflix is like comparing apples to oranges, especially if the oranges made so many mistakes that people stopped eating oranges and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/comparing-apple-to-netflix-is-like-comparing-apples-to-oranges/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [I don't know of any Internet service that opens on a regional basis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/i-don-t-know-of-any-internet-service-that-opens-on-a-regional-basis/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [So much of the downstream revenue is linked to that initial excitement, to how much revenue is produced in the domestic box office. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/so-much-of-the-downstream-revenue-is-linked-to-that-initial/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [We are seeing the beginning of things. Web 2.0 is broadband. Web 3.0 is 10 gigabits a second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/we-are-seeing-the-beginning-of-things-web-2-0-is-broadband-web-3-0-is/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [Great leaders, like Steve Jobs or Jeff Bezos, also focused on the long term.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/great-leaders-like-steve-jobs-or-jeff-bezos-also-focused-on-the-long/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [Do not tolerate brilliant jerks. The cost to teamwork is too high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/do-not-tolerate-brilliant-jerks-the-cost-to-teamwork-is-too-high/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [Stone Age. Bronze Age. Iron Age. We define entire epics of humanity by the technology they use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/stone-age-bronze-age-iron-age-we-define-entire-epics-of-humanity-by/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [I think there will be 20 years of evolution from linear broadcast to internet television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/i-think-there-will-be-20-years-of-evolution-from-linear-broadcast-to/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [Tomorrow when you come to work, if it doesn't make the customer happy, move the business forward, and save us money - don't do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/tomorrow-when-you-come-to-work-if-it-doesn-t-make-the-customer-happy/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [As an entrepreneur you have to feel like you can jump out of an aeroplane because you're confident that you'll catch a bird flying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/as-an-entrepreneur-you-have-to-feel-like-you-can-jump-out-of-an/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [I'm on the Facebook board now. Little did they know that I thought Facebook was really stupid when I first heard about it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/i-m-on-the-facebook-board-now-little-did-they-know-that-i-thought/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [But it may be one of our best markets in the long term because when the Japanese society embraces a brand it is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/but-it-may-be-one-of-our-best-markets-in-the-long-term-because-when/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) [Explore all 66 Reed Hastings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) ## More Acquired quotes > [I think the inhabitants of the past are fighting hard to keep the rents they acquired in the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bennet/i-think-the-inhabitants-of-the-past-are-fighting-hard-to-keep-the/) [Michael Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bennet/) > [Maybe you could put it out there that I don't have a built-in dislike of ballads. That was kind of the reputation I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-perry/maybe-you-could-put-it-out-there-that-i-don-t-have-a-built-in-dislike/) [Joe Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-perry/) > [Confidence is acquired through failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-p-smith/confidence-is-acquired-through-failure/) [Corey P Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-p-smith/) > [“it seemed to her that she had acquired not virtues but a form of dementia”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/it-seemed-to-her-that-she-had-acquired-not-virtues-but-a-form-of/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [The experience of opposing mass movements was acquired by the KGB during perestroika. It was then that the politicians decided to develop and nourish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-bukovsky/the-experience-of-opposing-mass-movements-was-acquired-by-the-kgb/) [Vladimir Bukovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-bukovsky/) > [“I have acquired you, and now I will determine your value to me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-peate/i-have-acquired-you-and-now-i-will-determine-your-value-to-me/) [Robert Peate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-peate/) > [When I was thirteen years old, I didn't exactly discover epic fantasy on my own. I acquired it as a social defence mechanism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tansy-rayner-roberts/when-i-was-thirteen-years-old-i-didn-t-exactly-discover-epic-fantasy/) [Tansy Rayner Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tansy-rayner-roberts/) > [I grew up in South Africa without a television; there was no television, and the year after I left, television arrived in South Africa,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-krige/i-grew-up-in-south-africa-without-a-television-there-was-no/) [Alice Krige](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-krige/) > [In my early teens, I acquired a kind of representative status: went on behalf of the family to wakes and funerals and so on.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/in-my-early-teens-i-acquired-a-kind-of-representative-status-went-on/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [Nothing jazzes me up like football. I've acquired more passion of the years, not less. Not to love it wouldn't make sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-madden/nothing-jazzes-me-up-like-football-i-ve-acquired-more-passion-of-the/) [John Madden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-madden/) > [Mr. Tyler acquired Texas by voluntary compact, and Mr. Polk California and New Mexico by successful war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-toombs/mr-tyler-acquired-texas-by-voluntary-compact-and-mr-polk-california/) [Robert Toombs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-toombs/) > [At least in part, people are attracted to subjects where they can identify at a basic level with the people who do it. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-geller/at-least-in-part-people-are-attracted-to-subjects-where-they-can/) [Margaret Geller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-geller/) > [Twombly, frankly, was an acquired taste. I was not in love with Twombly the first time I saw one of his paintings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-broad/twombly-frankly-was-an-acquired-taste-i-was-not-in-love-with-twombly/) [Eli Broad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-broad/) > [We are pleased to have acquired remake rights of 'Comali' for all languages in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boney-kapoor/we-are-pleased-to-have-acquired-remake-rights-of-comali-for-all/) [Boney Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boney-kapoor/) > [Death is an acquired trait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/death-is-an-acquired-trait/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) [Browse all 68 Acquired quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acquired/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My first company, Pure Software, was exciting and innovative in the first few years and bureaucratic and painful in the last few before it got acquired. The problem was we tried to systemize everything and set up perfect procedures.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Reed Hastings" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/my-first-company-pure-software-was-exciting-and-innovative-in-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Acquired" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/my-first-company-pure-software-was-exciting-and-innovative-in-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/reed-hastings-10304_acquired_my-first-company-pure-software-was-excit_5945.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/reed-hastings-10304_acquired_my-first-company-pure-software-was-excit_5945.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e9/reed-hastings-10304_acquired_my-first-company-pure-software-was-excit_5945.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My first company, Pure Software, was exciting and innovative in the first few years and bureaucratic and…” — Reed Hastings", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Reed Hastings", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My first company, Pure Software, was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/my-first-company-pure-software-was-exciting-and-innovative-in-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/my-first-company-pure-software-was-exciting-and-innovative-in-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```