Operations issues to set right in a startup

It has been 3 years since I left the comforts of a big organization and started working in the startup mode firefighting every day. The learning curve for me in the past three years have been phenomenal both technically and operations wise. Here is my learning on what a startup company should address in terms of operations related issues

1. Lab and network infrastructure - Dont under estimate this. A poor network and lab infrastructure will blow in your face just when you don't want it. In my experience I had come across a unique situation where the servers in the lab were just having a hard disk wipe out just because the AC in the lab was not adequate and temperature in the lab was soaring beyond 35 degrees centigrade and the temperature near the servers was like a hot tandoori oven. Outsource your infrastructure maintenance to people who know it best rather than you fighting it daily.

2. Developers are your primary resources - Value them. Take care that developer's comfort is of utmost importance. Not every startup can provide a cozy office for the developers. But at least see to it its not a cramped space. Giving developers laptops (rather than desktops) and providing them the freedom to sit and work ( a bean bag office environment) in the place they want will save you cost and also make the developers comfortable

3. Power - And a place like Bangalore needs utmost attention in this regard. Make sure you go for a trusted vendor for UPS and also get a consultant to help you in setting up the power connections and proper earthing.

4. Wiring in conference rooms - This is the place I hate to have wires floating around here and there. If 10 people sit in the room and all have their laptops connected to network through wires imagine the mess when someone gets up and walks around. Get a Wifi connection for your conference room. Also get the connection from your projector to power socket go through a sealed cabling. This is another candidate for getting tripped.

5. Have a concierge - Developers need undisturbed time to think and design. Let them not worry about paying their utility bills or getting the weekend movie ticket. Have a concierge setup to help them out. It doesn't cost much for the company to setup a concierge.

6. Keep your hiring standards high - Never compromise on this even if you are hiring for a maintenance / support job. If you have made your first release to market and got into the support mode of it don't think you can afford to lower your recruiting standards to get support staff. After all they are the ones who are going to fix your bugs. Having a bad developer fixing your bugs is asking for disaster. They will ultimately screw up your fundamental design and the entire code will be nothing but a set of patch works.