🚀 3.2.1. The Very Big Downgrade
At Startup School, Boris Cherny - the creator of Claude Code - said they deleted more than 80% of Claude Code's system prompt. The model got better.
Then he gave advice that had nothing to do with code: every six months, delete your skills and your config. See what happens. It might surprise you.
I spent this week doing exactly that. Three times, at three different altitudes.
THREE IDEAS:
I. I deleted 80% of the code base.
Two weeks ago we let go our first employee at my new startup. What was left was a pile of toggles nobody could explain. My co-founders decided it was time. So we rebuilt lean.
80% less code. Full end-to-end testing for the first time. 3x more confidence shipping, 10x more productive, feeling energized like a Bull!
The toggles weren't features. They were unmade decisions.
II. I deleted 80% of the stack.
Atomic Scaling lived on Kajabi: the 6-week course, 126 blog posts, 53 testimonials, 8 funnels and landing pages running paid acquisition. All of it migrated to AWS + GitHub + Claude.
Cost went down. That was the smaller win. The real win is that design and testing are no longer someone else's roadmap. Platforms rent you convenience and charge you in optionality.
III. I deleted 80% of my introduction.
80+ talks in 7 countries since Atomic Scaling published - keynotes, panels, podcasts. I always opened the same way, with the badges: 3x entrepreneur, 2x unicorn investor, 1x IPO.
This week I went on Natural Genius Podcast and (was) led with none of it. We talked about painting as a way to sense and express what has not yet become language. I'm a first-time exhibited painter. Zero credentials. It was the best conversation I've had all year.
Badges are compression for people who don't know you. Sometimes they're also compression for people who could have.
Code, stack, self. The deletions get harder as you go up. They also get more valuable.
TWO QUOTES:
I.
"For Fable, we deleted more than 80% of Claude Code's system prompt. The model got better." — Boris Cherny, Co-founder of Claude at Anthropic
II.
"People turn 40 and usually buy a shiny sports car. They don't say, 'I'm downsizing my life and giving up all my possessions to focus on experiences and friendships." — Fabrice Grinda, Co-founder of FJ Labs
ONE ACTION FOR YOU:
This week, find one thing you can delete, and delete it.
If you don't know where to start: stop watching the news daily. Set up a weekly AI summary instead and let the important updates come to you. You will not miss anything that mattered.
Play to Win!
Ludovic Bodin
3x Entrepreneur, 2x Unicorn Investor, 1x IPO
Founder of BOBIC Generational Wealth
Author of Atomic Scaling
P.S. My podcast with Samantha Bell on the Natural Genius Podcast is live on Spotify and Apple Podcast! We covered the courage to start before you feel qualified, meditation, Vipassana, plant medicine, aliens, and the people we meet along the way. Happy listening :-)
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:
"Atomic Scaling is a powerful blueprint for the AI era - showing how small teams can harness technology to create extraordinary value, make abundance accessible, and ultimately give people greater freedom from compulsory work."
— Yong Hyoung, Founder of Cyworld, the first social network in South Korea