Just like focusing on a tiny idea is immensely difficult (and powerful), so is trying to focus on a few users. The temptation in both cases is to hedge your bets by concentrating on more.

This applies perfectly to my soon-to-launch project. My partner and I have made a conscious decision to shut ourselves up about taking over the world and just concentrate on getting a few core users that are in love with our product. Stage 1.

Extrapolating these little nuggets of wisdom to every situation is meaningless. For instance it simply does not apply to a startup that is looking to build something complex. And in that case you absolutely need to scale before someone else does and pushes you out of the game. Small before big does not make sense, unless small is a meaningful and reasonable number.