Ask HN: Why does PostHog work despite breaking the "startup focus" rule?

2 fazkan 0 9/4/2025, 3:22:39 PM

Startup advice usually says: focus narrowly, win a niche, build fanatical users.

PostHog seems to do the opposite. It’s not one product, it's a collection of somewhat related products. Each could be its own startup.

And yet, as an open-source project with a sprawling scope, PostHog has managed to grow and attract serious adoption, and on top of that VC money.

Why does this approach work here? Is it because analytics + product tools naturally bundle well? Is it community, execution, or something else?

Curious to hear from those of you who use PostHog day to day: does the breadth make it more valuable, or does it feel like too much under one roof?

From my personal experience, I have only tried session-replays, and surveys, and they missed the mark. I went with other products.

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Ask HN: Why does PostHog work despite breaking the "startup focus" rule?

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