Main Quest vs Side Quest Focus Filter
Filter every opportunity by 'does this advance the main quest, and is it important now or later?'
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 90%
Borrowing from RPG structure, Linear labels work as either the main quest (building the product and making it awesome for customers) or side quests (t-shirts, nice-to-have ideas, premature certifications). Before doing anything, ask whether it advances the main quest and whether it's important now or important later. This lets founders and companies say no or 'not yet' to endless plausible-sounding opportunities without guilt.
Origin
Karri Saarinen's personal and company focus method, rooted in Y Combinator's 2012 advice to only talk to customers, build the product, and exercise.
Core principles
- 01There are always things that sound like a good idea to do; most don't advance the core goal
- 02The key question is not just 'should we' but 'is this important now or important later'
- 03Side quests (merch, premature features, nice-to-haves) don't progress the main quest of building the product
- 04Saying 'we'll have it one day but not now' is a legitimate answer, even to customer asks
How to run it
- 1
Name the main quest explicitly
Define the core mission concretely: for Linear it's building the product and making it awesome for customers; YC framed it as talk to customers, build the product, exercise.
Pro tip If an activity isn't one of your few core things, it's probably the wrong thing to be doing.
- 2
Label incoming asks as main or side quest
For each idea or request, ask whether it helps the customers and the product or is a side quest like making t-shirts.
Pro tip Good people generate lots of ideas; labeling them side quests isn't rejecting the person, just deprioritizing the work.
- 3
Apply the now-or-later timing test
For things you will eventually do, decide whether they're important now or important later, and defer the laters.
Pro tip Linear deferred SOC 2 certification, telling customers 'we don't have it and we will have it one day but not now'; many were fine with it.
Watch out Deferring is not never; be honest that it's a timing call, not a permanent no.
In the wild
Linear knew it would eventually need a SOC 2 security certificate but judged it not important yet and said no when asked. Similarly Karri declined this very podcast earlier because the company wasn't yet at a scale that made it interesting, doing it later instead.
→ Focus stayed on the main quest of building the product; the deferred items were picked up at the right time.
Common mistakes
Treating every good-sounding idea as worth doing now
Plausible opportunities are endless; without the main-quest filter they crowd out the core work of building the product.
Confusing 'not now' with 'never'
The framework is a timing filter, not a permanent rejection; failing to revisit deferred laters (like a needed certification) creates its own risk.
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders and operators flooded with plausible opportunities, investor outreach, and shiny-object ideas
Not ideal for
Situations where a supposed 'side quest' (e.g. security, compliance) is actually a gating requirement that can't be deferred
From the transcript
“I always have this questions like is this important to do now or is it important to maybe do later”
“in like RPG games you have the main quest lines and then you have the side quest lines”
“this doesn't progress the main quest line which is like building this product”
“you could get like sock two like security kind of certificate but and we know that like eventually we need to get it but we…”
From the episode
Inside Linear: Building with taste, craft, and focus
Karri Saarinen (co-founder, designer, CEO)