Axon and dendrite initiation is studied mostly in dissociated cultures, where neurons start out as round balls shorn of their processes. Immature neurons in vivo are not balls—they are already polarized cells, undergoing directional migration in cortex, or being part of a neuroepithelial layer in the retina. Morgan et al. (page 85 of this issue) imaged early bipolar cells (labeled in the picture with GFP in green and the marker CaBP5 in pink) as they connected themselves into the retinal network. These cells began as typical neuroepithelial cells, spanning the entire retina with an apical and a basal process. Over a few days, they grew dendritic branches directly from their apical process, and axonal branches from their basal process. Whereas new apical branches appeared close to the final dendritic layer, basal axonal branches grew more randomly, and seemed to be selectively stabilized in the correct layer through unknown mechanisms. Eventually the distal ends of the two neuroepithelial processes retracted, resulting in mature bipolar morphology. This 'economical' type of axon and dendrite growth serves to connect a nascent bipolar cell to its nearby pre-and postsynaptic partners—which are already in place—with minimal fuss.