One developer, working alone, can ship as much code as an entire team
One developer, working alone, can ship as much code as an entire team.
No communication overhead.
No waiting for approvals.
No cross-team blockers.
No company meetings.
No code reviews.
Plus, a solo developer can choose the tools and techniques that make him/her most efficient.
I don't say this to degrade teams. They're typically necessary.
I say this to point out the power of starting something new alone.
A single developer, working alone, can produce a shocking amount of good work. And that's precisely how many great companies got started.
Many replies of "It's a story of tradeoffs."
Absolutely.
Working alone likely isn't a long-term solution.
But working alone initially does have a big advantage: It's easier to iterate rapidly toward a *consistent* and *cohesive* foundation.
Some devs seem to believe it’s not possible for a single developer to successfully ship a quality product.
I’ve shipped many successful apps as the sole developer. And I’ve seen many other devs do so as well.
Yes, often a team is necessary.
But shipping alone can work too.