In my career, the most impactful work I’ve done has always been on small teams. I eventually realized that this is how many important things get built.
Here are a few well-known examples of big things accomplished by small teams.
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Falcon 1 was developed at SpaceX by a core team of 30 engineers
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The first-generation iPod was built by a small team at Apple of roughly 25 people
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Instagram had only 13 employees when Facebook bought it for $1B in 2012
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Pixar completed Toy Story with roughly 27 core animators and 22 technical directors
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Buffett Partnership Ltd. (the investment partnership that eventually evolved into Berkshire Hathaway) started in 1956 with 7 limited partners and $105k in capital. By 1969 it had grown into $100M in assets under management ($1 Billion in today’s dollars)!
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Renaissance Technologies started in the early 80s with Jim Simons and a handful of mathematicians building quant models that evolved into the Medallion Fund. The fund went on to deliver 39% net of fees for 30 years. The single best track record in modern investment history.