Companies mistakenly bundle management with authority, forcing top performers onto a management track to gain influence. Separate them. Define management's role as coordination and context-sharing, allowing senior individual contributors to drive decisions without managing people.

Capital allocation isn't just about multi-million dollar acquisitions. Hiring a single employee is also a major investment; a $100k salary represents a discounted million-dollar commitment over time. Applying the same rigor to hiring decisions as you would to CapEx ensures you're investing your human capital wisely.

Resist hiring quickly after finding traction. Instead, 'hire painfully slowly' and assemble an initial 'MVP Crew' — a small, self-sufficient team with all skills needed to build, market, and sell the product end-to-end. This establishes a core DNA of speed and execution before scaling.

Contradicting the common startup goal of scaling headcount, the founders now actively question how small they can keep their team. They see a direct link between adding people, increasing process, and slowing down, leveraging a small, elite team as a core part of their high-velocity strategy.

Drawing from experience at big tech, Surge AI's founder believes large organizations slow down top performers with distractions. By building a super-small, elite team, companies can achieve more with less overhead, a principle proven by Surge's own success.

OnlyFans intentionally uses the "holiday dinner test"—asking candidates if they can defend their job to family—as a hiring tool. This filters for employees who are not just skilled but are "true believers" in the company's mission, ensuring extreme cultural alignment and resilience in their lean, high-performing team.

Instead of traditional managers, Gamma hires "player-coaches"—leaders who actively contribute to the work, like shipping code, while also mentoring their team. This model maintains a flat structure, keeps leadership grounded, and works best in a lean organization.