Shipping alone vs. shipping with a team

For six years, every decision on Northline was mine within the hour. Hiring my first two people didn't just slow decisions down — it changed which decisions were worth making at all.

The thing nobody tells you: a solo builder's biggest advantage isn't speed, it's coherence. Every feature fits together because one brain shipped all of it. The first real cost of a team is re-earning that coherence on purpose, through docs and conversations you didn't used to need.

I don't regret hiring. Compound Labs builds more, faster, and with fewer of my own blind spots than I ever could solo. But I miss the version of building where the only meeting on my calendar was with a customer.