working alone - vs - working with team

I think it largely depends on your disposition. Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

I like working with people, but I can also stay in my apartment for 4-5 days straight without going out and it doesn't really bother me.

I've thought about this a bit in considering whether to seek collaborators on my side projects. I skew more toward the introvert side.

Pros of solo work

• Much faster decision making, no debates with anyone about any choices.
• Work at your own pace without worrying about slowing someone else down or being slowed down waiting for work from others.
• No time lost due to communication/coordination
• Intra-team conflict is not an issue

Pros of team work

• Additional perspective is very valuable
• Teammates can teach you things that you don't know or take on tasks they're better at executing than you would be
• Just talking things out with a teammate is useful for problem solving (rubber duck debugging)
• Good for motivation to feel like you're achieving something as part of a team

I'd say that, assuming you're either bootstrapping or self-funding your project, it would probably make sense to start alone. However, when you start seeing some success and growth, at some point it will probably make sense to bring others onto the team.

I started alone with my latest product; but now have a small team who work for me. I prefer to not work crazy hours and have a life outside of work, so hiring others was a logical step for me.

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