Where Startups Are Headed

I have a prediction about where startups are headed. And I think it’s a fascinating byproduct of the absolutely terrible job market we’re all living through right now.

Everyone’s been laid off, or knows someone who has. The ground feels unsteady, even for the most talented people with the fanciest degrees. Out of necessity, people are packaging up their skills as freelancers: Designers, engineers, writers, marketers — all stepping out on their own.

But something interesting is happening: these freelancers are starting to drift together.

They’re forming small islands of people who work together not because a company forces them to sit through multiple, pointless, soul-sucking meetings every day. They're woking together because they actually like each other.

They trust each other, respect each other’s work.

That’s the big unlock for founders who can bring these kinds of people together — because they don’t just come with talent; they come with chemistry.

They’ve already built trust across multiple projects and time zones. They know how to communicate, move fast, and fill in each other’s gaps without a dozen meetings.

That’s why I think the next wave of startups won’t just be lean — they’ll be holistic.

The winning teams will be small but deeply interconnected. Everyone will bring more than their job title to the table.

Your designer might not just craft the interface — she might know the head of partnerships at a company you’ve been trying to get in front of.

Your lead engineer might not just ship features — he might be grabbing dinner with VCs every few weeks.

Your AI engineer might not just fine-tune models — she might introduce you to a client who needs exactly what you’re building.

And the irony is that this movement is being fueled by frustration. People are saying, “F*** it — I’ll just work on something I care about, with people who I actually like.”

And those projects — the ones born from genuine interest and trust — might end up outpacing the ones backed by millions in venture funding.

Because when a team is small, aligned, and built on real connection, the work compounds. Ideas spread faster. The execution gets sharper. Progress feels inevitable.

We’re entering an era where the best startups won’t be built by the biggest teams or the loudest founders — but by small, holistic groups of people who choose to build together because they want to, not because they have to.