It's really fun to have a team. I think it's also useful to be part of a culture or "scene" where other people and teams are pushing your passions and validating your efforts. Even with a strong team, if the product feels arbitrary and isolated, the team will fall apart when the going gets tough. Having an ecosystem of teams doing separate projects behind the scenes makes your passion richer. You have other people to show your product to. You have some friendly competition. Weird arbitrary points of pride emerge in a shared language and memes. I felt this most recently when I was part of a CrossFit gym.
It's really fun to have a team. I think it's also useful to be part of a culture or "scene" where other people and teams are pushing your passions and validating your efforts. Even with a strong team, if the product feels arbitrary and isolated, the team will fall apart when the going gets tough. Having an ecosystem of teams doing separate projects behind the scenes makes your passion richer. You have other people to show your product to. You have some friendly competition. Weird arbitrary points of pride emerge in a shared language and memes. I felt this most recently when I was part of a CrossFit gym.
Individual -> Team -> Ecosystem
Engineer -> Startup -> Silicon Valley
Student -> Classroom -> School
Musician -> Band -> Local metal scene
Athlete -> Team -> The Sport