A recognizable pattern has emerged among some of the more durable independent software companies: small teams, often four or five people, still profitably running products used by tens of thousands. No investors demanding a growth curve, no roadmap dictated by a board meeting — just a product, a modest team, and a plan to keep both around for a long time.
What’s notable isn’t the size so much as the pace it allows. Bugs get fixed the week they’re reported. Feature requests get read by someone who’ll actually build them. And because the team isn’t optimizing for a quarterly growth number, they can say no to work that doesn’t fit the product, which turns out to be most of what keeps software simple.
