The solo team reward function

When you're working for a company, your compensation is typically a salary and maybe a bonus and/or stock options.

From the perspective of naked self-interest, an employee in this position should optimize their performance for the arbiters of this compensation, namely the managers who run performance reviews.

Sometimes there is alignment between doing great work and the perspectives of company managers.

But often, companies develop many competing considerations and internal prerogatives that cloud managers' judgment when it comes to great work.

In one person teams, however, the only priority is customer service. Compensation in one person teams is exactly company revenue, and that revenue is entirely determined by customers.

Thus in one person teams, compensation is set by customers, rather than managers.

The solo team structure offers a purer reward function for builders.