> Firm theory says that all companies exist to reduce the friction of negotiating all these things over and over again.
But the negotiation costs are coming down. There's now a number of somewhat standardised roles in your typical web startup (design, dev, PM, etc) and there's enough common language that expectations are close enough to being met.
There's also virtually no running costs at the MVP stage. You can rent servers, and you can avoid renting an office. So you don't have the negotiating problem of who swallows the losses, because the losses are just your individual opportunity costs.
This is of course for your typical unspecific "let's make an app" idea. If you need real capital, the firm is still a good place to start.
This is assuming that roles are static and unchanging and technologies don't morph. Which they do. The idea that negotiation costs are coming down constantly is fallacious and unrelated to a reality where tech keeps changing.
But the negotiation costs are coming down. There's now a number of somewhat standardised roles in your typical web startup (design, dev, PM, etc) and there's enough common language that expectations are close enough to being met.
There's also virtually no running costs at the MVP stage. You can rent servers, and you can avoid renting an office. So you don't have the negotiating problem of who swallows the losses, because the losses are just your individual opportunity costs.
This is of course for your typical unspecific "let's make an app" idea. If you need real capital, the firm is still a good place to start.