Economies of Scale (getting cheaper as you get bigger) are Dead. Diseconomies of Scale (getting slower/dumber as you get bigger) are the new reality. AI awards power to Coherence—the ability of a small unit to act with perfect alignment and speed.
The Coherence Premium
A single founder with 10 AI agents has Perfect Coherence (0% signal loss). A corporation with 10,000 employees has Low Coherence (massive signal loss in communication). In a rapidly changing market, the coherent organism adapts and wins.
Why Small Wins
Speed
Decisions happen instantly vs. weeks of meetings.
Cost
Overhead is near zero.
Tech Debt
Easier to rewrite the codebase of a 1-person startup than a legacy bank.
Short Answer
Don't try to get big. Try to get potent. A "Unicorn" used to mean a $1B valuation. In the AI age, it will mean a $1B valuation with 1 employee.