Here's a small secret: teams and groups can apply to Pioneer too! We don't do a good job of framing this today, but it's very much part of the system. You'll create a profile for yourself, then have the option of adding teammates alongside you.
There's a view that all that matters is the small group. Not the market. Not the people. The idea is that perfect group chemistry can cause a nuclear reaction amongst otherwise unremarkable atoms.
In addition to counterbalancing super-powers (Steve and Woz), the mutual performance that each player enacts for each other (the "leaderboard", in effect) can cause a dramatic shift in output.
This requires of course that all players respect each other. That they can predict a reality where one player might outperform them. That makes things exciting!
We decided to focus on individuals because it felt more leveraged. Groups already have each other. Ramanujan had nobody (for a while).
We should do a better job of appealing to groups, but also at connecting. We'd like to be responsible for pairing Larry and Sergey, like Stanford did. Or Elon to Gwynne. Or composing PARC. That's really exciting, because it's proof of our counterfactual significance. More on this soon.
So regardless of if you're working alone or with a friend or two, Pioneer is for you.
- Daniel
P.S. Thank you to Nat Friedman, one of Pioneer's Experts for highlighting this fact.