[tormeh]

No. If you want to build big products, you need big organizations (i.e. companies). Big products have moats, often network effects or natural monopolies or whatever, but if nothing else then just the sheer investment required to build a competitor. Products with moats can extract wealth. So big companies are often extremely profitable. That's where the money is. Consulting is something talented people do in countries with no big tech companies.

[anovikov]

Yes you are right, but it doesn't contradict my statement. Of course big companies are necessary and big companies are where the moats and thus wealth creation is. But it doesn't mean they need to hire the best people (market control/moats make them competitive even if almost all employees are disposable drones), or that they can do it (because of agency problem). Small companies both need the best people (they don't have those moats and also don't have division of labor deep enough to make do with more stupid people doing better granulated/formalised work, everyone has to wear many hats and be flexible), and can do it because agency problem there is less pronounced due to fewer layers of management. Yes as a result, they make less profit (can take less of market for having no/smaller moat, and have to pay more to people because they have to hire better ones), but this is the company's problem, not employees'.