If you are travelling from Mumbai to Bangalore, then hyderabad, chennai, and somewhere else after that, you do not pack your entire house.
You pack light because every city will change what you need. You will pick things up. You will leave things behind. The luggage that felt sensible in Mumbai becomes a punishment by the third stop.
Startups work the same way. A large team does not automatically make you fast. It creates communication, fixed cost, and people whose roles were designed for a plan that may be dead next month.
Start with a small team that can think, change direction, and own outcomes. Add people when a real bottleneck appears—not because a headcount slide makes the company look serious.
People are not disposable luggage. That is exactly why you should hire carefully. Shrinking a team means losing trust and knowledge you spent months building.
If you expect a long, uncertain journey, stay lean enough to turn.