The Staffless Company: Orchestrating Talent Instead of Hiring

Last month I was talking with a startup founder. "I'm looking for a CTO," he said. I asked: "Full-time?" His answer was interesting: "No, I don't actually need someone full-time. 10-15 hours a week would be enough. But how do you find a part-time CTO?"

This question summarizes the workforce transformation of the next decade.

I'm already living this model. While developing plugged.in, I have no full-time employees. But I'm not alone either. I work with Sinem from İzmir for investment strategy, and with Damla from California for marketing. There's no formal contract between us. No retainer fee. Just an organic collaboration where we create mutual value.

This is the future of work.

Why the Current Model Doesn't Work

The traditional employment model is based on 20th-century factory logic:

• Employee arrives at 9 AM, leaves at 6 PM
• Company pays salary, social security, withholds taxes
• Employee sits at desk, "available and ready"
• Company purchases both productive time and idle time

This model made sense for physical production. If you need a worker on the assembly line, that worker needs to be there.

But for knowledge workers, this model is increasingly meaningless:

Time ≠ Output: A developer in 2 hours of "flow" produces more than in 8 hours of meetings.

Expertise is fragmented: Companies don't need a full-time cybersecurity expert, a full-time data scientist, a full-time DevOps engineer—they need these expertises for a few hours a week.

Geography has become meaningless: The best investment strategist might be in İzmir. The best gaming marketer might be in California. Why should they sit in the same office?

Overhead multiplies: For each employee: HR, accounting, office space, equipment, training, management time... Real cost is 1.5-2x the salary.

The New Model: Expert + Agent Package

Now imagine a different scenario:

You're engaging a CTO. But you're not "hiring" them. You're collaborating with them:

• Mutual value creation
• Everyone owns their own work
• Formal contracts not required—trust and results-based relationship
• Evaluated by output, not hours worked

This model is an equation where everyone wins:

Real-Life Example: The plugged.in Team

Let's move from theory to reality. How do I work on plugged.in?

Investment and EU Market: Sinem Toktay Orpak

Sinem is an independent strategy consultant working from İzmir. Her expertise: strategic investments in EU markets, M&A, and capital raising.

She uses the term "lonewolf" for herself—and this perfectly summarizes the new working model. She's not tied to a corporate structure; she offers her expertise on her own terms.

There's no classic consulting contract between us. No retainer fee. The complete opposite of the German business culture mentality where "everything must be in writing." A trust-based, results-oriented, organic collaboration.

We work together on plugged.in's EU market expansion, investor relations, and capital strategy. She doesn't work only with me—she collaborates with multiple companies looking to expand into EU markets using the same model.

Marketing and Global Growth: Damla Gazaille

Damla's story perfectly illustrates why the "staffless company" model works.

Before focusing on the gaming sector, she spent nearly 10 years working in marketing agencies in Turkey. She worked on projects with major brands like Turkcell and LEGO. She gained deep experience in brand strategy, integrated campaigns, and market communications.

Alongside her agency work, she took on training and coaching roles. She mentored startups and professionals at programs like KWORKS and ATOM. This shows she's not just someone who "does the work" but also someone who "teaches."

After relocating to the United States, she shifted her focus to the gaming and technology sector. Now operating under Lucene Creative, she advises international game studios and startups. Her work centers on helping teams expand into new markets, particularly North America, while maintaining strong and authentic brand positioning.

She has 10,000 followers on LinkedIn and 19,000 on Twitter—numbers earned organically by creating real value.

We don't have a classic client-agency relationship with Damla either. We collaborate on plugged.in's marketing strategy, content planning, and social media presence. She runs her own business, I run mine. We create value where our paths intersect.

Result: A Team Across Three Continents

Look at this table:

Three different cities, three different time zones, three different expertise areas. None of us are each other's "employees." There's no formal contract between us. We all run our own businesses. But we create value on shared projects.

This is a living example of the "staffless company" model.

Is It Possible to Work Without Contracts?

Sinem emphasized a point: "We have no contract, no retainer fee."

This might seem contrary to traditional business understanding. "What if someone backs out? What if payment isn't made? What if there's an intellectual property issue?"

Here's the fundamental difference of the new model: the trust economy.

The classic model is built on distrust. The assumption that "people will run if given the chance." Hence contracts, penalty clauses, lawyers.

The new model is built on trust. The assumption that "if I create value, I'll be compensated." Reputation instead of contracts. References instead of penalty clauses.

How does this work?

Transparent KPIs: Everyone's performance is visible. Damla's 19,000 Twitter followers, Sinem's deal history, my code on GitHub. Nobody can hide.

Network effect: Bad behavior spreads. The freelancer/consultant world is small. Nobody wants to work with a party that doesn't pay or behaves disrespectfully.

Mutual dependency: I provide value to them, they provide value to me. Breaking the relationship hurts both sides.

Low commitment, easy exit: No annual contracts. If it's not working, both parties can part ways gracefully. This paradoxically makes the relationship healthier—because nobody is "obligated."

Agents Change the Equation

Why is this model becoming possible now? Because AI agents multiply one person's capacity.

Previously, a CTO's bottleneck was time:

• Code review: 2 hours
• Architecture document: 4 hours
• Technical interview: 1 hour
• Security audit: 3 hours

With 8 hours in a day, one company was barely manageable.

Now with agents:

• Code review: Agent does pre-screening, human reviews only critical parts (30 min)
• Architecture document: Human makes key decisions, agent documents (1 hour)
• Technical interview: Agent does initial screening, human meets finalists (30 min)
• Security audit: Agent runs automated scans, human evaluates findings (45 min)

The same expert can now contribute to multiple projects without sacrificing quality.

Consider Damla's situation: 10 years of agency experience + gaming sector knowledge = deep expertise. But creating content calendars, scheduling posts, reporting analytics? These can be accelerated with AI agents. This leaves more time for producing strategic value.

Transparent KPIs: The CV Is Dead, Digital Footprint Is Born

For this model to work, one more thing is needed: trust. How do you trust someone without hiring them?

This is where the gift of the digital age comes in: everyone's footprint is visible.

What did I do before deciding to work with Damla?

• Checked her LinkedIn profile: 10,000 followers, background with brands like Turkcell/LEGO
• Checked her Twitter: 19,000 followers, real presence in the gaming community
• Looked at her mentoring background: KWORKS, ATOM programs
• Reviewed her content: Someone who understands the industry, has an original perspective

No CV would provide this much information. And most importantly: this information cannot be manipulated. 10 years of agency experience, real clients, real projects.

The same applies to Sinem. Her deal history in EU markets, her network, her references—all researchable.

Transparent KPIs by Profession

The "Lonewolf" Economy

The "lonewolf" term Sinem uses to describe herself says a lot.

Traditional career path: Join company → Get promoted → Move to bigger company → Retire

Lonewolf path: Develop expertise → Work independently → Choose projects where you create value → Be free

This second path isn't for everyone. Some want security. Some want regular salary. If you can't handle uncertainty, corporate structure is more suitable.

But more and more people are choosing the "lonewolf" path. Because:

• No income ceiling: You earn as much value as you create
• Freedom: You can say "no" to projects you don't want to work on
• Variety: You're not limited to one company's one problem
• Geographic independence: From California, from İzmir, from Ankara—doesn't matter

Damla moved to America, Sinem is in İzmir, I'm in Ankara. All three of us are on our own lonewolf paths. And we create value together on projects where we intersect.

Company Perspective: The Staffless Organization

What do companies embracing this transformation look like?

Core staff minimizes:

• CEO/Founder (vision and strategy)
• Maybe 1-2 operations people
• Everyone else collaboration-based

Expert network forms:

• CTO-as-a-Service
• CFO-as-a-Service
• CMO-as-a-Service
• Each expert comes with their own agent stack

Relationship model changes:

• Contract → Trust
• Hierarchy → Equality
• Control → Autonomy
• Hour-based → Results-based

plugged.in works exactly in this model. I have no full-time employees. But I get investment strategy from İzmir, marketing support from California. There's no formal contract between us—but there's mutual respect and value creation.

The Social Safety Net Question

The biggest question mark of this model: social safety net.

Traditional employment provided health insurance, retirement, unemployment benefits. In the lonewolf model, these become the individual's responsibility.

Turkey's Bağ-Kur system exists but premium rates and retirement conditions are disadvantageous. Reform in this area is inevitable—because the workforce structure is changing.

Some countries are seeking solutions:

• "zzp" (self-employed) status in Netherlands
• Individual health insurance options in USA
• Universal basic income experiments in some countries

Without solving this problem, the "staffless company" model can't be valid for everyone. But the trend is clear: more and more people are choosing this path, and regulations will follow.

Conclusion: The Orchestra Conductor Metaphor

In the future, running a company will resemble conducting an orchestra.

The conductor doesn't play an instrument. The conductor coordinates musicians, each an expert on their own instrument. The conductor's value lies in bringing the right people together, setting tempo and direction, ensuring harmony.

The CEO of the future will do the same: instead of maintaining their own staff, they'll collaborate with independent experts. Each expert is a "lonewolf" in their own field. The CEO's job is to bring these lonewolves together at the right time, on the right project.

I'm doing exactly this right now. I manage technology from Ankara. I get investment strategy from İzmir. I get marketing support from California. There's no contract between us, no retainer—just trust and mutual value.

Three continents, three expertises, three lonewolves, one project.

Are you ready for this world?