> I have seen small groups and solo engineers fly past the usual process of writing product requirements documents (PRDs), getting buy-in, and lobbying for time with designers or product managers by building a working prototype.

Getting time with someone isn't success. A lot of companies have some hackathon week or similar. People are going to see hundreds of demos or prototypes every time that happens.

The problem is, projects generally need staff, and getting that assigned requires influence these people are apparently lacking:

> engineers without social capital, status, or power.