FollowTheMoney (FtM) is a data model for financial crime investigations and document forensics.

It contains definitions of the entities relevant in such research (like people or companies) and tools that let you generate, validate, and export such data easily. Entities can reference each other, creating a graph of relevant relationships. The ontology defined by FtM also includes a model for various types of documents that might be used as evidence in investigations.

Your team size is working against you.

Four researchers. Four findings. All contradicting each other.

💡1880. Maximilien Ringelmann.
Asked people to pull a rope. Alone. Then in groups.
One person? 100% effort.
A group of eight? Half of what you'd expect.
Conclusion: the bigger the group, the less each person tries.

💡A few decades later. Francis Galton.
Asked 800 random people to guess the weight of an ox.
The crowd was off by less than 1%.
No single expert came close.
Conclusion: large groups are smarter than any individual.

💡1970. Robert Metcalfe.
3 people → 3 connections.
6 people → 15 connections.
10 people → 45 connections.
Conclusion: every person you add makes the whole network more valuable.

💡1975. Fred Brooks.
Used the exact same math as Metcalfe.
But showed the opposite conclusion.
Every new person adds communication lines.
Coordination becomes the work.
Conclusion: adding people to a late project makes it later.

So. Are large groups a curse, or a blessing?
Or can we get the best of both worlds?

The answer depends on how you design for it.

Across the 200+ workplace pioneers we've visited, the best ones don't choose between small and big. They get big by staying small.

Here's how:

📍 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗱𝗼𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗴
When the mission is clear and meaningful, people want to contribute. That's Ringelmann in reverse.

📍 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀, 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁
Networks of small teams (5–12 people) with clear end-to-end responsibility. Small enough for effort to stay visible. Small enough for coordination to stay manageable.

📍 𝗔 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲
Dense coordination stays inside each small team. Connections between teams stay lightweight. You grow the network, without the overhead.

📍 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻
Performance, goals, and financials shared openly. This enables collective intelligence, and makes hiding impossible.

📍 𝗣𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗸
Train people to hold each other accountable, without relying on a boss. Over time, this creates a discipline stronger than top-down control.

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