The playbook for launching a startup is being rewritten in real-time. AI-powered coding tools are making it possible for anyone to turn an idea into a working product in hours instead of months.
Great post Sean. These are exactly my thoughts as well as an experienced founder and as an investor. Building with these tools is a joy as a product person to get to MVP, but I would caveat that with the fact that great UX is hard to vibe code and the tools like Lovable are not quite there yet, although the direction of travel is clear. For Fueld AI, our nutrition app, I am going through this debate. Do we actually need to raise? Can we turn on revenue without large funding and dilution? We have a plan for that and if it works, then we might not need funding at all…
This is interesting to see. Pieter Levels, a big name indie hacker, wrote that indie hacking is dead as it's gone mainstream. Perhaps what you're noting here is the true manifestation of this.
Also interesting is part of that is that the biggest traditional problem for indie hackers is now becoming everyone's problem. Getting those initial users and long term distribution.
Meanwhile as a paid social guy, I can see the competition heating up here too. Google's changes have pushed more SEO efforts to shift towards social and ads. Making the returns lower for everyone. And software was already super hard to advertise.
Perhaps the way forward is that we'll see even more founder/creators. People who can attract attention and monetize it with their own products (like Nathan Barry) because it will become the most profitable, sustainable way.
Game already changed. I’m fundraising right now and pre-seed stage funds who is interested saying «we have several pre seed startups with revenue, it is hard to build an argument to support you»
1000% agree. Understanding customer psychology is key. I’ve found most startups are too interested in building the thing instead of understanding why users want the thing.
Completely agree with one caveat. I think the pendulum has swung back towards hardware and landed on vertically integrated businesses. In this case, hardware is still "hard" but vertically integrated offer the opportunity to solve really difficult problems with easier to produce software, AI capabilities leading to automation. We can do this!
I just built a strong MVP on Lovable in 2 days (would have been hours but for a few bugs in Lovable). It's mind bogglingly easier than getting it done through a human (time, money, effort).
I don't expect to make money out of it, yet. But realized that executing the GTM is the tougher part.
So, agree 100% with you. Strong execution and creative thinking is what will be the differentiator for founders.
Hopefully, will send the MVP, with a decent GTM motion, out in the world over the weekend!
Great post Sean. These are exactly my thoughts as well as an experienced founder and as an investor. Building with these tools is a joy as a product person to get to MVP, but I would caveat that with the fact that great UX is hard to vibe code and the tools like Lovable are not quite there yet, although the direction of travel is clear. For Fueld AI, our nutrition app, I am going through this debate. Do we actually need to raise? Can we turn on revenue without large funding and dilution? We have a plan for that and if it works, then we might not need funding at all…
This is interesting to see. Pieter Levels, a big name indie hacker, wrote that indie hacking is dead as it's gone mainstream. Perhaps what you're noting here is the true manifestation of this.
Also interesting is part of that is that the biggest traditional problem for indie hackers is now becoming everyone's problem. Getting those initial users and long term distribution.
Meanwhile as a paid social guy, I can see the competition heating up here too. Google's changes have pushed more SEO efforts to shift towards social and ads. Making the returns lower for everyone. And software was already super hard to advertise.
Perhaps the way forward is that we'll see even more founder/creators. People who can attract attention and monetize it with their own products (like Nathan Barry) because it will become the most profitable, sustainable way.
Great one Sean!!
Game already changed. I’m fundraising right now and pre-seed stage funds who is interested saying «we have several pre seed startups with revenue, it is hard to build an argument to support you»
love this write up and 100% agree - "More Founders, More Products—But Harder Traction”
1000% agree. Understanding customer psychology is key. I’ve found most startups are too interested in building the thing instead of understanding why users want the thing.
Hoping this shift will put customers first.
Hello Sean, I wrote this post about your growth product simulator in GoPractice 👍
As a beta tester before the launch, I really enjoyed doing the whole course while reviewing contents.
Many thanks to Natalya and the rest of team for trusting me!
https://open.substack.com/pub/jorgeubero/p/i-beta-tested-this-product-growth-simulator-and-tell-you-how-it-was-552dbc535603?r=1rvev7&utm_medium=ios
Completely agree with one caveat. I think the pendulum has swung back towards hardware and landed on vertically integrated businesses. In this case, hardware is still "hard" but vertically integrated offer the opportunity to solve really difficult problems with easier to produce software, AI capabilities leading to automation. We can do this!
I just built a strong MVP on Lovable in 2 days (would have been hours but for a few bugs in Lovable). It's mind bogglingly easier than getting it done through a human (time, money, effort).
I don't expect to make money out of it, yet. But realized that executing the GTM is the tougher part.
So, agree 100% with you. Strong execution and creative thinking is what will be the differentiator for founders.
Hopefully, will send the MVP, with a decent GTM motion, out in the world over the weekend!