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championing @solofounders with support + $100k

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The Solo Founders Program turns one today. Many say you need a co-founder to get started. They're wrong. The best founders have never waited around for a co-founder. Will you?

The Solo Founders Program turns one today. Many say you need a co-founder to get started. They're wrong. The best founders have never waited around for a co-founder. Will you?

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Most people think starting a company without a co-founder is a bad idea. We believe the opposite: solo founding will be the default way great companies get started. Applications are now open for the Solo Founders Program. 3 months in SF: "solo, together" + 1:1 support + $100K

Most people think starting a company without a co-founder is a bad idea. We believe the opposite: solo founding will be the default way great companies get started. Applications are now open for the Solo Founders Program. 3 months in SF: "solo, together" + 1:1 support + $100K

518,177 views • 3 months ago

Slack was built before AI and you can tell. This solo founder raised $20M to build the workspace for humans and agents. Solo Founders Podcast ep 30 is live with Sara Du of Ando. 01:19 Two companies, two motivations 05:29 A problem worth ten years 08:43 Why now, and why so few competitors 19:36 Agents are coworkers, not tools 33:15 The locked office building 37:07 An agent's first 90 days 42:53 Trust runs backwards with agents 54:05 Georgia to SF at 17 1:09:30 The bear and bull case for going solo

Slack was built before AI and you can tell. This solo founder raised $20M to build the workspace for humans and agents. Solo Founders Podcast ep 30 is live with Sara Du of Ando. 01:19 Two companies, two motivations 05:29 A problem worth ten years 08:43 Why now, and why so few competitors 19:36 Agents are coworkers, not tools 33:15 The locked office building 37:07 An agent's first 90 days 42:53 Trust runs backwards with agents 54:05 Georgia to SF at 17 1:09:30 The bear and bull case for going solo

108,456 views • 1 month ago

$1.5M ARR in 2 weeks. Zero (human) teammates. Solo Founders Podcast is live with of Polsia, an AI that runs your company while you sleep. His solo founder rule: 80% AI, 20% taste. 0:00 — How "solo founder" has changed with AI 2:40 — Scoping and trusting AI agents to ship 5:30 — Cloud Kitchens with Travis Kalanick 9:52 — Mount Fuji: Where Polsia was born 13:55 — 80/20 rule: 80% AI, 20% taste 21:24 — Building for yourself, not imaginary customers 23:10 — The game that inspired Polsia 29:55 — Polsia as an economy: The bigger vision 40:59 — How Polsia actually works today 51:35 — Why not just build businesses yourself? 57:55 — Advice for new builders: Push AI to the edge

$1.5M ARR in 2 weeks. Zero (human) teammates. Solo Founders Podcast is live with of Polsia, an AI that runs your company while you sleep. His solo founder rule: 80% AI, 20% taste. 0:00 — How "solo founder" has changed with AI 2:40 — Scoping and trusting AI agents to ship 5:30 — Cloud Kitchens with Travis Kalanick 9:52 — Mount Fuji: Where Polsia was born 13:55 — 80/20 rule: 80% AI, 20% taste 21:24 — Building for yourself, not imaginary customers 23:10 — The game that inspired Polsia 29:55 — Polsia as an economy: The bigger vision 40:59 — How Polsia actually works today 51:35 — Why not just build businesses yourself? 57:55 — Advice for new builders: Push AI to the edge

527,036 views • 8 months ago

If you talk to 100 seed funds and they won’t invest in your company you’re actually wrong. Was reminded of this conversation I had with Eoghan McCabe.

If you talk to 100 seed funds and they won’t invest in your company you’re actually wrong. Was reminded of this conversation I had with Eoghan McCabe.

378,082 views • 5 months ago

"There are about 150 companies signing up every single day." Ali shut down a $7M run-rate startup to build what's now a $4B company. Solo Founders Podcast ep 31 is live with Ali Ansari of micro1. 04:10 The first thing he ever sold online 17:30 Three signals it's time to move on 24:40 The all-in Loom that deleted the revenue 31:45 "Only the founding team can inject risk" 35:50 He never knew co-founders existed 43:40 Threads, final actions, zero meetings 53:30 Inside the AI data wars 1:01:50 Why micro1 won't sell to America's adversaries 1:07:30 The case for and against going solo

"There are about 150 companies signing up every single day." Ali shut down a $7M run-rate startup to build what's now a $4B company. Solo Founders Podcast ep 31 is live with Ali Ansari of micro1. 04:10 The first thing he ever sold online 17:30 Three signals it's time to move on 24:40 The all-in Loom that deleted the revenue 31:45 "Only the founding team can inject risk" 35:50 He never knew co-founders existed 43:40 Threads, final actions, zero meetings 53:30 Inside the AI data wars 1:01:50 Why micro1 won't sell to America's adversaries 1:07:30 The case for and against going solo

64,283 views • 1 month ago

Announcing the Solo Founders Podcast. Conversations with founders building the most ambitious companies without co-founders. First episode drops tomorrow.

Announcing the Solo Founders Podcast. Conversations with founders building the most ambitious companies without co-founders. First episode drops tomorrow.

433,222 views • 8 months ago

The internet needs defending. This solo founder is helping teams verify mission-critical software. Solo Founders Podcast ep 34 is live with Chaitanya of Workers IO. 09:25 Why engineers are losing touch with their own code 19:59 First computer at 16, programs on paper 24:30 Selling his first company right before it got valuable 29:21 Killing two ideas fast 51:16 "Nobody's buying code" 53:09 Agents write the code, review it and write the tests 59:22 Finding bugs in Postgres 1:04:03 Solo vs. co-founders 1:10:53 "You're fixing the internet" 1:14:58 The bear case for going solo

The internet needs defending. This solo founder is helping teams verify mission-critical software. Solo Founders Podcast ep 34 is live with Chaitanya of Workers IO. 09:25 Why engineers are losing touch with their own code 19:59 First computer at 16, programs on paper 24:30 Selling his first company right before it got valuable 29:21 Killing two ideas fast 51:16 "Nobody's buying code" 53:09 Agents write the code, review it and write the tests 59:22 Finding bugs in Postgres 1:04:03 Solo vs. co-founders 1:10:53 "You're fixing the internet" 1:14:58 The bear case for going solo

19,573 views • 10 days ago

Solo founders are underestimated. We’re changing that. In May we launched the Solo Founders Program (<1% acceptance rate) for six founders to build together in SF. 60 days in: millions raised, 35k GitHub stars, rapid growth. Join us: Fall 2025 applications close soon.

Solo founders are underestimated. We’re changing that. In May we launched the Solo Founders Program (<1% acceptance rate) for six founders to build together in SF. 60 days in: millions raised, 35k GitHub stars, rapid growth. Join us: Fall 2025 applications close soon.

611,683 views • 1 year ago

He sold a company at 16. Then raised $3M at 19 without a co-founder. Today he gave the whole thing away. supermemory now runs fully local, self-contained, and the binary is open source. Solo Founders Podcast ep 14 is live with Dhravya Shah of Supermemory. 00:49 How a side project became a company 08:57 "Building was my way of doing art" 14:35 Saying no to VCs for 9 months 24:44 Launching Supermemory Local 29:29 Killing his own viral hit, mid-fundraise 46:39 Why ChatGPT "fails" memory benchmarks on purpose 52:57 The co-founder breakup that made him go solo 01:10:19 The case for solo founding

He sold a company at 16. Then raised $3M at 19 without a co-founder. Today he gave the whole thing away. supermemory now runs fully local, self-contained, and the binary is open source. Solo Founders Podcast ep 14 is live with Dhravya Shah of Supermemory. 00:49 How a side project became a company 08:57 "Building was my way of doing art" 14:35 Saying no to VCs for 9 months 24:44 Launching Supermemory Local 29:29 Killing his own viral hit, mid-fundraise 46:39 Why ChatGPT "fails" memory benchmarks on purpose 52:57 The co-founder breakup that made him go solo 01:10:19 The case for solo founding

139,725 views • 4 months ago

Solo founders are underestimated. Let's change that. Today we're launching: Solo Club — a community for solo founders at all stages Solo Founders Program — a 3-month program for 6 solo founders in SF Apply now.

Solo founders are underestimated. Let's change that. Today we're launching: Solo Club — a community for solo founders at all stages Solo Founders Program — a 3-month program for 6 solo founders in SF Apply now.

367,429 views • 1 year ago

Shivani led engineering on Google DeepMind's coding agent. Now she's solo founding, betting that AI agents can't always finish the job. Hers hires humans for the last mile. Solo Founders Podcast ep 32 is live with Shivani Poddar of Wajo. 04:56 Ten years of personal agents, before the name existed 08:59 What building Jules at Google revealed 10:05 Designing phone calls people don't hang up on 22:08 She seeded her AI in Ohio, not the Valley 27:54 The product had to build the company first 31:05 Her three-word recruiting message 36:18 Humans in the loop, without a gig economy 44:58 The solo founder's speed-dial bench 51:05 The case for and against going solo

Shivani led engineering on Google DeepMind's coding agent. Now she's solo founding, betting that AI agents can't always finish the job. Hers hires humans for the last mile. Solo Founders Podcast ep 32 is live with Shivani Poddar of Wajo. 04:56 Ten years of personal agents, before the name existed 08:59 What building Jules at Google revealed 10:05 Designing phone calls people don't hang up on 22:08 She seeded her AI in Ohio, not the Valley 27:54 The product had to build the company first 31:05 Her three-word recruiting message 36:18 Humans in the loop, without a gig economy 44:58 The solo founder's speed-dial bench 51:05 The case for and against going solo

19,655 views • 24 days ago

Our first solo founder just hit $1M ARR in under 2 months. Announcing the 3rd cohort of the Solo Founders Program. "SFP gave me a new framework to think about how fast I can go." Apply today to build "solo, together" in January.

Our first solo founder just hit $1M ARR in under 2 months. Announcing the 3rd cohort of the Solo Founders Program. "SFP gave me a new framework to think about how fast I can go." Apply today to build "solo, together" in January.

172,292 views • 10 months ago

$9M ARR. No VC. Solo founder. Solo Founders Podcast ep 6 is live with Yasser of Chatbase. We talk about: 00:03 Discovering RAG before ChatGPT existed 11:44 First Stripe payment 30 minutes after launch 14:37 "Free solo" founding, beyond indie hacking 27:39 Why bootstrapping changes the definition of success 35:37 The "benevolent dictatorship" of solo founding 44:43 Scaling bootstrapped, profitability from day one 54:14 The B2B playbook: pricing, content, cold outbound 1:08:20 Bear and bull case for solo founding

$9M ARR. No VC. Solo founder. Solo Founders Podcast ep 6 is live with Yasser of Chatbase. We talk about: 00:03 Discovering RAG before ChatGPT existed 11:44 First Stripe payment 30 minutes after launch 14:37 "Free solo" founding, beyond indie hacking 27:39 Why bootstrapping changes the definition of success 35:37 The "benevolent dictatorship" of solo founding 44:43 Scaling bootstrapped, profitability from day one 54:14 The B2B playbook: pricing, content, cold outbound 1:08:20 Bear and bull case for solo founding

64,596 views • 7 months ago

Solo-founded $2B company. Used by OpenAI, Anthropic, Replit. Solo Founders ep 13 is live with Michael Grinich of WorkOS. 07:49 The co-founder "blood bond" is a myth 10:55 There's only room for one Zuck at Meta 32:51 Pivots are the most traumatic thing you can do to a business 43:18 The best ideas always look like bad ideas 50:14 Sales is the ultimate expression of the company's value 53:57 The "founder pixie dust" no hire can replace 01:07:42 You only get one life. Why not swing as hard as you can?

Solo-founded $2B company. Used by OpenAI, Anthropic, Replit. Solo Founders ep 13 is live with Michael Grinich of WorkOS. 07:49 The co-founder "blood bond" is a myth 10:55 There's only room for one Zuck at Meta 32:51 Pivots are the most traumatic thing you can do to a business 43:18 The best ideas always look like bad ideas 50:14 Sales is the ultimate expression of the company's value 53:57 The "founder pixie dust" no hire can replace 01:07:42 You only get one life. Why not swing as hard as you can?

47,075 views • 5 months ago

New experiment for ODF23: pay-what-you-want ODF22 was our best cohort (NPS/economics) but we wanted to try something new. Not changing: no equity to join, no right to invest. We're not a VC's dealflow hack. We help more people start the best companies together. Apply!

New experiment for ODF23: pay-what-you-want ODF22 was our best cohort (NPS/economics) but we wanted to try something new. Not changing: no equity to join, no right to invest. We're not a VC's dealflow hack. We help more people start the best companies together. Apply!

164,107 views • 2 years ago

500 rejections. 0 co-founders. $300M valuation. Solo Founders Podcast Episode 2 is live with Paul Klein IV of Browserbase. Paul tried to find a co-founder. Nobody took the role. So he started Browserbase alone. Now they've raised $67.5M and have customers like Perplexity and Vercel. All in under two years. His take: "First-time founders should not be solo founders." 03:39 – StreamClub: from 72-hour coding binge to #1 on Product Hunt 06:41 – The 3,000-word memo that became Browserbase 08:32 – Solo by circumstance: co-founder dating and getting rejected 09:50 – The five-tool founder 18:48 – Company culture as a mirror of your flaws 30:46 – 500 rejections and hiring from non-traditional backgrounds 35:44 – Quarterback → head coach → GM: how the CEO role evolves 45:08 – The case against solo founding 51:49 – The case for solo founding

500 rejections. 0 co-founders. $300M valuation. Solo Founders Podcast Episode 2 is live with Paul Klein IV of Browserbase. Paul tried to find a co-founder. Nobody took the role. So he started Browserbase alone. Now they've raised $67.5M and have customers like Perplexity and Vercel. All in under two years. His take: "First-time founders should not be solo founders." 03:39 – StreamClub: from 72-hour coding binge to #1 on Product Hunt 06:41 – The 3,000-word memo that became Browserbase 08:32 – Solo by circumstance: co-founder dating and getting rejected 09:50 – The five-tool founder 18:48 – Company culture as a mirror of your flaws 30:46 – 500 rejections and hiring from non-traditional backgrounds 35:44 – Quarterback → head coach → GM: how the CEO role evolves 45:08 – The case against solo founding 51:49 – The case for solo founding

60,664 views • 8 months ago

Over 100,000 product managers use a product built by a company with one human employee. Solo Founders Podcast ep 20 is live with claire vo 🖤 of ChatPRD. Claire might be the only human, but she works with 9 AI agents and messages them like people. 00:51 The custom GPT that became a business 08:58 "She may be a wrapper, but she's my wrapper" 17:26 Austin vs SF, and "success dysphoria" 22:05 Why she took zero VC 33:08 Running a company with 9 AI agents 42:20 The agent that emailed us before she showed up 49:41 How I AI, and treating a podcast like a product 58:27 The case for (and against) going solo

Over 100,000 product managers use a product built by a company with one human employee. Solo Founders Podcast ep 20 is live with claire vo 🖤 of ChatPRD. Claire might be the only human, but she works with 9 AI agents and messages them like people. 00:51 The custom GPT that became a business 08:58 "She may be a wrapper, but she's my wrapper" 17:26 Austin vs SF, and "success dysphoria" 22:05 Why she took zero VC 33:08 Running a company with 9 AI agents 42:20 The agent that emailed us before she showed up 49:41 How I AI, and treating a podcast like a product 58:27 The case for (and against) going solo

33,232 views • 3 months ago

Today we’re unveiling Solo Grants. We give microgrants ($100-1,000) to individuals pursuing passion projects. We’ve already given 50 out and we’re just getting started. Solo Founders Podcast ep 19 is live with ari dutilh to discuss it. 00:09 The announcement 07:04 Microgrants 101: the world of no-strings money 14:35 The few-hundred-dollar gap 19:02 The grantee who asked for $100 less 21:56 A $500 check from a stranger 32:33 Solo, together

Today we’re unveiling Solo Grants. We give microgrants ($100-1,000) to individuals pursuing passion projects. We’ve already given 50 out and we’re just getting started. Solo Founders Podcast ep 19 is live with ari dutilh to discuss it. 00:09 The announcement 07:04 Microgrants 101: the world of no-strings money 14:35 The few-hundred-dollar gap 19:02 The grantee who asked for $100 less 21:56 A $500 check from a stranger 32:33 Solo, together

34,488 views • 4 months ago

I spent 7 years helping people finding co-founders (1,000 startups, $10B) Then I went all-in on Solo Founders. Solo Founders Podcast ep 8 live. I swapped seats and was interviewed by David J Phillips (solo founder of Fondo.com) We talk about: 01:46 The Co-Founder Myth & Origins of ODF 06:23 The Moment That Sparked Solo Founders 08:30 The New $100K Investment 12:31 Why There's No Demo Day 17:34 Solo Founders Program 20:59 Why Startups Really Implode 27:15 The Solo Founding Trend & Denominator Delusion 30:55 When to Raise a Seed Round 32:10 True Solo, Free Solo, Juiced Solo 36:40 The Tailwinds Behind Solo Founding 40:03 The Bear Case for Solo Founding 43:12 The Bull Case: The Company Only Dies If You Do 47:14 Solo Together, Not Solo Alone 49:08 Outro & How to Apply

I spent 7 years helping people finding co-founders (1,000 startups, $10B) Then I went all-in on Solo Founders. Solo Founders Podcast ep 8 live. I swapped seats and was interviewed by David J Phillips (solo founder of Fondo.com) We talk about: 01:46 The Co-Founder Myth & Origins of ODF 06:23 The Moment That Sparked Solo Founders 08:30 The New $100K Investment 12:31 Why There's No Demo Day 17:34 Solo Founders Program 20:59 Why Startups Really Implode 27:15 The Solo Founding Trend & Denominator Delusion 30:55 When to Raise a Seed Round 32:10 True Solo, Free Solo, Juiced Solo 36:40 The Tailwinds Behind Solo Founding 40:03 The Bear Case for Solo Founding 43:12 The Bull Case: The Company Only Dies If You Do 47:14 Solo Together, Not Solo Alone 49:08 Outro & How to Apply

49,459 views • 6 months ago

"Millions of people creating with the same tool for totally different use cases, but the output looks the same. That's where the feeling of AI slop comes from." She's making it her mission to put an end to it. Solo Founders Podcast ep 18 is live with Thais Castello Branco of . 00:47 Why she went solo 02:08 What "taste" actually is 11:30 A quirk on one, slop on millions 13:09 The real cause: volume 19:37 Why it had to be a "lab" 30:04 You're bad at commissioning AI 44:01 Branding, Liquid Death and what lasts 58:34 The bear and bull case for going solo

"Millions of people creating with the same tool for totally different use cases, but the output looks the same. That's where the feeling of AI slop comes from." She's making it her mission to put an end to it. Solo Founders Podcast ep 18 is live with Thais Castello Branco of . 00:47 Why she went solo 02:08 What "taste" actually is 11:30 A quirk on one, slop on millions 13:09 The real cause: volume 19:37 Why it had to be a "lab" 30:04 You're bad at commissioning AI 44:01 Branding, Liquid Death and what lasts 58:34 The bear and bull case for going solo

34,534 views • 4 months ago