[baincs]

> we may see the rise of “developer-less” companies.

I think the opposite trend will also emerge and more than offset this. Yes, vibe coded tools may fit the needs of low-stake applications for some companies, but if it was low-stake enough to start with, they likely didn't hire many devs, if any. More likely we'll see non-tech companies starting to hire a dev to build custom software (e.g., ERP) suitable for their use cases vs. buying SaaS and paying consultants to customize it.

[a4isms]

I'm not betting directly on that, but I will say that IF one-person AI-coded SaaS companies become a thing, THEN there will be a huge number of SaaS companies who suddenly find themselves competing with the AI coding tool vendors, who will "dis-intermediate" Enterprise startups by getting Enterprise customers—who already paying hundreds of dollars per seat per month—to go ahead an write their own low- and medium-stakes apps. With or without consultants.

Look at how much they are spending. Think about how HN cheered Tesla's innovation in disintermediating vehicle sales by selling direct. Now think about OpenAI or whomever selling directly to enterprises. It's the same proposition:

"That Enterprise SaaS startup adds a markup to the AI that is powering your app."

Again, this is only IF the AI-vangelists are correct that some startups will collapse to a solopreneur. I am not sure that those same startups won't vanish entirely.\

———

There are some high-stakes apps where Enterprises prefer vendors for extrinsic reasons. For example, some apps must have certain certifications, and in a vibe-coded future, the cost of certification could exceed the cost of development by multiple orders of magnitude. And it needs to be kept up. Another example would be apps where for liability reasons, it is helpful that there be an "industry standard."

But lots and lots and lots of apps are not nearly so consequential.

[falloutx]

We already have "developer-less" companies. Adidas doesnt make its own website. They hire an agency, in this case Reaktor. This setup already works so efficiently that even hiring vibe coders would end up being costly.

[francisofascii]

I honestly hope that is the case. That is the way it used to be. Non-tech companies used to have a few in-house devs to give them the in-house tools and customizations they needed. If developers are easier to hire, cheaper, and more productive with AI tools, maybe we can go back to that world.