Ask HN: With LLM as companion, do you need a co-founder to launch a startup?
With LLM based coders like Claude, Zed or Cursor speeding up development, can solo founders realistically launch a tech startup without a co-founder? How do AI tools change the need for technical or non-technical co-founders? What roles are still critical to fill, and what’s been your experience building with LLMs?
It depends. But, please don’t ‘vibe found’ startups. You can’t depend on LLMs as you would depend on a solid co-founder - tech or non-technical.
Would you stop seeing a doctor and use web search or LLMs to diagnose or treat medical issues - however good they get?
Vibe-based coding is sloppy and has given the tech a bad name. Used smartly by devs, LLMs can still spark innovation and solid builds provided you know what you are doing with them and their limitations.