Two backpacks, one mountain
Two people decided to climb the same mountain.
The first one thought about everything that could go wrong. Rain, cold, an injury, getting lost, an extra night on the trail. He packed for all of it and left with a 50kg backpack.
The second one checked the forecast, saw good weather, and packed only the essentials. He left with a 5kg backpack.
The first one walks slowly, but he is ready for anything. The second one moves fast, but he is counting on the sky staying clear.
If something goes wrong, the heavy backpack wins. If nothing goes wrong, the light one reaches the top much earlier, and much less tired.
What is a moat when anyone can build?
I keep thinking about this story when I look at startups today.
Gen AI made it much easier to build platforms and launch new businesses. What used to take a team and months can now be done by a few people, or even one, in weeks.
So here is the question: in this scenario, what is the moat of a new company?
You may have a good idea. You may solve a real problem. But what makes you more competitive than the companies that already exist, or the ones that will be launched next week, solving the same problem with the same tools?
The classic answers don't hold as well as they used to. A product can be copied faster than ever. A territory is not much protection when software crosses borders on day one. And being first lasts only until the next launch.
Maybe the moat is your weight
Maybe the biggest moat today is not your product, your market or your timing. Maybe it is your weight.
Companies that are light on assets and can move very fast may have the real advantage in this race. And from this perspective, a Gen AI solo founder carries a competitive advantage almost by default:
- Less capital. Lower burn means a longer runway, and more time to find what works.
- No long debates. There is no need to align with one or more co-founders before reaching a decision.
- Real-time strategy. Imagine a startup that doesn't need a company retreat to plan the next quarter, because its founder follows the market every day and adjusts in real time.
- AI where it matters. AI takes over a large part of the work, and the gaps are covered with specialists only when they are really needed.
Depending on the product and the market, this speed can be the moat itself. While others are still discussing the plan, the light company has already tested it, learned, and changed direction.
But what about the rainy day?
Of course, there is another side. Being ultra light means losing not only excess weight, but also some important things.
When the rain comes, the solo founder has no partner to share the pressure with, and no one to challenge a bad decision before it is too late. There is no financial cushion when a big client leaves, and no team to absorb a crisis. And if the founder gets sick or burns out, the whole company stops with them.
It also depends on the mountain. Some markets are simply heavy by nature: hardware, deep tech, highly regulated sectors. In these, the light backpack may not even get you past the first checkpoint.
So, which backpack would you choose?
In a market where AI makes so much possible, having co-founders, a big team and a large funding round can be the heavy backpack. You are prepared for almost anything, but you move slowly and get tired along the way.
The Gen AI solo founder is the one with the light backpack: lean, fast, and a heavy user of AI. Fully exposed if the weather turns, but much closer to the top if it doesn't.
In the end, who do you believe has the better chance of reaching the top?
This piece is an argument, not a finding. For what the published evidence says, see Solo founders: what the research says.