[Tech Talk] 30 Billion KRW Annual Sales Single-Person Companies Are Emerging... The Secret Is 'AI'

Rise of No-Code and Low-Code Platforms with AI
Manage Business Without Coding Knowledge
"Single-Person Company with Annual Sales of 30 Billion Won Expected"

Will the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) lead to massive unemployment, or will it liberate humanity from labor? Or will it bring about an entirely new phenomenon?

Greg Eisenberg, a famous American venture entrepreneur and CEO of the IT marketing company Late Checkout, recently attracted attention by predicting that "a boom in 'one-person startups' will occur in five years." He suggested that solo entrepreneurs who use AI as their assistant instead of employees could emerge as new wealthy individuals with assets worth hundreds of billions of won.

"One-person companies with annual sales of 33 billion won will flood the market"

There is a prospect that business management could become easier with the development of generative artificial intelligence (AI).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 7th (local time), Eisenberg wrote on his Twitter, "I expect to see numerous one-person entrepreneurs achieving annual sales of $25 million (about 33 billion won) in the next five years," adding, "Software has increased human work capacity by 100 times. So, what will AI make us?"

The 'one-person company model' Eisenberg advocates consists of a single founder and multiple AI agencies. AI creates mobile apps and websites and performs data analysis instead of the boss.

As anyone can access advanced data infrastructure without IT knowledge, there is less burden to outsource work or learn programming directly. Accordingly, initial capital requirements decrease while operating profits increase, leading to improved cash flow.

Eisenberg even claimed, "Future entrepreneurs will manage their businesses with just a mobile phone from a resort, not from a Silicon Valley office."

The AI-driven no-code boom... Anyone can start a business without specialized knowledge

Software of Builder.AI, an AI that creates applications (apps). [Image source=Builder.AI]

Whether the future business model envisioned by Eisenberg will materialize remains uncertain, but it is true that the coding difficulty required for startups is decreasing. Thanks to AI advancements, developing no-code / low-code platforms has become easier.

No-code and low-code platforms, which allow anyone to create programs without coding background knowledge, have existed in the past. However, these platforms had clear limitations.

‘Solutions’ mostly involved slightly modifying source codes of example websites or apps already created by others, and to build programs at the level users truly desired, coding knowledge was ultimately necessary.

However, with the emergence of large language model (LLM) AIs like ChatGPT, the possibility of no-code platforms where "AI codes on behalf of users" is becoming a reality. For example, the UK-based AI no-code platform Builder.AI made waves last year by unveiling its code-writing AI, Natasha.

Natasha is an AI specialized in custom app development that understands customer requirements based on a library of example source codes created by other programmers and writes programs accordingly.

Builder.AI’s revenue surged more than sixfold last year, and this year it formed a strategic partnership with Microsoft (MS). On the 23rd, it secured a $250 million (331 billion won) investment from the Qatar Investment Authority, instantly joining the ranks of global AI startups alongside OpenAI, Cohere, and Anthropic.

As startup hurdles lower, competition will intensify

If AI tools supporting startups like Builder.AI continue to emerge, an era of 'super self-employed' individuals managing businesses alone without outsourcing professional services or hiring expensive employees may dawn.

However, competition among one-person entrepreneurs will become fiercer. As the barriers to starting a business lower, more people will launch their own ventures.

For this reason, Eisenberg identified 'maker muscles' as the competitive edge of new solo entrepreneurs. In other words, those who possess the ability to create many distinctive products or services will have an advantage over traditional entrepreneurs with 'management skills.'