Building software is no longer the hard part of starting a company
Building software is no longer the hard part of starting a company. That's exactly why more founders are going to build products nobody wants.
You can go from idea to a polished demo in a weekend. It connects to a database, answers prompts, sends emails, and looks convincing enough to get a few "this is awesome" messages from friends.
That feeling is misleading because you've only solved the cheapest problem in the business.
The expensive problems show up the moment real customers arrive. They don't care how quickly you shipped. They care whether they can trust it, whether it solves a problem worth paying for, and whether you'll still be around to support it six months later.
I've seen founders spend hours debating which AI model to use while avoiding the uncomfortable conversation with five potential customers. One decision feels like progress because it's technical. The other determines whether the company exists.
The barrier to building has collapsed. The barrier to judgment hasn't.
That's the part many new founders are underestimating. AI can generate code. It can't tell you which customer to ignore, which feature to kill, what price the market will accept, or whether the problem is painful enough to deserve a business.
A prototype proves you can build software.
A company is built by making good decisions after the prototype works.