The Rise (and Reality) of the One-Person Empire

There’s a growing narrative in startup and tech circles that we’re entering the era of the one-person empire: solo builders, founders, creators who build massive companies with the help of AI. Greg Isenberg stated that he believes AI will result in 50,000 new millionaires building one-person companies with AI. Gary Vee posted that the era of individual creators building large companies is here.

On the surface, the overall narrative does seem to be playing out. Today, more than one in three startups are started by a single person (up from just 17% in 2017). One of the fastest growing recent open source projects is Paperclip, whose promise is to help you build “zero-human” companies. And just last month, we saw reports of the first billion dollar company led by one person (and AI). This shift towards a rising independent workforce is accelerated by a mix of corporate disillusionment and layoffs, the dramatic increase in AI capabilities, and the emergence of the freelancer economy.

And yet, there’s something that the tech influencers and social media articles aren’t acknowledging: right now, the solo path is not sustainable for most.

I first became a solo founder several years ago and in that time, I’ve seen both the highs and lows of this journey. I’ve also had the opportunity to connect with many other solo founders and builders. And what they say is remarkably consistent.

Nearly everyone I speak with is much happier being off the corporate path. They’re excited to have the freedom to pursue their own interests, to not have a “boss,” to not be bogged down by endless meetings, politics and bureaucracy, and to spend their time fulfilling their unique purpose and mission.

And yet, behind the scenes, many solopreneurs I speak with are also worried about the instability and uncertainty that this path brings. They worry about building enough sustainable income to support themselves and their family.

Even those who are profitable have limited funding and support options, since most of the existing ecosystem of startups, accelerators, and incubators is geared towards venture scale companies seeking billion dollar exits on 3-5 year time horizons. By contrast, most solo founders are operating on a different set of objectives altogether; they’re optimizing for sustainable profitability, personal freedom, and building for the long run vs. fast exits. It’s not surprising then that solo-led companies captured less than 15% of cash raised in equity rounds, despite making up over a third of the startup population.¹

The current reality for many solopreneurs is less empire-building and more tent-pitching, with survival being the first priority.

But the problem is deeper than just income. We take for granted just how much of our support structures—whether it be health insurance, social connection, professional development, or even creditworthiness—are tied to traditional employment (especially in the US). Leaving a job is not only about losing income, it’s about losing a sense of identity. The loneliness and isolation that can come along with that is amplified when building alone.

As AI adoption accelerates and organization sizes become smaller, we could see a dramatic increase in the number of solo workers—whether by choice or by necessity. If we’re all assuming the future economy will be powered by one-person “empires,” then we first need to provide the support structures to set them up for success.

What solopreneurs actually need

I recently ran an informal survey (n=59) to learn more about the needs of this rising category of solo & bootstrapped builders. Their top 3 requests were, not surprisingly, all focused around connection, customers, and funding.

The gap between what solopreneurs need and what the current ecosystem provides is striking. Most infrastructure—funding mechanisms, accelerators, professional development—was built for venture-scale startups, not sustainable solo businesses.

The emerging solo economy

Here’s the good news: there’s a small but growing category of startups and businesses recognizing that solopreneurs are underserved by the current market.

• Solo Health Collective provides health insurance for solopreneurs
• Solofounders.com seeks to become a Y-Combinator style accelerator for solo founders
• Fractionaljobs.io, Contra, Catalant and others help independent workers find fractional and freelance work
• Other startups are focused on banking, lending, and accounting for solos
• Slack communities and small groups are forming to bring social and professional connection

This new “solo economy” is still nascent and more is needed for it to be sustainable. If we want the future of work to be sustainable, we’ll need to build the infrastructure for it.

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Footnotes

1. Based on analysis of venture funding data across solo-founded vs. team-founded startups. ↩