20VC: Base44's Maor Shlomo on How Vibe Coding Will Kill SaaS and Salesforce | Why it is BS that Vibe Coding Platforms Do Not Have Defensibility and Bad Margins | Why He Worries About Google, Not Replit and Lovable | Why Long Anthropic, Not OpenAI?
20VC: Base44's Maor Shlomo on How Vibe Coding Will Kill SaaS and Salesforce | Why it is BS that Vibe Coding Platforms Do Not Have Defensibility and Bad Margins | Why He Worries About Google, Not Replit and Lovable | Why Long Anthropic, Not OpenAI?
20VC: Base44's Maor Shlomo on How Vibe Coding Will Kill SaaS and Salesforce | Why it is BS that Vibe Coding Platforms Do Not Have Defensibility and Bad Margins | Why He Worries About Google, Not Replit and Lovable | Why Long Anthropic, Not OpenAI?
In this insightful conversation, Maor Shlomo, the founder and CEO of Base44, shares his journey building a high-impact AI platform from the ground up and selling it for $80 million in just over a year. The discussion dives into the transformative forces reshaping software development, particularly how emerging paradigms like 'vibe coding' are challenging long-standing SaaS models.
The podcast explores how AI-driven development tools like Base44 are enabling rapid, intuitive software creation, shifting power from traditional vendors to end users. Vibe coding allows developers and non-developers alike to build tailored applications quickly, reducing reliance on monolithic platforms like Salesforce. While competition is fierce and technical moats are shrinking due to fast copying and low switching costs, defensibility lies in deep infrastructure and user-centric design. The cost of AI models is expected to drop significantly, enabling efficient routing strategies. Despite growing competition from tools like Cursor, Base44 differentiates by focusing on product excellence and serving both technical and non-technical users. Being based outside Silicon Valley has not hindered growth, as global access to talent and markets levels the playing field. AI already generates half of the code in some companies, with that number projected to reach nearly 100% in two years. Success hinges on iteration speed, intent fulfillment, and strategic focus rather than obsessing over rivals. Maor expresses confidence in Anthropic’s long-term potential and values builder-focused leadership, citing Jack Dorsey as an ideal board member.
05:02
05:02
AI-powered Vibe Coding will become the largest category in software
18:38
18:38
Base44 enables users to customize software without seeing code.
27:34
27:34
A better, cheaper model dominating for six months could collapse Anthropic's revenue quickly.
28:03
28:03
Using a proxy to route simple prompts to cheaper open-source models can improve margins.
44:43
44:43
Businesses relying only on LLM prompts lack a defensible moat.
52:32
52:32
Either Lovable or Replit is overvalued, or Wix is undervalued — the speaker believes Wix is undervalued.
56:02
56:02
Focus on your business and product, not competitors or margins
57:00
57:00
The talent war in Silicon Valley is tough, and it's suitable for those aiming to get funded and burn cash.
58:00
58:00
Start with a throw-away first version and embrace easy reversion when using AI tools.
1:01:07
1:01:07
Money’s value lies in saving time, helping others, and funding future projects
