The Vibe Coding Fantasy — Tools Don’t Build Products, People Do
We’re back in familiar territory:
“I vibe-coded a $10M SaaS in 6 hours!”
“This AI built a startup overnight!”
“No-code made me $50K before coffee!”
Just like a few years ago:
“I made $1M dropshipping phone cases.”
“I earned $300K on Gumroad selling Notion templates.”
“I built an agency with zero clients and now I’m coaching.”
These stories are everywhere — and sure, some are true.
But the pattern is clear: the easier the tools, the louder the hype, the fewer the real wins.
Everyone Has the Tools — Still, Only a Few Create Value
Today, millions can code. Even more can prompt.
AI can create apps, design logos, write copy, and launch websites.
Yet, the number of people who actually ship something others want — that hasn’t changed much.
You don’t build a product by writing code.
You build it by solving a problem someone cares about enough to pay for.
That requires clarity, judgment, persistence, and taste — not just tools.
Historical Déjà Vu: We’ve Seen This Before
3D Printers were supposed to reinvent everything.
“You’ll make your own toys, tools, parts, and gifts!”
And? Most people printed one keychain and never used it again.
Photography was going to kill painting.
Instead, it freed artists from realism — and gave us modern art.The printing press democratized publishing — but it didn’t make everyone a writer.
The internet gave us blogs, YouTube, and online stores.
Billions consume, but only a few still create consistently.No-code tools promised a flood of indie hackers.
We got some great products — and a lot of ghost towns.
Same pattern. Different tech.
Developers Aren’t Going Anywhere — They’re Just Leveling Up
Will AI replace developers? Some of them, of course yes.
Mostly junior roles, mostly low-leverage work.
But this isn’t extinction. It’s compression.
Just like:
Excel didn’t kill accountants — it made them faster.
DSLRs didn’t kill photographers — it raised the bar.
Google didn’t kill real librarians — it shifted their value to curation and context.
Real engineers aren’t typing monkeys — they’re problem solvers, system thinkers, architects of logic.
That job is still alive — and more valuable than ever when paired with AI.
Vibe Coding ≠ Vision
Prompting AI is fun. Feels productive. Feels powerful.
But prompting is not building.
Shipping is building. Iterating is building. Selling is building.
That’s why “everyone will become a programmer” is just another techno-utopian fantasy.
Sure — they can.
But will they?
That’s a harder question.
Creators: The Funnel Is Wide, But Only the Few Ship
We live in the best time ever to create.
Start a podcast with your phone.
Build an app with AI and Bubble.
Launch a course in 2 days.
Design merch in Canva.
Sell digital products on Gumroad.
So why don’t more people do it?
Because creation is not just access — it’s conviction.
It’s taste. Repetition. Risk. And feedback.
Anyone can start.
Most don’t.
Some try.
Very few stay long enough to matter.
So What Happens Now?
We’ll see a flood of auto-generated apps, newsletters, courses, tools.
Most will be noise.
Some will be brilliant.
Creators who ship relentlessly and solve real problems will still win.
Developers who learn faster and design better systems will rise.
Everyone else will either adapt — or keep scrolling.
And that’s fine.
You don’t need to build the next unicorn.
You just need to be clear about what you're actually trying to do — and whether it’s worth it.
Final Thought
Access to tools isn’t the revolution. Execution is.
AI makes it easier to start. It doesn’t make it easier to succeed.
So vibe-code all you want. But don’t confuse code with clarity — or a prompt with a plan.
You still need to do the work.
But now you can do it faster — if you’re bold enough to follow through.
