For decades, the startup world has pushed one narrative: you need co-founders to succeed. What if they're wrong?

Great co-founding teams build incredible companies. But after working with thousands of founders in ODF, I've seen enough solo successes to know there's another valid path.

Successful solo founding stories aren't new — look at Zoom (2011) and Vercel (2015) — but I expect they'll be more common in the future. AI gives solo founders unprecedented leverage. What once required multiple people can now be accomplished by one determined person who knows how to use the latest tools.

AI compounds the benefits of solo founding. As a solo founder, you maintain complete control and start with 100% ownership. This enables faster decisions. It also means you can offer more equity to early team members who become deeply invested while taking less financial and emotional risk.

There are tradeoffs. The journey can be lonely without a co-founder to share the mental and physical burden. You might miss having someone equally invested to celebrate wins and navigate challenges.

But here's the truth: neither path is inherently superior. For too long, we've been told that only one path exists.

The goal of Solo Founders is not to promote a particular path but to challenge the notion that co-founding is the only valid approach. Don't let finding a co-founder block your progress. Just get started. You might discover the perfect partner along the way—or realize you can succeed on your own.

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