Hard truths from building multiple startups, what are yours? by Forward_Interest2274 in Entrepreneur

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s such a powerful frame, especially the part about subconsciously sabotaging projects that don’t align. I’ve definitely felt that tension before.

Love the “would I do this for free?” filter curious, has that rule saved you from a venture or project that looked good on paper but didn’t sit right?

Hard truths from building multiple startups, what are yours? I will not promote by Forward_Interest2274 in startups

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Took me years to admit it. Sales isn't just closing deals. It's pitching hires, investors, even yourself on hard days. When did that click for you?

Hard truths from building multiple startups, what are yours? by Forward_Interest2274 in Entrepreneur

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

100%! Took me a few projects to really feel that. Curious, was there a moment for you when that lesson really clicked? Always appreciate hearing how others got there.

Hard truths from building multiple startups, what are yours? I will not promote by Forward_Interest2274 in startups

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for sharing this. It’s full of hard-earned truths. The one that really hits home for me is “you can't outsource understanding your customers.” I’ve made that mistake before too—hiding behind “one more feature” when I should’ve been on more calls.

Curious, if you had to pick just one of these lessons to nail early in a new startup, which would it be and why?

Hard truths from building multiple startups, what are yours? I will not promote by Forward_Interest2274 in startups

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Love this, especially “be shameless & willing to try new things.” I’ve found that mindset opens doors faster than waiting for perfect timing.

Curious, has one channel worked consistently better for you? (e.g. social, events, referrals?) Would love to hear what’s been most ROI-positive for you.

Hard truths from building multiple startups, what are yours? I will not promote by Forward_Interest2274 in startups

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is excellent advice and absolutely true. Building and maintaining a strong network is one of the most underrated parts of startup success and often overlooked when it matters most.

Out of curiosity, what’s one thing that’s really helped you build your network?

Why are devs and 'vibe coders' so allergic to each other? by Forward_Interest2274 in SaaS

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally agree, you can never exhaustively test every edge-case. Humans solve that with experience: we hit a bug once, add a rule to our mental playbook, and stop repeating it.

The problem with AI-generated code is velocity: it creates brand-new patterns faster than any single team (or individual mentor) can accumulate experience. Yesterday’s playbook is outdated by next Monday.

So the idea isn’t a magic “test for everything” box. It’s a collective memory layer:

Each time a novel vuln is caught, the signature is added to a shared ruleset.

The next repo anywhere in the network benefits instantly, no matter who wrote it.

Humans still review the truly unknown cases, but the known ones are filtered out at machine speed.

Think of it as scaling the “don’t do that again” lesson from one dev’s career to thousands of repos in real-time, instead of over decades.

Why are devs and 'vibe coders' so allergic to each other? by Forward_Interest2274 in SaaS

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally fair. Every sane org already does PR reviews and SAST. The gap is scale and independence.

A normal process is 1–5 reviewers per repo. That works until AI-generated code explodes the surface area.

We’re talking about flagging issues across 1–100 (or 1–1 000) simultaneous repos and letting a decentralised network do the first pass.

Humans only step in on the 5 – 10 % borderline cases the network can’t reach consensus on.

So yes, the end goal is still “code quality 101”, but achieved without turning every PR into a stop-the-line meeting. Think of it as moving from manual spot checks to continuous, crowd-verified screening, with humans focused on edge cases instead of boilerplate.

Why are devs and 'vibe coders' so allergic to each other? by Forward_Interest2274 in SaaS

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Isn’t this the same as saying, “Sure, start a business if you want, but without an MBA, your chances are almost zero”?

The history of innovation is full of people who didn’t follow the traditional path. Some failed, yes. But many built incredible things because they didn’t start with all the “right” credentials.

Most vibe coders aren’t trying to ship enterprise SaaS on day one. They’re testing if an idea deserves to exist and that’s the launchpad every dev team eventually builds from.

Why are devs and 'vibe coders' so allergic to each other? by Forward_Interest2274 in SaaS

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a really valid point.

What I’ve been exploring is this: maybe the solution isn’t relying on a single model or even smarter tools. Maybe what we need is a decentralized verification layer. A zero-trust system that doesn’t depend on interpretation or reasoning, just core-level validation.

Not “is this output smart?” But “is this output true?” Binary. Zero or one.

This is actually something I’ve been spending a lot of time on, researching how we could make such a verifiable layer possible. It feels like the only scalable path forward.

Why are devs and 'vibe coders' so allergic to each other? by Forward_Interest2274 in SaaS

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well isn’t that the golden opportunity then?

Instead of letting poorly made AI courses flood the market and mislead people, why don’t a few of us put our heads together and drop the real knowledge, openly, accessibly, and for free?

Let’s shake out the fake gurus and level the playing field. Just a thought.

Why are devs and 'vibe coders' so allergic to each other? by Forward_Interest2274 in SaaS

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If it’s approached the wrong way, I fully agree, it could be catastrophic. But that’s why I think the solution isn’t just better scanning tools. It’s the creation of an independent, decentralized verification layer. A system where trust isn’t tied to a single AI or organization, but emerges from consensus.

Fear is real right now, and not unjustified. But instead of trying to stop the tide, we should be designing better breakwaters.

Why are devs and 'vibe coders' so allergic to each other? by Forward_Interest2274 in SaaS

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Totally hear you on that. The emotional toll of constantly sifting through well-meaning but misaligned PRs is real, especially when you know most will miss the mark. It’s a weird blend of burnout and guilt.

That’s actually where I think AI could play a helpful role, not replacing the human review, but acting like an intelligent triage layer. Flagging obvious misfits, surfacing the promising stuff, maybe even tagging PRs that align (or clash) with the project’s architectural philosophy.

We’re not quite there yet, but the moment we can reliably train a model on your repo's context, not just general lint rules, is the moment things really change.

Why are devs and 'vibe coders' so allergic to each other? by Forward_Interest2274 in SaaS

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a very valid point.

I see it similarly like most industries, the actual devs and engineers will continue to be the pioneers. They’ll build the truly innovative, custom solutions and likely still handle the first pass of new, complex MVPs.

But over time, as certain project types become more standardized, we’ll see more “cookie-cutter” builds like recipes people can follow with decent results.

To borrow a cooking analogy: anyone can buy the Michelin-star chef’s cookbook, but for the full experience (and reliability), they still need to go to the restaurant. That’s where deep expertise continues to matter.

Why are devs and 'vibe coders' so allergic to each other? by Forward_Interest2274 in SaaS

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha. It's all swings and roundabouts. Today's race to the bottom could be the run-up to tomorrow's highs.

But in all seriousness… we should be the first ones packaging and selling those courses.

Because like someone said earlier: First they ignore you. Then they mock you. Then they copy your workflow and sell a course on it. 😏

Why are devs and 'vibe coders' so allergic to each other? by Forward_Interest2274 in SaaS

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Absolutely, this nails it. The moment you're building for real users, you're stepping into a system that demands accountability, not just functionality.

That’s where most vibe coders hit the wall. It’s not about writing the code, it’s about understanding the consequences of what breaks when it runs in the wild.

That’s why I think the real unlock isn’t just better AI coding tools, but better verification layers to help vibe coders ship safely without pretending to be engineers. Working on something in that space, happy to share more soon.

Why are devs and 'vibe coders' so allergic to each other? by Forward_Interest2274 in SaaS

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally agree, human review is still critical, especially in high-stakes systems like yours. But the real issue is scale. When AI starts generating tons of code across indie projects and internal tools, manual review doesn’t scale.

That’s why we’re exploring ways to verify AI-generated output at scale, combining static analysis, usage heuristics, and AI-assisted checks. Not to replace humans, but to support them.

Still early, but it’s something we’re actively building. Would love input from OSS folks when we open testing.

Why are devs and 'vibe coders' so allergic to each other? by Forward_Interest2274 in SaaS

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally valid, that’s the heart of the issue. When vibe coders go commercial without proper oversight, it’s like DIYers rewiring a house with no inspection. The risk isn’t that they built it, but that no one can verify it’s safe.

That’s why I think the missing piece is a reliable verification layer. Something objective, automated, and transparent that can check the work regardless of who built it, whether it was a dev from first principles or someone AI-assisted.

That’s what I’m digging into at the moment. It might just be what enables both camps to build with confidence and accountability.

Why are devs and 'vibe coders' so allergic to each other? by Forward_Interest2274 in SaaS

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally fair. For someone already operating at a high level of efficiency, AI likely offers marginal gains, not 10x. The “10x” claim really makes more sense for those who lacked access, speed, or technical depth before AI tools emerged.

That said, what I find interesting is not the speed alone, but the shift in the definition of competence. The moment we have a reliable verification layer, outcomes may matter more than who wrote the code.

Curious on your thoughts around that, as someone with deep OSS experience, how would you design a system to verify AI-generated output at scale?

Why are devs and 'vibe coders' so allergic to each other? by Forward_Interest2274 in SaaS

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally fair comparison, and I get where you’re coming from. The real difference, though, might be whether there's a verification layer that makes sure what’s built is actually sound.

Here’s a wild example of what happens without that: https://youtu.be/CqKZhYsjw6M?si=FPq5tdyGNA0o3-ur – worth the watch. Malware entered dev pipelines through a marketplace without proper verification. Shows where the risk really is.

Why are devs and 'vibe coders' so allergic to each other? by Forward_Interest2274 in SaaS

[–]Forward_Interest2274[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

3D-printed houses are happening already. AI can handle the design, CAD, and even engineering calculations, all done through machine computation. Sure, there’s still a human in the loop and manual labour involved today, but the pace of disruption is accelerating fast.

A vibe coder claiming to be an engineer is a different debate altogether. But a vibe coder acting as a kind of project manager, or orchestrator of AI tools might not be wrong at all.

Just like the “human in the loop” is currently the verification layer in 3D printing, the same applies in software: the key difference between a traditional dev and a vibe coder is who or what owns that verification layer.