Editor’s Note: Can one person really build and run a billion-dollar business? That’s the provocative question at the heart of this compelling exploration into solopreneurship and the power of AI-driven scalability. For cybersecurity, information governance, and eDiscovery professionals, the implications are striking. As business models trend toward ultra-lean structures, driven by automation and digital frameworks, the foundational assumptions about manpower, oversight, and operational risk are being reimagined. This piece digs into the promise, limitations, and emerging future of solo-driven enterprises—with a thoughtful look at whether the eDiscovery field may be next to see solo-led innovation.


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Industry News – Artificial Intelligence Beat

The Billion-Dollar Solo Act: Can AI-Fueled Solopreneurs Redefine Scalable Business?

ComplexDiscovery Staff

In 2009, Thomas Friedman envisioned the “Do-It-Yourself economy”—a world where individuals, empowered by technology, could accomplish what once required entire teams. Fifteen years later, that vision is no longer theoretical. The solopreneur, a single person leveraging AI and digital tools to build scalable businesses, is turning heads in venture capital circles and reshaping the entrepreneurial playbook. But how far can one person go, and can this model sustainably redefine what it means to scale a business?

The emergence of solopreneurship signals a significant shift in the business landscape. Defined as a single person building a scalable company with the help of modern digital platforms, the model opens new doors—but not without raising difficult questions. The allure of creating a billion-dollar company with minimal headcount is tempting, yet many question the practicality of such ambitions.

Recent discussions among industry leaders reveal a growing consensus: while theoretically possible, true unicorn-level outcomes as a solopreneur remain rare. John Jackson, founder of Hitprobe, notes, “What is more likely is that we will start to see very lean businesses with small teams as small as three to five people scaling to levels that would previously have required an entire workforce.” Technology—especially AI—has been central to making these visions attainable.

According to Crunchbase, over 10,000 U.S. companies with fewer than 10 employees have received meaningful venture capital investment. This signals growing confidence in lean ventures. However, Alexandr Korshykov, founder of DreamX, stresses that success in this model demands a unique set of skills: “You need to have a clear vision, systematic thinking, process management skills, strong self-management, and a willingness to delegate.” AI alone, he warns, cannot replace judgment, creativity, or strategic oversight.

The seeds for this evolution were planted over a decade ago, but today they’re germinating quickly with help from automation and machine learning. Analysts like David Brudenell of Decidr.ai argue that a data-driven loop—where “data generates insight, insight triggers action, and action loops back into performance”—removes human friction. In such systems, scalability isn’t just possible; it’s engineered. Still, as Brudenell notes, the limit may no longer be technology—but imagination.

Real-world examples bring credibility to the trend. Lovable, a Swedish company labeled by Fortune as Europe’s fastest-growing AI-powered platform, scaled to unicorn status just eight months after launch—built on lean operations and aggressive tech integration. The rapid ascent of such firms highlights what’s possible when software and strategy merge effectively.

Tech moguls like Mark Cuban echo this optimism, albeit with caution. He compares AI agents like Velo to a smart intern capable of managing operations, sales, data, and legal input—without payroll. But he cautions: “Always double-check the answers.” This reinforces the critical role human discernment still plays, especially when AI begins driving core business functions.

Startups like Base44 and MindStudio further underscore the changing norms. Without traditional engineering teams, both firms attracted major acquisition interest, with Base44 selling to Wix for $80 million. These lean digital enterprises demonstrate that innovation now holds more value than manpower.

Even so, industry experts, including Tim Cortinovis, emphasize that while AI significantly lowers traditional barriers to scaling businesses with limited resources, technology alone is not sufficient. For solopreneurs, lasting success requires clear frameworks to enable growth and ongoing adaptation. Ultimately, sustainability in this space depends as much on discipline, strategic foresight, and personal resilience as it does on the quality of digital tools and automation

Ultimately, the solopreneur model leads us back to the core challenge: while AI enables unprecedented scale, foundational elements like product-market fit, relentless execution, and timely delegation remain essential. Eli Goodman of Datos puts it succinctly: “The founders who succeed are those who know when to delegate and when to dig in.”

And so we return to the question that opened this journey: Can one person really build and sustain a billion-dollar business? The answer may not be definitive yet, but the trend is unmistakable. The solopreneur era is not a fleeting moment—it’s a structural shift with long-term implications for how businesses are launched, scaled, and sustained.

Which raises a compelling possibility: could this model translate to the eDiscovery world? As AI continues to transform document review, data processing, and workflow automation, it’s increasingly plausible to envision highly specialized, AI-powered eDiscovery organizations operating with dramatically smaller teams. What once required large-scale review departments may soon be handled by just a handful of experts—or even a solo practitioner in certain cases—augmented by intelligent automation. The question is no longer whether this lean model is possible, but when it will become commonplace—and what that shift would mean for the future of compliance, risk management, and digital governance.



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