The production relations are changing: one-person companies are becoming the greatest structural opportunity for ordinary people.

As AI agent tools become increasingly mature, the “one-person company” model is transforming from a Silicon Valley fantasy into reality. When an individual can command an AI team and independently face the market, traditional entrepreneurial thresholds are being fundamentally redefined—perhaps marking the first time ordinary people truly stand at the starting line of entrepreneurship. This article is based on BITWU.ETH and translated by Dongqu.
(Previous context: Interpreting Crypto+AI Agents: The Next Billion Users’ True Breakthrough?)
(Additional background: AI Agent Market Map: End of Hype, Continuing Technology)

Table of Contents

• What is a “one-person company”?
• Feasibility of one-person companies
• Why is the one-person company becoming a trend?
• How to run a one-person company well?
• Conclusion

may.crypto recently used Clawbot to trade on Polymarket, setting a simple strategy that turned $100 into $347 overnight. This was just a small experiment, but it reflected a budding trend: the next stage for AI project managers is the one-person company.

may.crypto’s trading record on Polymarket using Clawbot | Source: X

The upcoming explosion of one-person companies will be the greatest opportunity for ordinary people to seize.

From Dan Koe’s “How I’d build a one-person business” to Claude Code’s intelligent evolution, and most recently Clawbot becoming a true AI Agent capable of handling various tasks for you, the outline of a one-person company has already emerged.

You can have Clawbot help you order food delivery, negotiate prices when shopping, or even give it $100 to profit for you, while it automatically handles daily repetitive tasks. Its existence is like an entire team within your one-person company.

In other words, if an individual can lead their AI team well, independently bear project responsibilities and risks, and develop a global perspective and project architecture skills, then taking a step forward, everyone has the chance to start their own business and face the market directly.

Many Silicon Valley venture capitalists and analysts are looking forward to the rise of unicorn companies with three or even one founder. Even ChatGPT founder Sam Altman has openly stated: future one-person companies with a valuation of billions of dollars may appear!

The one-person company has become the best opportunity of this era.

What is a “one-person company”?

It’s not “one person handles everything,” but “one person controls the entire system.”

According to current understanding, a more precise definition of a “one-person company” is: the only full-time employee and core decision-maker is you, but at the execution level, you can leverage AI tools, automate processes, outsource, or collaborate to expand capacity. These resources are your leverage, allowing you to create higher value in the same amount of time.

Here, a common misconception must be clarified— a one-person company is not about freelancing. The key difference is: freelancing is centered on “billable hours” (selling time), with more projects leading to busier days and an obvious ceiling; a one-person company focuses on “products, standardized delivery, and processes” (selling results, systems), gradually transforming delivery from manual to semi-automatic or fully automatic, leveraging results comparable to large companies.

Feasibility of one-person companies

With AI assistance, one-person companies have become more feasible, but not all industries are suitable.

Most suitable business types for one-person companies (listed by priority):

A. Digital delivery + high margins

• Micro SaaS, plugins, automation tools
• Templates, courses, training camps, knowledge bases, membership communities
• Data reports, industry research subscriptions (e.g., industry intelligence)

B. Productized services

Using “fixed scope + fixed price + fixed deliverables” models, such as: delivering a branding visual set in a week, a batch of ad creatives, an SOP system, building a Notion knowledge base, or an automated CRM solution.

C. Consulting / advisory (but must be standardized)

Consultants are naturally prone to “time-for-money,” but if you can distill methodologies into templates, tools, or process packages, you can gradually move toward productization.

Types less suitable for starting as a one-person company

Heavy asset industries (manufacturing, warehousing, logistics relying heavily on physical assets); highly regulated or compliance-heavy sectors (medical, finance, and other niche fields); offline-intensive, labor-intensive services (requiring scheduling and on-site work); large enterprise projects with long sales cycles and complex bidding.

This does not mean they are impossible, but: the most suitable mode for a one-person company is “light assets + replicable + remote delivery.” Other types are better suited as early-stage models rather than long-term ones.

The most common reasons for failure in one-person companies are not due to insufficient AI power, but because of low customer value, overly burdensome delivery, and scattered customer acquisition—ultimately becoming “more exhausting and less stable than a job.” Once reaching this point, AI leverage loses its meaning.

Why is the one-person company becoming a trend?

Carta’s “Solo Founders Report 2025” shows that from 2019 to the first half of 2025, the proportion of newly established companies founded by “single founders” increased from 23.7% to 36.3%.

This indicates that “solo entrepreneurship” is no longer a niche phenomenon but a structural shift.

In the past, the biggest costs from 0 to 1 in product development were: technical development, design, copywriting, customer service, operational tools, recruitment, onboarding, and management costs. Now, many of these steps are significantly compressed by AI and automation—code, prototypes, design drafts, landing pages, ad creatives, email sequences, customer knowledge bases, data analysis, and more can be accelerated. Platforms like Replit are reported by media as key drivers of “vibe coding (developing software via natural language)” and a wave of solo startup trends.

Coupled with global economic slowdown leading to changes in employment and organizational structures: layoffs and uncertainty make more people prioritize “risk resistance,” valuing income independence, skill portability, and multiple income streams. This psychological shift makes more people inclined to seek opportunities in one-person companies rather than just pursuing stability.

How to run a one-person company well?

Another common misconception is that many believe the key to running a one-person company is “knowing how to use AI.”

But more importantly, it’s about transforming the company into a replicable system: one-person company = positioning × productization × customer acquisition system × automated delivery × risk management. The core question is: can you turn one thing into a system that can operate repeatedly without your direct involvement?

For example, in the Web3 field:

1. “Helping projects with growth” is one thing;
2. “Helping new projects organize airdrop rules, tutorials, and processes once and for all, then providing them to users” is another.

The former sounds impressive, but only the latter can truly charge.

The second key: if you’re doing a one-person company, avoid taking on “customized projects,” and only sell “fixed products.” Fixed price, fixed content, fixed delivery time. Deliver this today, and tomorrow it’s the same set. Otherwise, as clients increase, you won’t be able to sustain.

The third key: don’t just think about creating; think about how to sell.

AI makes “production” extremely cheap, but traffic, trust, and relationships are still expensive. The survival of a one-person company depends not on the strongest technology, but on people continuously recommending you.

The essence of AI is simple: it’s not the protagonist, but your assistant—helping you organize data, write templates, and handle repetitive tasks. You only need to do three things: choose direction, make trade-offs, and get results.

Finally, a realistic note: a one-person company is not about scaling big, but about first running a profitable path. First, find a profitable route, then decide whether to expand.

Conclusion

If you have a clear business logic and have trained a complete set of AI, tools, processes, and systems—when you can give clear instructions to AI, set boundaries, control risks, and get results, you are actually doing one thing: facing the market directly as an individual.

This was almost impossible in the past. Now, it’s opening the door for ordinary people for the first time.

A one-person company does not guarantee success for everyone; it still requires significant energy and cognitive support. But it might be the first time in this era that ordinary people truly stand at the starting line of entrepreneurship.

The nature of production relations is changing. Whether you can seize this opportunity depends on your ability to lead your AI team well.