Can you build a viable one-person business?

The idea of a single individual building and running a billion-dollar company may sound improbable. Yet, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and automation are pushing this scenario from science fiction into genuine business possibility.

Sam Altman, co-founder of OpenAI, has suggested that one-person billion-dollar businesses could emerge as early as 2026–2028. While the timeline is speculative, the direction is clear: automation and AI agents are enabling entrepreneurs to operate at a scale that once required entire teams.

The Old Start-up Model

Since the 1970s, software and technology businesses have followed a fairly standard path:

1. Develop an idea for a product.

2. Draft a business plan.

3. Secure funding from investors.

4. Recruit a small team.

5. Build and launch the product.

6. Acquire customers.

7. Refine and scale operations.

8. Generate revenue and, eventually, profit.

This traditional model works, but it is resource-heavy, slow to scale, and dependent on both capital and people.

The One-Person Business Model

By contrast, a solopreneur can now leverage AI to automate functions that once required human teams.

A typical pathway might look like this:

1. Identify a target audience, often through digital platforms.

2. Test customer needs and refine the business idea.

3. Build a minimum viable product using AI-assisted coding.

4. Launch quickly, refining based on feedback.

5. Create a community around the product or service.

6. Deploy AI agents to handle marketing, service delivery and support.

7. Scale rapidly with minimal marginal cost.

8. Achieve revenue growth with negligible overheads.

This new model is faster, leaner, and potentially scalable by a single founder with technical and commercial skills.

Why This Matters Now

Three factors are converging to make one-person businesses more viable than ever:

• Productivity gains. Developers using tools like GitHub Copilot have been shown to complete tasks 55% faster than without AI support. Google has reported that more than 25% of its new code is generated by AI and reviewed by engineers.

• Mainstream adoption. In early 2024, 65% of global organisations reported regular use of generative AI, nearly double the previous year.

• Australian small business landscape. As of June 2024, there were 2.66 million actively trading businesses in Australia. Notably, 97.2% were small businesses (fewer than 20 employees), and the number of non-employing businesses rose by 4.9% in the year to June 2024. This shows a clear shift towards self-employment and micro-enterprise.

Together, these statistics show that technology, adoption and structural trends are aligning to favour the solopreneur model.

The Opportunities

The benefits of a one-person business include:

• Independence from the need to recruit and manage staff.

• Fully digital delivery with no physical production costs.

• Minimal overheads, increasing profit margins.

• Scalable automation that grows with demand.

• Freedom to focus on strategy rather than daily operations.

• Greater control over income and lifestyle.

The Risks

The model is not without pitfalls. Potential challenges include:

- Over-automation leading to weak customer relationships.

- Technology failures that stall growth.

- Poor-quality AI outputs damaging credibility.

- Pressure from operating without partners or colleagues.

- Loss of the social and collaborative benefits of a team environment.

In addition, start-up failure rates remain high globally, with long-term survival often under 50%. While AI may improve efficiency, it does not eliminate market, financial or strategic risk.

Looking Ahead

Sam Altman’s prediction of one-person billion-dollar companies is bold but plausible. The more immediate opportunity lies in creating sustainable one-person businesses with healthy revenues, high margins and lifestyle flexibility.

For entrepreneurs, the surge in non-employing businesses combined with rapid AI adoption presents a rare window: the tools to build lean, scalable companies are now accessible, affordable and mainstream.

The challenge will be striking the right balance between automation and human connection, ensuring that speed and efficiency do not come at the cost of customer trust.

Contact us

Talk to our team about how these tools may impact your business. We are here to help you reinvest, grow and keep on evolving.

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