Maor Shlomo had built successful products before. He co-founded Explorium, raising $125M and growing to 100 employees. But after returning home from reserve duty in late 2024, he didn’t want to dive back into the fast-paced startup world.

“It began as something I’d tinker with,”

he recalls of Base44 during its post-reserve origins.

Something clicked when he saw nonprofits struggling to build internal tools that cost six figures to develop. He thought: “What if anyone could just describe what they want and get it built?” That question became Base44.

Building alone. But not without a plan.

He didn't plan a company. He just started.

He launched a side project. Alone.

“I started the company as a kind of side project,”

Maor shared after the acquisition deal with Wix .

He wasn’t going for perfection. He said he built the first version fast, deployed daily, even without code reviews or branches. He just opened his laptop, and started prompting.

He let AI write the first draft. Every time.

Maor used AI like a small development team.

“I haven’t written a single line of front-end code in three months.”

Instead, AI handled 90% of the front end and half the back end.

He crafted prompts to generate UIs, set up databases, and add logic. Essentially, AI did the boilerplate; he focused on the product direction.

From three friends to hundreds of thousands

These were people he trusted. They knew what he was building, and they cared enough to try it when it was messy.

“They’d try it, it would break, I’d fix it.”

That first group wasn't large, but it was enough for him to refine fast based on the feedback. He launched a working alpha in just days, broke features, and fixed them weekly.

In just three weeks, he hit $1M ARR and 10,000 users. Within six months, Base44 had 400K users .

He documented everything on LinkedIn and X, including financial milestones and his struggles. That transparency, not ads, became his main growth engine .

Had every reason to stop. But didn’t stop.

While most would have paused everything, Maor kept building.

War had broken out in Israel. Sirens rang in the background. The country was under attack. And yet, he was coding with AI.

“I was shipping almost every day. Even in the middle of a war.”

He showed up every day with a laptop, a few prompts, and a clear problem to solve.

He also lives with ADHD, which made long hours and solo decision-making even harder. But he built systems to work with his brain, not against it. He let AI take on the repetitive, technical weight. So he could focus on speed and iteration.

From side project to an $80M exit everyone noticed

Six months. No team. No funding. A war in the background.

And then, he got an email.

Wix reached out. They had seen the product. They’d seen the traction. And they wanted in.

What started as a quiet side project (built alone, tested by three friends, coded with AI) was now being acquired for $80 million, all in cash.

“It was surreal. I had full control until the very last moment.”

There were no board meetings to consult. No investors to negotiate with. Just one person who had built something people needed, and a company that recognized it.

Five days later, the deal was done. He joined Wix, not as someone who had something to prove, but as the founder of a product that proved what’s possible now.

Because with the right problem, relentless momentum, and AI as your co-builder… what used to take years and teams can now be done in months. Alone.

Why Maor’s story matters to you

  • One person + AI can outpace teams.
  • You don’t need a dev team or funding. Just clarity and the right prompts
  • Use AI like your first fire. It can write 90% of your product
  • Start small. Ship fast. Learn faster. (Three testers → MVP → $1M ARR in weeks.)
  • Launch before you feel ready. (Everyday deployments > perfect product planning.)

If Maor could do it alone, so can you

Maor Shlomo took post-reserve ideas, used AI as his silent team, built a real product, hit $1M ARR in three weeks, and sold for $80M. All solo.

It’s 2025. You have that power too.