Lately, we’ve seen a very exciting shift in the way startups are prototyping products.
Vibecoding is letting founders build functional MVPs in hours, not months. You don't need to be a developer. You just need to know what you want to build.
Read along to understand when vibe coding makes sense for your startup – and when it absolutely doesn't.
What exactly is vibe coding?
The term was introduced by Andrej Karpathy in February 2025, who described it as coding where "you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists".
Translation: you tell AI tools like Cursor, Replit, or Bolt what you want, and they generate working code for you. Without needing syntax memorisation, or debugging for hours. Pure conversational programming.
The numbers are wild ⬇️
- Y Combinator reported that 25% of startup companies in its Winter 2025 batch had codebases that were 95% AI-generated.
- Nearly 41% of all code written in 2024 was AI-generated.
- Base44 grew to 250,000 users and was making nearly $200,000 in monthly profits in just six months as a solo-founded vibe coding startup before selling to Wix for $80 million.
- Cursor went from zero to $100 million in recurring revenue by January 2025, less than two years since its launch.
But vibe coding isn't magic. It's a tool with specific use cases and very real limitations.
The biggest change in startup building since Lean Startup
When Eric Ries published "The Lean Startup" in 2011, the core insight was revolutionary: build only what you need to learn, then iterate based on real customer feedback.
Vibe coding takes this to the next level because code becomes truly disposable.
Before, even simple MVPs needed significant engineering investment. You'd naturally become attached to what you built, making it harder to pivot when the data said you should.
Now, you can vibe code hundreds of different MVPs for almost nothing. Test a landing page concept in an hour. Build a functional calculator in two hours. Create a lead magnet that captures emails before lunch.
→ This removes the psychological barrier to throwing away what doesn't work and building something new.
Ultimately, product-market fit becomes way more accessible. You can validate ideas without heavy upfront investment, then double down on what actually works.
Why product-oriented founders should feel right at home
You don't need to become an engineer, but vibe coding does mean getting your hands dirty. Think of yourself as a product manager directing an extremely fast (but sometimes confused) development team.
The skills transfer beautifully:
- Writing clear requirements → Crafting specific prompts
- User story creation → Describing desired functionality
- Feature prioritisation → Breaking complex ideas into simple iterations
- Testing workflows → Validating generated code works as expected
You need to come up with and describe that very MVP, so that the result of the first iteration is simultaneously as simple and basic as possible, but also launches, works, and solves its main task.
Good vibe coded projects start with ruthless simplicity: one core feature, clear user flow, and an obvious value proposition. If you can't explain your MVP idea in one paragraph, it's too complex for vibe coding. Start simpler.
More of our favourite vibe coding tips are ⬇️
- Be extremely specific in your first prompt – AI doesn't read your mind
- Ask for security best practices upfront ("Include OWASP Top 10 protections")
- Request automated tests for critical functions
- Start with one core feature, then iterate
- Review every line of generated code, especially authentication and data handling
What startups need to know about AI's blind spots
AI is incredible at generating small chunks of functional code, but there's so much more to serious software development – architecture, complex code, scalability, stability, DevOps, connecting lots of different services together.
What AI handles well:
- Landing pages and marketing sites
- Simple calculators and lead magnets
- Basic CRUD applications
- Prototypes and proof-of-concepts
- Internal tools with limited users
What AI still struggles with:
- Complex architecture decisions
- Performance optimisation at scale
- Security implementation
- Integration with multiple services
- DevOps and deployment pipelines
- Maintaining large, interconnected codebases
Microsoft claims that 20-30% of their code is written by AI, but they still employ thousands of engineers to handle the complex stuff. Google reports that "well over 30%" of their code is now AI-generated, yet they're very far from replacing their engineering teams. In fact, watching Microsoft deal with AI-generated code in practice has become a meme among experienced developers. The reality is a lot messier than the hype suggests.
Vibe coding’s security weakness
In terms of security, vibe coding’s capabilities are sub-par. Research shows that about 40% of AI-generated database queries are vulnerable to SQL injection, while around 25% suffer from XSS issues. Lovable, a popular vibe coding platform, had a critical security flaw that remained unfixed for months, allowing hackers to access user data from 170 out of 1,645 apps built on the platform.
A tech company with AI instead of engineers is not something that is happening anytime soon. To build stable, usable, intuitive software that solves real problems you still need to do things the hard way.
That said, AI can still be a huge timesaver and good designers and developers will save lots of time and do more with less by leveraging AI tools where needed. At Lumi, our developers use Cursor and when exploring ideas, we often prototype with AI in some way.
The companies winning with vibe coding use it strategically – for rapid prototyping, validation, and getting to market quickly. Then they rebuild properly when they find product-market fit.
Your vibe coding toolkit
For absolute beginners (zero coding experience):
- Bolt.new – Build React apps in your browser, zero setup required. Free tier with 1M tokens/month (about 40 prompts). Generate complete full-stack apps from simple descriptions.
- Lovable – Specialised for building complete web applications with beautiful UIs. Free tier with 30 monthly credits, $25/month for serious use. Two-pane interface: chat with AI, see live preview.
- Replit Agent – Full development environment with AI assistance. Browser-based with automatic deployment. Free tier available, great for learning.
For developers who want more control:
- Cursor – AI-powered code editor built on VS Code. Free tier includes 200 completions, $20/month for unlimited. Best for iterative development and code refinement.
- Windsurf – AI-first IDE that proactively suggests code. Built for keeping you in flow state. Similar pricing to Cursor but more autonomous.
- Continue – Open-source extension for VS Code and JetBrains. Free with your own API keys. Perfect if you want full AI capabilities without vendor lock-in.
For specialised use cases:
- v0.dev - Vercel's tool for generating UI components. Free tier with $5 credits, $20/month. Best for React/Next.js interfaces and design systems.
- Claude Code - Anthropic's terminal-style coding assistant. Great for complex problem-solving and code analysis.
- Fine - Autonomous AI that handles full development lifecycle. Premium pricing but can be a solid junior developer assistant for certain tasks.
The hidden costs to factor in:
- API usage can spike with heavy prompting (budget $10-50/month)
- Hosting and deployment for production apps ($5-50/month)
- Professional cleanup when you hit complexity limits ($3,000-10,000)
When vibe coding makes sense (and when it definitely doesn't)
✅ Vibe code these all day long:
- Company websites and landing pages – Perfect for marketing sites, portfolios, and lead capture pages
- Simple business tools – ROI calculators, quote generators, contact forms, basic dashboards
- Internal team tools – Project trackers, simple CRMs, reporting tools (under 100 users)
- Prototype and test ideas – MVPs for user feedback, concept validation, demo apps
- Basic automations – Email workflows, data collection, simple integrations
❌ Skip vibe coding:
- Mission-critical business apps – Anything that could shut down your business if it breaks
- Apps with sensitive data – Customer payment info, medical records, financial data
- Complex user platforms – Social networks, marketplaces, multi-tenant SaaS with thousands of users
- High-performance systems – Real-time trading, gaming backends, live streaming platforms
- Always-on services – Apps that need 99.9% uptime, critical infrastructure, emergency systems
- Complex business logic – Multi-step workflows, advanced calculations, intricate rule engines
- Regulated industries – Banking, healthcare, government; anything with strict compliance requirements
💡 The golden rule: If failure could seriously damage your business, build it properly with real engineers. If it's for learning, experimenting, or non-critical use cases, vibe code away.
The bottom line
Vibe coding is the biggest change in startup building since the Lean Startup methodology. It makes code cheap and disposable, letting you truly embrace rapid experimentation without attachment to what you've built.
Should you vibe code your MVP? If you're validating ideas, testing concepts, or building simple tools – absolutely.
But vibe coding isn't a replacement for real software development. To build stable, scalable, secure software that solves complex problems, you still need to do things the hard way. The security risks are significant, and if all goes well you’ll eventually hit complexity walls that require real engineering expertise.
At some point, the balance shifts from "I'm super productive, LLM helps me code" towards "why am I spending more time fixing its mistakes than writing code". When you hit that point, it's time to either simplify or bring in real developers.
So we like to follow this pattern:
- Vibe code to validate ideas and test concepts rapidly
- Use proper development practices for anything handling real user data
- Rebuild with professional engineers once you find product-market fit
- Treat vibe coding as a powerful prototyping tool, not a production strategy
Need help figuring out which ideas are worth vibe coding versus building properly? Let's talk. 💌
