korrents
Pieter Levels

What Pieter Levels thinks about startups

@pieter-levels · 69 positions · 2 changes of mind

Dutch bootstrapper who builds and runs his internet startups alone — Nomads.com, Remote OK, Hoodmaps, Photo AI and Interior AI — and has written about it at levels.io since 2013. Posts as @levelsio.

Everything they publish, on ppll ↗

Pieter Levels did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

10 dated positions, 2024 to 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Pieter Levels has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. Our readingFacing AI-driven disruption, indie hackers are shifting from building products toward building audience and content as a competitive moat.

    Their wordsSo indie hackers are pivoting toward content, audience and distribution to find some moat, essentially becoming influencers

    ↗@levelsio on Xx.com

    Interesting
  2. 5 weeks earlier

  3. Our readingBig AI is cannibalising the app businesses indie hackers used to build, and their revenue and traffic are falling as a result.

    Their wordsI'm seeing a trend here of declining revenue and traffic with indiehackers On my own projects too Maybe big VC products too but I wouldn't know cause they don't share revenue To me it seems clear BigAI is cannibalizing everything that used to be apps

    ↗BigAI is cannibalizing everything that used to be apps for indiehackerslevels.io

    Interesting
  4. 6 days earlier

  5. Our reading · no longer heldNow that everyone can build apps with AI, distribution is the thing that separates who wins.

    No longer holdsI thought it'd be distribution but who knows, obviously creativity and ideas, but if you can copy a successful app in an hour, then how does that differentiating work?

    SaidI thought it'd be distribution but who knows, obviously creativity and ideas, but if you can copy a successful app in an hour, then how does that differentiating work?

    ↗Superintelligence has passed us and we're all running after the carrotlevels.io

    Interesting
  6. 2 days earlier

  7. Our readingAbout 5% is the most common final ownership stake for the founder of a VC-funded startup that works out.

    Their wordsYou think this is crazy low but ~5% ownership probably the most common final % most VC funded startups will have when they work out, especially when you have a co-founder

    ↗5% ownership is probably the most common final stake for VC funded startup founderslevels.io

    Interesting
  8. 4 days earlier

  9. Our readingAll you need to build a business today is free open source software, a VPS, an AI API and S3-style file hosting.

    Their wordsAll you really need today to build a business is 100% free open source software that charges you $0/mo a VPS server an API to do some required AI stuff some R2/S3 file hosting

    ↗All you need to build a business is free open source software a VPS an AI API and R2/S3levels.io

    open source

    Interesting
  10. 5 weeks earlier

  11. Our readingNow that everyone can build apps with AI, distribution is the thing that separates who wins.

    Their wordsI think the challenge is that everyone can now build apps But 1) almost nobody has distribution (like an audience), or 2) the money to pay for distribution (ads or UGC), or 3) the creative genius to get distribution for free (classically called guerilla marketing)

    ↗Everyone can now build apps with AI so now distribution is the real challengelevels.io

    Interesting
  12. 7 months earlier

  13. Our readingOnly the US and China have substantial startup activity left; the rest of the world cannot really do startups.

    Their wordsI just realized the only 2 countries left with actual substantial startup activity now are literally only the US and China The rest of the world can't really do startups, doesn't have the funding, can't grow them and it's more like performative hobby projects for their governments Which might tell us where the future wealth will be concentrated in the world

    ↗Only the US and China have actual substantial startup activity nowlevels.io

    China

    Interesting
  14. 15 months earlier

  15. Our readingEvery AI startup presents its product as groundbreaking and perfect, when in truth it is bad about half the time.

    Their wordsMan, but this is the problem with AI startups, because they all act like it’s perfect, like this is groundbreaking, but it’s not perfect. It’s really bad half the time.

    ↗Pieter Levels: Programming, Viral AI Startups, and Digital Nomad Life | Lex Fridman Podcast #440youtube.com 5th of 30 in this recording

    Interesting

  17. Our readingThe campaign to get young developers onto new frameworks is a business model: give away the framework, then charge the startups that build on it to host it.

    Their wordsSo, there’s obviously a monetary incentive here. We want to get a lot of developers to use this technology, and then we need to charge them money, because they’re going to use it in startups, and then the startups can pay for the bills.

    ↗Pieter Levels: Programming, Viral AI Startups, and Digital Nomad Life | Lex Fridman Podcast #440youtube.com 7th of 30 in this recording

    Interesting

  19. Our readingRegulation protects incumbents: Europe's AI rules are followable by a big company and impossible for a solo founder.

    Their wordsSo actually, regulation is very good for big companies because they can follow it. I can’t follow it, right? If I want to start an AI startup in Europe now, I cannot because there’s an AI regulation that makes it very complicated for me.

    ↗Pieter Levels: Programming, Viral AI Startups, and Digital Nomad Life | Lex Fridman Podcast #440youtube.com 29th of 30 in this recording

    Europe

    Interesting