This article is adapted from a workshop transcript from the Tsinghua University AI+ Innovative Design (AIID) Program. The session featured Yaokai Jiang, CEO of Momen, who shared his deep insights on the shifting economics of software and the democratization of "cognition." Under the theme "Thinking, Building, and Surviving in the AI Era," Yaokai discussed how we have transitioned from technical gatekeeping to an era of creative problem-solving, providing a roadmap for how founders can thrive in this rapidly evolving landscape.
Introduction: The Industrial Revolution of the Mind
Imagine if you had to feed, groom, and stable a horse every time you wanted to drive your car. That was the reality before the Industrial Revolution. Engines didn't just replace muscles; they drove the marginal cost of power to near zero.
Key Concept: Marginal Cost is the cost of producing one additional unit of a product. In the horse era, the marginal cost of a trip was high (food, rest, care). With engines, the cost of one more mile became just a splash of fuel.
We are at a similar turning point today with software. For decades, the "technical gatekeeping" of expensive engineering meant thousands of brilliant ideas never saw the light of day. We are now entering the "Cognitive Revolution." AI has dropped the cost of "thinking"—writing code and processing logic—to near zero. The advantage has officially shifted from the person who knows how to code to the person who knows what to solve.
Chapter 1: Understanding the Shift (Why Building is Cheaper Than Ever)
To understand why 2026 is the best year to start a company, we have to look at the history of cost:
Steam Engines = Cheap Power.
Shipping Containers = Cheap Logistics.
The Internet = Cheap Distribution.
AI = Cheap Cognition.
In the past, "thinking" (coding, analyzing, structured logic) was expensive—costing $100+/hr in developer wages. Today, AI makes cognition a commodity. You no longer need a massive capital raise just to see if an idea works. You can now focus 100% of your energy on business logic and user experience rather than technical plumbing.
Chapter 2: The Solopreneur’s Advantage: Finding "Boring" Gold Mines
In the AI era, there are two ways to play:
Infrastructure: Building the "railroad tracks" (OpenAI, Nvidia). This is a "War of Giants"—expensive, high-risk, and capital-intensive.
Applications: Building the "trains" that run on those tracks. This is where the solopreneur wins.
The biggest opportunity isn't building a generic chatbot. It’s Vertical AI.
What is Vertical AI? Unlike "General AI" (like ChatGPT) which tries to do everything, Vertical AI is a tool built deeply for one specific industry—like software designed specifically for dental clinics, construction managers, or funeral directors.
Big Tech doesn't know the specific legal discovery pains of a small firm or the logistics nightmare of a local delivery service. Your domain expertise is your moat. While Big Tech builds the tracks, you build the custom "train" that serves the Last Mile—the specific, messy, real-world needs of an industry you understand.
Chapter 3: The Modern Builder’s Toolkit
In the AI era, the most valuable skill isn't knowing how to write a "loop" or a "function"—it is Architectural Thinking. You need to know how the pieces of your business fit together, while AI handles the labor of building those pieces.
Phase 1: "Vibe Coding" (Defining the Soul of the App)
Before you build, you must "Vibe." Vibe Coding is a new paradigm where you describe your app's purpose, aesthetic, and user flow in natural language.
What AI does: Tools like v0.dev or Lovable take your words ("I want a clean dashboard for a logistics manager that shows real-time truck locations in neon blue") and instantly generate the code for the screens.
What you do: You act as the Director. You aren't typing code; you are refining the "vibe" until the interface perfectly matches the user's needs. This is the fastest way to solve the Desirability problem—showing users something they can actually see and touch within minutes.
Phase 2: The Gap (The "Vibe" vs. The "Base")
There is a common trap here: a beautiful UI (the "Vibe") is like a movie set—it looks real, but there is nothing behind the doors. If a user tries to sign up, save data, or process a payment, a simple "vibe-coded" screen will break.
The Problem: AI agents are great at the "front" (what users see) but often make critical errors in the "back" (how data is stored). They might create a database that isn't secure or logic that crashes when 100 people use it at once.
The Solution: You need a Base—a solid, professional-grade infrastructure that handles Persistence (remembering data) and Security.
Phase 3: The Production Engine (Momen)
This is where Momen bridges the gap. Think of Momen as the "Production Engine" that turns your AI-generated vibes into a real, scalable startup.
The Workflow: You take the high-fidelity designs or ideas from your AI agents and map them into Momen’s visual backend.
Building the "Brain": Within Momen, you visually construct the Postgres Database (to save user info), API Logic (to talk to other services), and Authentication (to keep accounts secure).
The Outcome: You get an app that can handle 10,000+ users with enterprise-grade stability. You use AI to "Vibe" the ever-evolving features on the front, while Momen provides the unbreakable "Base" on the back.
Conclusion: The Barrier is Gone
The Cognitive Revolution has democratized software creation. According to data, 42% of startups fail because nobody needs what they built. In the old world, you spent months building before finding that out. In the AI era, you can validate your "Desirability" in days.
The barrier to entry is no longer coding skill; it's your ability to identify a real-world problem and solve it. You have the domain knowledge. Now, you have the tools to execute it without a CTO.
Ready to start your journey? You don't need to wait.
Sign up for a free Momen account and build your first full-stack application today.
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