Vibe Coding: A Game-Changer for Circular Economy Startups

We are in a hugely transitional time at the moment. AI has emerged in a number of areas of our lives, bringing about seismic change everywhere it touches. It’s a nuanced road to navigate that has brought up many ethical questions, which we ourselves are delving into, and encourage you to do so as well. 

One way we’re seeing that change show up on our doorstep is vibe coding, especially with pre-launch circular economy startups. You, as a non-coder who’s seeking to create a Circular Economy business or project, now have a wealth of AI-based tools to generate code, with no coding knowledge required on your part. 

This is a significant shift in the landscape, as people now have access at a lower cost than paying developers to experiment and prototype with their products really quickly. You simply write a description, it creates something, then you can go back and forth ad infinitum. It’s a fun creation process, and there’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it can help create a stronger offering, used right. 

Vibe coding tools span the spectrum as far as how involved they are in the creation and distribution of your product. You have the flexibility to choose a tool to solely generate code, or to cover a wider range of needs. Lovable and Bolt, for instance, provides domains, databases, backend services, mobile and web apps. ChatGPT and Claude can be used to solely generate code. Depending on your needs, aims and comfort level, each path is a valid way to go. 

One of the advantages of vibe coding is that it allows you to just give things a try, using the experience to help you think through your idea, and the challenge(s) you want to solve. And you may end up throwing it away and starting again. And that’s OK. With a relatively lightweight investment of time and money, you have the space to really work things out, before you go deep. 

While we see vibe coding tools presenting an exciting and beneficial opportunity for circular economy startups, there are some key points to factor in, both before choosing to use such a tool, and how you use it. 

Three key things to consider when using vibe coding tools for your circular economy startup:

Don’t be a creator in a cave

While we are entering a new age in many regards when it comes to creating software or a digital product, some startup advice will always remain fundamental in our opinion: 

It can be tempting to think you can do the entire process of product development from soup to nuts in these tools, but they’re best used as part of a learning process. With your customers. Your investors. Your colleagues and trusted advisors. Don't go away and disappear for a few months creating a tool, without reference point to the broader world, presenting it fully formed and then finding it misses the mark.

We suggest instead that you do something really quick to start and then speak to people, early. Use it as a vehicle for having informative conversations and helping you to validate your business rather than creating the tool with blinders on. Does it address the right needs, the right way, in a way that resonates with your potential customers? Does it make sense to your would be funders/investors? You won’t know unless you show. And then reshape. And repeat. 

Get into the weeds when it comes to pricing

Vibe coding tools have a variety of pricing models, and when choosing which one to use, it’s critically important you ensure that it matches with your business model. For instance, If your business model depends on having lots of end users, e.g. a mobile app with thousands of users, some vibe code tools charge in ways that become unaffordable at scale, for example, charging per end user or with limits that force expensive upgrades.

Further, make sure that the pricing fits your future business model, not just your prototype. Don’t pick a tool just because it’s cheap or easy now; check how the costs behave if your product grows. Does the pricing jump sharply after a certain number of users, projects, or resources?

Own your code

Whichever tool you choose to use, we feel it's important that you retain ownership of your code and are not locked into an ecosystem where the code is proprietary. Why? In a nutshell, having access to your code so that it can be finessed for long term durability is vital.

In our experience, there are a handful of key concerns that people are bringing to us regarding using vibe coding tools:

• Can I trust the code that’s generated, from a security, performance and future maintainability point of view?

This is a valid concern, and the tools are getting better all the time. However, there may come a time when bringing in a professional coder can help reduce the risk. This isn’t to invalidate the power of vibe coding tools, especially for early stage ideation around your product. But sensible caution and thoroughness is warranted. 

Other issues we’ve seen arise are:

• I’ve gotten so far using vibe coding tools, but now I’m stuck.

• This is beginning to take substantial time, which I need to focus elsewhere.

• I’m finding that part of my vision just can’t be realised with vibe coding tools.

• I need another, more experienced brain to help me think through my options.

The path forward, as we see it:

Vibe coding tools have opened up a wide range of possibilities for circular economy startups, which we welcome and encourage you to make full use of. We are here to help you at any stage in the process. 

What might our help look like? That depends on what stage you’re at:

As a Fractional CTO, flexed to your budget:

Early stage: We can help with tool choice, be a sounding board for all your questions, and support you overall. We want your Circular Economy project to succeed!

Later stages: we can help with scaling your product, helping you tackle technical challenges as your product and user base starts to grow. Or help migrate to new tools. Or help with the challenges of building (or not building!) a team.

Development services: 

As you grow, you may find that the vibe coded early versions need more love and attention to tackle your growth, security or other challenges. With a development team that has decades of experience and a nuanced understanding of circularity, we are perfectly placed to help.