One person plus AI agents: a $15-40K yearly stack replacing a $400-800K team
An essay on solo AI-native companies argues that a stack of 8-15 specialized agents plus model subscriptions costs $15,000-40,000 a year, versus $400,000-800,000 fully loaded for a traditional team, with operating margins of 60-80% early on. It cites Base44, sold to Wix for about $80 million, and HeadshotPro, which peaked near $300,000 in monthly recurring revenue, while warning that agents stop being cheaper once a business needs humans back for quality control and complex negotiations.