Is Vibe Coding the Breakthrough for Creators?

Distribution, software, and AI — explained without hype. How the next creator economy is actually being built.

Feb 03, 2026

∙ Paid

I recently came back from Dubai where I spoke at the 1 Billion Followers Summit which is one of the best-in-class creator conferences out there now (and it’s only four years old).

My talk last year at the summit covered how far we have progressed within the creator economy from a startup’s point of view. This year, my talk focused on: Is Vibe Coding the Breakthrough for Creators?

In this edition, we cover:

How the creator economy has evolved since 2021
Why this year belongs to software creators — and why distribution matters
How creators make money today
Ideas for software products that creators can build for their audience

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We’re at an incredible inflection point — creators can now build software products for their audience

Imagine this: You think of an idea for an app. You describe it. AI writes the code. No complex setup. Just creativity → product.

We’ve entered the era of “Vibe Coding.” Whether it’s Lovable, Bolt.new, or Replit Agent, the technical barrier hasn’t just lowered — it’s vanished.

This year encompasses the best time for creators to build software products for their audiences. It’s never been this easy to turn a “What if?” into a live URL.

Why 2026 is the year for creators

Attention and distribution matter more than ever — and creators who own them have something increasingly rare: direct access to demand. Now add AI to the mix:

Global from day one: Creators are no longer localized by language. AI dubbing and voice-cloning allow creators to reach every market in their native language while keeping their exact voice and delivery.
The “Vibe” Stack: A new generation of agentic tools lets creators build full-scale workflows and software products by describing them, not coding them.
The Zero-Barrier Entry: Launching a custom app or an automated business used to cost $50k; now, it costs less than a monthly gym membership.

To understand why this moment is different, we need to look at how the creator economy actually evolved over the last few years

The creator economy has evolved significantly since 2021. During COVID, many creators turned to online platforms out of necessity, and most tools focused on a direct creator-to-fan model—engagement first, monetization second.

The shift came fast

By 2022, Web3 and crypto dominated the conversation: community tokens, NFTs, the metaverse, play-to-earn. Companies rushed to capitalize on the trend, but many of them didn’t last.

The creator economy followed — but arguably too early, before the technology was ready.

The shift came again…

By 2023, crypto and NFT marketplaces had cooled, and the creator economy entered a period of uncertainty. But in the background, a new wave was forming: generative AI tools that dramatically increased creator productivity.

2024 was the turning point.

Creators adopted AI as leverage — and everything accelerated.

Once AI removed the cost and complexity of building, the constraint shifted — from creation to distribution

Fast forward to where we are today: Creators are now thinking about how to monetize their distribution channels.

MrBeast and The Diary of a CEO have built massive distribution channels — and they’re using that attention to build businesses. MrBeast does this through multiple ventures, while The Diary of a CEO has expanded into FlightStory.

Even niche creators are following the same path. Jonathan Katz-Moses, a woodworker, has built a thriving DTC business serving a highly passionate audience.

When creators have distribution, they unlock many opportunities

In our recent viral piece on The New Media Landscape, I pointed out that creators don’t have to be video-first. Newsletter writers, podcasters, and even niche creators can be just as valuable. Anyone can now become a creator.

Looking ahead at The New Creator Economy

1,000 days changed everything for creators. The New Playbook: Distribution + AI

ChatGPT launched just ~1,000 days ago (November 30, 2022). In that short span, AI has reshaped how we build, create, and ship ideas. For creators, this was a huge inflection point — you can now have a prototype app built within minutes instead of hours, days, and months by using some of the tools below.

Why is this the greatest time for creators and why should we be vibe coding?

For many, vibe coding starts as leverage. It helps creators become more productive and continue building their brand.

But for creators who want to build real businesses, the upside is much larger: new audiences, new revenue streams, and ownership of IP.