Maor Shlomo, Founder & CEO at Base44
4.9/5 Rating
AI, SaaS, Technology
$100K–$500K/mo

Maor ShlomoFounder & CEO

In this interview, Base44 founder Maor Shlomo shares how he built an AI-powered app development platform from scratch, grew it to hundreds of thousands of users, and sold it to Wix for more than $80 million in just six months. He discusses building as a solo founder, leveraging AI to move faster than larger competitors, growing through community-driven marketing, and why speed, simplicity, and user feedback were critical to Base44's success. Maor also reveals his approach to product development, bootstrapping, and building in the era of AI.

Maor Shlomo

Maor Shlomo

Founder & CEO

Base44

Founder Stats

  • AI, SaaS, Technology
  • Started 2023
  • $100K–$500K/mo
  • Solo Founder team
  • Israel

About Maor Shlomo

Maor Shlomo is the founder of Base44, an AI-powered application development platform that enables users to build software using natural language. Previously, he founded Explorium, a data-focused startup that raised over $130 million in funding. After stepping away from his previous venture, Maor returned to his passion for product building and launched Base44 as a bootstrapped solo founder. Within six months, the platform attracted hundreds of thousands of users and was acquired by Wix in a deal valued at more than $80 million. Today, he continues to focus on empowering creators and entrepreneurs through AI-driven software development.

Interview

August 4, 2025

Q

What was your motivation for starting Base44?

Question 1 of 17
Maor Shlomo

It started from two real needs. My girlfriend needed a site for her art business, and I was also helping the Scouts organization in Israel with software. Both times I realized, 'LLMs should be able to build this.' So I built a better infrastructure to let them do exactly that.

0
Q

Did you plan to grow Base44 into a big company from day one?

Question 2 of 17
Maor Shlomo

No, this was the first time I told myself, 'Let’s just build something fun.' No pressure to be the biggest. I told my girlfriend, 'If we hit $1.5M ARR by the end of 2025, we’ll get a nice car.' We hit that in four weeks.

0
Q

What did you learn from your previous startup, Explorium?

Question 3 of 17
Maor Shlomo

I learned that I didn’t enjoy being a CEO managing sales, HR, and all that. I loved building products. So this time, I focused only on that and made sure I was working on things I liked.

0
Q

What’s your advice on being a solo founder?

Question 4 of 17
Maor Shlomo

It’s not for every company. But if you’re building something viral or for the masses, solo bootstrapping can work. It’s less stressful and lets you move fast—if you love what you’re doing, it really helps you show up every day.

0
Q

How did you stay productive as a solo founder with ADHD?

Question 5 of 17
Maor Shlomo

I used tools like RescueTime to block distractions. I built internal apps on Base44 to manage content and posts. I optimized my environment to help me focus and work in deep flow.

0
Q

What were the first few steps you took to get users?

Question 6 of 17
Maor Shlomo

I begged friends to use it. Literally sat with them while they used the tool, watched what broke, then fixed it on the spot. That’s how I got my first 10 users.

0
Q

How did you validate Base44 early on?

Question 7 of 17
Maor Shlomo

I waited until users started sharing it on their own. That was the signal. If I had marketed too early, I would've just wasted time and money.

0
Q

Did your Product Hunt launch help much?

Question 8 of 17
Maor Shlomo

The first one failed. Got maybe 15 users. The second one broke their algorithm because it got so many upvotes—it thought we were bots. But I never treated launches as 'make or break,' just a way to get a few more users.

0
Q

What was the most effective growth strategy?

Question 9 of 17
Maor Shlomo

Building in public on LinkedIn. I shared honestly—failures, lessons, numbers. It resonated with other builders. Then I offered extra credits for users who shared what they built. That created a viral loop.

0
Q

What didn’t work for growth?

Question 10 of 17
Maor Shlomo

Influencer marketing didn’t work. Paid ads didn’t work. I spent a few thousand dollars with no real return. Organic and community-driven growth worked way better.

0
Q

What’s your take on MVPs today?

Question 11 of 17
Maor Shlomo

I don’t really believe in MVPs anymore. Attention spans are too short. If your product isn’t good enough to be useful now, people will just bounce. Build something real for a few people who’ll actually use it.

0
Q

What’s one big lesson you learned about user onboarding?

Question 12 of 17
Maor Shlomo

I used to show a user flow before building the app to help them clarify their idea. But it slowed down the 'aha' moment. I removed it so people could immediately see their app come to life. That changed everything.

0
Q

How did you build such a fast product alone?

Question 13 of 17
Maor Shlomo

I automated everything I could. I structured my codebase so LLMs could write most of it. I even routed prompts to the best model—Claude for UI, Gemini for logic—so they’d output exactly what I needed.

0
Q

What was your main tech stack?

Question 14 of 17
Maor Shlomo

Render.com for hosting. MongoDB for flexible schemas. Python for backend, JSX for frontend. I avoided TypeScript to make it easier for LLMs to generate code. All in one repo to give AI better context.

0
Q

Why did you decide to sell Base44 to Wix?

Question 15 of 17
Maor Shlomo

The product was profitable. I didn’t have to sell. But partnering with Wix gave me a chance to scale faster and maybe lead the category. Plus, the chemistry with their team felt right.

0
Q

What kind of person did you hire first?

Question 16 of 17
Maor Shlomo

A technical product person. Someone who could do a bit of everything—logs, scripts, analytics. I told him, 'You take growth now.' That’s the kind of team you need early on.

0
Q

What final advice would you give to other founders?

Question 17 of 17
Maor Shlomo

Spend at least 50% of your time doing what you’re good at and love doing. That’s your genius zone. That’s what gives you the energy to keep going. If you’re not in that zone, it’s going to be hard to keep showing up.

0

Video Interviews with Maor Shlomo

Solo founder, $80M exit, 6 months: The Base44 bootstrapped startup success story | Maor Shlomo

Solo founder, $80M exit, 6 months: The Base44 bootstrapped startup success story | Maor Shlomo

Solo founder, $80M exit, 6 months: The Base44 bootstrapped startup success story | Maor Shlomo

Fireside Chat: Maor Shlomo from Base44 with Uri Eliabayev (מאור שלמה Base44)

Fireside Chat: Maor Shlomo from Base44 with Uri Eliabayev (מאור שלמה Base44)

How This Tiny Startup Got $80 Million From Wix!

How This Tiny Startup Got $80 Million From Wix!

AI Wars | TECH1 Conference – Eilat, May 18, 2025

AI Wars | TECH1 Conference – Eilat, May 18, 2025

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