
Maor ShlomoFounder & CEO
The founder of Goyaz built a thriving jewelry brand rooted in affordability and aspiration. Starting from a single store with family support, she scaled Goya into a 19-store empire across 5 Indian states in just over two years.
Founder Stats
- AI, SaaS, Technology
- Started 2023
- $100K–$500K/mo
- Solo Founder team
- Israel
About Maor Shlomo
Maor Shlomo built Base44 as a solo founder to solve a personal need then sold it to Wix for $80M just six months later. With no outside funding, he moved fast, automated relentlessly, and built a real product that users loved. From helping his girlfriend and a nonprofit to empowering thousands of builders, Maor proved that in the era of LLMs, speed and simplicity can beat scale.
Interview
August 4, 2025
What was your motivation for starting Base44?

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

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.
What did you learn from your previous startup, Explorium?

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.
What’s your advice on being a solo founder?

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

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

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.
How did you validate Base44 early on?

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.
Did your Product Hunt launch help much?

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.
What was the most effective growth strategy?

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.
What didn’t work for growth?

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.
What’s your take on MVPs today?

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

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.
How did you build such a fast product alone?

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.
What was your main tech stack?

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.
Why did you decide to sell Base44 to Wix?

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.
What kind of person did you hire first?

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.
What final advice would you give to other founders?

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.
Table Of Questions
Video Interviews with Maor Shlomo
Solo founder, $80M exit, 6 months: The Base44 bootstrapped startup success story | Maor Shlomo
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