Base44 acquired as a 1-person company
Wix acquired Base44 when it had a single employee — Mauro — for $80M, then built an entire team around him.
Snapshot · The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Wix's Founder on What Wall St Gets Wrong About AI and Wix | Will Base44 Win the Vibe Coding Wars | The Truth About the Economics of Vibe-Coding | The Buyback Disaster: Lessons Learned with Avishai Abrahami
Explore episode
Jul 13, 2026
Where this was said
"You Are NOT Going to Vibe Code Shopify" — Why Everyone Is Getting AI Wrong
At 22:30 · chapter starts 19:15
The chapter crystallizes around one memorable sentence that had already appeared in the cold open: no matter how capable AI tools become, nobody is going to vibe code their way into replacing Shopify's business stack. It's too complex, too deep, too integrated. Avishai then pairs this conviction with a more personal admission: he genuinely does not track Wix's daily stock movements. Today, Wix trades not on Wix news but on whatever OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google said that morning — forces completely outside his control. His response is not denial or bravado but a clear-eyed acceptance that the only rational focus is his own execution. He contrasts this with Eran at Monday.com, who Harry says cannot detach. Avishai, with more white hair and presumably more scar tissue, says he made peace with this long ago.
The Detachment That Most CEOs Can't Do
Wix's stock is hostage to Anthropic and OpenAI news cycles, not Wix's fundamentals. Avishai's response: genuine detachment. He's equally focused on problems when the stock is up 20% as when it's down 20% — and says that's the only rational response.
The $80M One-Person Acquisition
Wix paid $80M for a one-person company. The board didn't ask why — they focused on business logic, team-building plan, and why Base44 beat Replit and Lovable. Avishai says the discussion was surprisingly easy, and the bet has already more than paid off.
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