I changed my mind about vibe coding

Hey there, solopreneur!

A year ago, I was that guy rolling his eyes at "vibe coding."

The online gurus made it sound so simple: "You don't need to touch a line of code! Just describe what you want!"

But the reality? It was still technical as hell.

I'd try Replit, describe my idea in plain English, watch it generate something... then everything would break the moment I wanted anything slightly ambitious.

The AI coding tools existed, but they weren't actually helpful yet. More like having an intern who spoke broken English and kept making the same mistakes.

Every attempt ended in debugging hell. Every tutorial felt like false advertising.

I'd close my laptop thinking: "These tools aren't ready. The gurus are lying. I'll stick to what I know."

So I went back to what I always did when I had software ideas: hire someone else to build them.

That's when a developer stole my money and disappeared.

The developer who vanished into thin air

Earlier this year, I learned this lesson the hard way.

I was working on an idea that I was genuinely excited about. Found a developer who seemed perfect. We agreed on scope, timeline, payment.

I sent the money.

Two weeks later: poof. Gone.

No Email reply. Deleted his WhatsApp. Never to be seen again.

I'm sitting there thinking: "I was always able to bring my ideas to life, but software is my blind spot. I can't live up to my own potential like this."

The creative frustration was eating me alive. I have ALL these ideas, but in the software world, I felt helpless. Dependent on people who might disappear tomorrow.

That's when something clicked:

Even if I hire someone next time, understanding the basics would make such a huge difference.

The meetup that made me feel like an outsider

A few weeks later, I went to a Berlin tech meetup.

Everyone besides me was technical.

The conversations flowed around APIs, frameworks, deployment strategies. I felt like I wasn't capable enough to even contribute to the conversation.

Like I was somehow... less than everyone else in the room.

Standing there, I had this sinking thought: "Is technical ability mandatory for success in this new world?"

The answer hit me: For software ideas? Absolutely.

But here's what changed everything for me...

Why the tools sucked (and why they're better now)

Here's the truth: Vibe coding was shit.

Today it’ still far from perfect, but it’s improving rapidly.

The problem? Gurus always say "it's perfect!" So people try it, get frustrated, and think they're doing something wrong.

You're not. The tools genuinely sucked.

Claude couldn't debug. Replit generated broken code. Everything was half-baked.

2025? It's like going from a broken car to something that actually drives. Wonky sometimes, but it works.

Now when I hit an error, I screenshot it and ask Claude for the fix. 30 seconds later, I'm moving again.

No more roadblocks. No more feeling stupid.

The gurus weren't exactly lying, they just oversold it because they were selling courses.

The vision was real, but the timeline was wrong.

Now the tools are finally catching up to what they promised

Best part? You're still early. Start now, stay ahead of most people.

The tool that changed everything: N8n

After months of frustration, I discovered N8n.

Think of it as Lego blocks for automation. You're not writing code, you're connecting pre-built pieces.

Need to automatically save email attachments to Google Drive? There's a block for that.

Want to cross-post content to multiple platforms? Snap a few blocks together.

But here's the real breakthrough:

N8n plus Claude is pure magic.

Every error becomes a learning moment. Every workflow becomes easier than the last.

It's still kinda technical, yes. There's still debugging involved.

But it's the right kind of technical, creative problem-solving instead of pulling your hair out over cryptic error messages.

My strategic path to software products

Here's what I figured out:

Step 1: Build N8n workflows that solve my own problems

Step 2: Sell the workflows that work best (test market demand)

Step 3: Understand what people actually want vs what I think they want

Step 4: Add a front-end to the most successful workflows

Step 5: Turn them into proper software products (and scale them using an advanced developer)

I'm not trying to become a full-stack dev overnight.

I'm building leverage, one automation at a time.

And it's working:

After just a few weeks of playing around with N8n, I built a workflow called 'Newsjacker 3000' that over 100 people bought already.

Made a couple thousand dollars while I was still learning.

I’m sharing this to show you how fast you can go from learning to earning with stuff like n8n.

The whole thing automatically finds trending news stories and generates content angles, exactly the kind of manual work I used to hate doing. All delivered to your inbox.

Want to see what I built? [Check out Newsjacker 3000]

The magic moment that hooked me

After building two or three workflows, something clicked.

My first real automation worked perfectly. It's STILL working perfectly months later.

That feeling? Pure magic.

You create this thing from nothing, and it just... runs. Forever. Solving problems while you sleep.

I felt like I'd discovered a superpower.

For the first time, I understood why people get addicted to building software.

The competitive reality check

Look, I don't want to be one of those gurus screaming "This is the best opportunity ever!"

I want to be real about it, I was struggling with getting going too. The frustration was real. The learning curve exists.

But I feel genuinely excited right now that I finally took this step.

And I want to inspire as many people as possible to do the same.

Your competitors are already building.

Your ideas are sitting in your notes app, waiting (GUILTY myself).

Every day you can't prototype is another day someone else launches what you've been thinking about for months.

The market opportunity is massive right now. Both from people wanting to learn these tools AND businesses needing implementation services.

You're not just learning a skill, you're positioning yourself in a market that's exploding.

But most people still think like it's 2020.

Like you need a computer science degree to build anything.

Meanwhile, solo founders who can prototype are eating everyone's lunch.

My N8n survival kit

You learn N8n by building workflows, not by studying it. But here are the resources that actually helped me:

Learning the basics:

Getting unstuck:

• Literally just ask Claude or Chatgpt: "Build me an N8n workflow that does X. Create a JSON file to copy paste for me"

• Copy-paste error screenshots into Claude for instant fixes

• N8n's template library (study how others solve similar problems)

Pro tip: Start with ONE simple automation. Maybe automatically organizing your emails. Feel the magic. Then build from there.

The only thing you can do is start (again)

I could have read 100 tutorials about N8n. I could have watched every YouTube video.

But none of that mattered until I actually imported my first workflow and started getting those beautiful, frustrating errors.

Here's what I wish someone had told me: Those errors aren't bugs.

They're your teacher.

A very annoying teacher that speaks in cryptic riddles, but still a teacher.

Each error is Claude showing you exactly what to fix next.

If you tried this stuff a year ago and got frustrated, try again.

The game has changed.

And if you're someone like me who got overwhelmed with all the technical stuff and felt like "this isn't for me", this is your sign.

Give it another shot. You weren't wrong to feel frustrated before. But the tools are improving at a rapid pace.

Start at whatever level feels right:

• Want maximum ease? Try Lindy or GumLoop for automation

• Want more power? Start with N8n

• Ready for real coding? Jump into Replit, Lovable, Bolt, or Cursor

Honestly? I'm starting with the easy stuff.

Real coding can wait. I want to build momentum first, not get stuck in complexity.

The tools work now. The leverage is real. The opportunity won't wait.

Six months from now, you'll either be the founder who can prototype ideas in hours, or the one still searching for developers who might disappear.

The choice is yours.

Ole's Bookmarks

People told me that it was the best “networking” event they ever attended. Scary how much of a difference it makes to take all phones away. If you want to join the next one in Berlin (free), register here 

Diving into learning dia browser right now, I think it’s worth a shot

Even though the content of “get rich” might seem cringe, this is a masterpiece in leveraging AI for video creation. Millions of views agree.

For me, it's always important to remind myself why I'm doing all of this.

Learning automation and building my leverage business isn't about the money or the tech.

It's about freedom for me and my family. Being with them. Connecting with friends. Hosting meetups in my local community.

I feel genuinely inspired right now to level up to this next step, being able to create software as an extension of my personality, my impact in this world.

Six months from now, there will be two types of founders:

Those who can prototype their ideas in hours, and those still waiting for developers who might never show up.

I know which side I want you on.

Ole

P.S. If you want to support me and my work:

I released the Newsjacker 3000, a plug-n-play AI content news automation.

Watch the short demo video here.

Ready to use it? Grab Newsjacker 3000