From Business Plans to Marketing, AI Supports Startups
Lower Costs, Faster Growth Drive Solo-Founder Boom
Artificial intelligence is dramatically lowering the barriers to starting a business and fueling a new wave of entrepreneurship across the United States, according to industry experts.
CBS News reported that AI technologies are now assisting entrepreneurs throughout the startup process, from writing business plans and conducting market research to developing products and creating marketing campaigns.
Chris Franco, founder of New York-based marketing firm Woodridge Growth, said AI has fundamentally changed what entrepreneurs can accomplish on their own.
“With AI, you can do almost anything you can imagine,” Franco said. “There’s really no excuse not to start a business in this era.”
The trend is reflected in government data. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, new business formation has reached record levels in recent years. An analysis by payment platform Stripe found that solo founders are driving much of that growth.
Economists say one of the biggest reasons is AI’s ability to reduce startup costs while increasing efficiency.
Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, said large language models and AI agents are making it easier than ever for professionals to launch their own businesses.
“People can now create business plans, automate tasks, and perform work that previously required multiple employees,” Slok said. “Experts in fields such as consulting, finance, and legal services can more easily break away and build their own companies.”
AI is also significantly reducing the upfront costs of launching a business.
Angela Lee, a professor of entrepreneurship at Columbia Business School, noted that entrepreneurs once spent tens of thousands of dollars to build a website.
“Today, free AI tools can create a functioning website in a matter of minutes,” Lee said.
She recalled paying more than $20,000 to develop a website for one of her early businesses in the 1990s.
“Everything has become cheaper and much faster,” she added.
Business owners are increasingly using AI after launch as well.
Albert Feldman, owner of Boston-based candle maker Sky Candle Co., said AI helps his company develop marketing strategies, manage finances, and analyze sales trends.
“AI can forecast how much inventory and raw materials we need based on historical sales data,” Feldman said. “It has significantly improved our operational efficiency.”
Slok believes the technology could ultimately create jobs rather than eliminate them.
“AI is encouraging more people to start businesses,” he said. “As some of those businesses succeed and grow, they will eventually hire employees, creating new jobs and expanding economic opportunities.”
By Inseong Choi
