Vibe coding is one of those terms that sounds like a joke, until you realize millions of people are already doing it.
What people mean when they say “vibe coding”
In simple terms, vibe coding means building software by describing what you want in natural language and letting AI do most of the coding for you.
You are not writing code. You are having a conversation.
- You say what you want.
- The AI generates code.
- You run it.
- You ask test it and ask for changes.
- Repeat until you have a Billion Dollar App
Andrej Karpathy, popularized the term, described it as coding by vibes — trusting the model to handle the mechanics while you focus on intent and outcomes.
Vibe Coding is the use of AI, prompted in natural language, to write computer code. — Collins Dictionary
The important shift is not who types the code. The shift is who gets to build software at all.
Why vibe coding exists (and why it took off so fast)
Vibe coding didn’t emerge because developers got lazy. It emerged because the bottleneck moved.
For decades, the limiting factor in software was implementation. Today, the limiting factor is clarity of intent.
1. Democratizing software creation
For the first time in history, you do not need to be a developer to build a working website, app, or internal tool.
That statement would have been irresponsible five years ago. Today, it’s just reality. This echoes Derek Powazek’s famous essay Programmers Are Tiny Gods, where he argued that those who can create software shape reality itself. In this terms Vibe coding is like a divine power.
This power once locked behind syntax, frameworks, and years of practice is now accessible to founders, designers, marketers, and operators.
2. Speed beats perfection
Vibe coding dramatically compresses time to market.
What used to take weeks now takes days. What took days now takes hours. What took hours now takes... well you ge the point, you are a smart bear.
This matters because markets don’t reward the cleanest architecture. They reward first to market. And then best to market too, but we are getting there.
3. Focus shifts from “how” to “why”
Instead of obsessing over boilerplate, creators can focus on:
- Product ideas
- User experience
- Messaging and conversion
- Feedback loops
That is not a downgrade. It’s an upgrade.
But beware, tools don’t erase responsibility
Before you stop reading this article and open another browser to ChatGPT to stat building that Billion Dollar App, understand this.
While Vibe coding lowers the barrier to entry. It does not lower the bar for consequences.
We already have real-world examples of vibe-coded projects leaking API keys, exposing private data, and generating five‑figure cloud bills overnight. One security scan found that roughly one in five vibe‑coded sites exposed at least one secret, including OpenAI, Google Gemini, Stripe, and Supabase credentials.
Wiz research found that one in five organizations are exposed to systemic security risks in vibe-coded applications , largely due to misconfigurations and missing safeguards.
RedHunt Labs reported a similar pattern from the open web, noting that one in five vibe-coded sites leaks at least one sensitive secret, including AI, payment, and database credentials.
And the problem was not AI. The problem was skipping the fundamentals.
Now, Let’s put the fun back in fundamentals.
What you absolutely need to know before vibe coding
You don’t need a computer science degree. But you do need a mental model. Re-read the article Why AI sounds right even when it’s wrong. I’ll wait for you here.
Ok now that you are back. Let’s talk fundamentals.
1. Product and architecture basics
AI cannot define your business for you. You are the Head Chef in the 3 Michelin-Star restaurant that is your billion dollar app.
Before you prompt anything, you should be able to answer:
- Who is this for?
- What problem does it solve?
- What does success look like?
At a technical level, you should understand simple ideas like request, response, client vs server, where data lives, and what happens when traffic grows. Not to code it — to recognize when something smells wrong.
2. Security fundamentals (non‑negotiable)
If there is one section you should not vibe your way through, this is it.
You need to understand concepts like:
- Least privilege
- Input validation
- Authentication vs authorization
- Why “it works” is not the same as “it’s safe”
Security failures scale faster than success.
3. Secrets, keys, and authentication
- Never hard‑code API keys. Ever.
- Not in demos. Not “just for now.” Not “because the AI said so.”
Google’s own Gemini documentation starts from that assumption: Keys are created and managed outside your code, then injected securely via environment configuration so they are never embedded in source files.
You should know what environment variables are, why API keys must be scoped and rotated, and how leaked credentials turn into real money leaving your bank account.
4. Testing, review, and CI/CD
AI is very good at happy paths.
You still need to read what it generates, ask it to add tests, and put basic checks in place so broken or dangerous code doesn’t quietly reach production.
One thing I really like to do is to dare the AI to try to jail break the code it just wrote, and tell me how it did it. Then I feed this back to it and tell it to fix those issues.
5. Operations and governance
If something goes wrong, how would you know?
Logs, monitoring, alerts, and ownership matter even for “small” projects. Especially for small projects.
Ok, so up to point 3 you were right there with me. But 4 and 5 got... complicated, cumbersome, taxing. Do not worry about a thing. I will show you a tool that takes care of this.
Equality of opportunity is not equality of outcome
Vibe coding gives access. It does not guarantee results.
This is where taste enters the room.
Taste vs Skill
Taste is the ability to recognize and discern quality work, while skill is the technical ability to produce that work.
Skill can be trained. Taste must be cultivated. Or how I like to say it: You can only learn to drink wine by drinking wine—Not the same wine mind you.
Two people can use the same tools and produce wildly different outcomes because taste governs:
- What problems are worth solving
- What details matter
- When to stop
Why there is only one MrBeast?
Thousands of creators study YouTube analytics. Only one built MrBeast.
Why only a few become legends
- Dozens trained as hard as Usain Bolt.
- Twenty trained as brutally as Michael Phelps.
- The tools were available to all.
- The outcomes were not.
- Vibe coding doesn’t flatten excellence. It amplifies it.
Let’s actually do it: building a website with one prompt
We will be using Genspark as our example.
Disclosure, I am an affiliate of Genspark. However the concepts in this article can be used with your favorite AI tool.
Before we proceed, create you account in GenSpark here.
Step 1: Understand what you’re about to ask
Before you write the prompt, decide:
- What kind of business this is
- Who the customer is
- What action you want them to take
This clarity matters more than wording.
Step 2: The copy‑paste prompt
Here is a simple, readable prompt you can paste into Genspark:
Build a clean, friendly single‑page website for a local Doggy Day Care.
The page should include:
- A welcoming hero section with a short headline and subheadline
- A brief section explaining services offered
- A trust section mentioning safety, staff experience, and happy dogs
- A simple call to action to contact or book a visit
Use warm language, playful but professional tone, and sensible defaults for layout and styling. Make it responsive and suitable for non‑technical owners to maintain.
Step 3: Before you run it, change something
This is where learning happens.
Try modifying:
- The business (cat café, yoga studio, food truck)
- The tone (luxury, minimal, bold)
- The call to action
Small changes teach you how intent maps to output.
Step 4: Ask better follow‑ups
After the page is generated, ask things like:
- “Improve conversion clarity.”
- “Make the copy more reassuring for first‑time pet owners.”
- “Explain where I should store contact form submissions safely.”
This is how you learn to fish.
Final thought
In the article Welcome to the age of the One-Person CompanyWe talked about how the companies of the future may not have employees. Now I just showed you, how you do not need to be a developer to build software anymore.
Again, you just need to be a problem solver. Develop your vision and use AI to build your 1 Billion Dollar App.
But if you want your billion‑dollar app to survive long‑term, learn the basics and ask the AI to implement them correctly.
Vibe coding is a great power.
And as uncle Ben once said to Peter Parker, with great power, comes great responsibility.
Catch you all in the next one.