How Replit Agent made $1M on day one (then $250M in a year)

Replit has scaled from $2.5 million to nearly $1 billion in annual revenue within two years, driven by the emergence of AI-powered "vibe coding." This rapid growth represents a market creation moment where software development has become accessible enough to allow small teams to build multi-million dollar businesses without traditional venture capital. Founder Amjad Masad highlights the psychological toll of the company's "darkest hour"—a period of low morale and high turnover—before the breakthrough success of the Replit Agent. The discussion emphasizes the shift from manual, grind-based business models to automated, high-leverage AI applications. Success in this new landscape requires a focus on execution, high pain tolerance, and the ability to pivot until hitting a "landmine" of product-market fit, ultimately enabling a new generation of lean, high-revenue startups.