You have an idea. You have opened Cursor or Replit. You have typed a prompt and watched code appear. It felt fast. Then, around day four, the codebase became something you could not explain to anyone, including yourself. That is vibe coding in practice, and it is worth understanding clearly before you decide how to build your product.
What Vibe Coding Meaning Actually Comes Down To
Vibe coding is a term Andrej Karpathy popularized in early 2024. The idea is simple: you describe what you want in plain language, an AI writes the code, and you keep prompting until it works. You are not reading the output carefully. You are not architecting anything. You are vibing toward a result.
That description is not an insult. For certain things, it is exactly the right approach. A weekend prototype. A proof of concept nobody will maintain. A tool you built for yourself and can throw away.
The problem starts when founders try to vibe code something that real users will touch, or that investors will ask about in a due diligence call.
Why It Breaks at the Worst Moment
Vibe coding produces code that works until it does not. The failure modes are specific:
No architecture. Each prompt adds a layer. Nobody planned the layers. When you need to change the data model at week three, you discover the model is everywhere. No test coverage. The AI wrote the feature. Nobody wrote the test. You find out it is broken when a user finds out. Security gaps. AI models trained on public code inherit public code's worst habits. Authentication logic written by vibe is a liability. You cannot hand it off. A technical cofounder, an investor's CTO, a future dev team: they open the repo and find chaos. That conversation ends deals.
None of this means AI cannot build your MVP. It means vibing alone, without an engineer who owns the output, produces a demo, not a product.
If you already know this and you are looking for someone to build it properly, book a 45 minute call at calendly.com/albtechsolutions/45min and we can talk through what your build actually needs.
Who Should Keep Vibe Coding
Before going further, here is the honest version of who should and should not work with us.
| This is for you | This is not for you |
|---|---|
| You have a validated idea and need a real testable product | You need a landing page or a no code form |
| You want users or investors to see it within 30 to 45 days | You are still figuring out what to build |
| You have a 6,000 to 9,000 euro budget for the build | You need a 500 euro freelancer |
| You want to own the code from day one | You are fine with a vendor who locks you in |
| You are a first time or repeat founder in Europe or the US | You are a large company looking for an agency retainer |
Vibe coding is genuinely fine if you are in the left column on the first row and the right column on every other row. If you need a product that ships and holds up, that is a different conversation.
What a Proper AI Assisted Build Actually Looks Like
We use AI heavily in our builds. The difference is that a senior engineer owns the architecture, reviews the output, writes the tests, and is accountable for what ships. AI accelerates the work. It does not replace the judgment.
Here is how our process runs in practice:
Week 1. Scope call, then we write the spec. We agree on what is in the MVP and what is explicitly out. Founders who skip this step waste weeks on features users will never touch.
Weeks 1 to 2. Core backend and data model. This is the part vibe coding breaks most often. We build it to hold up, not to demo.
Weeks 2 to 3. Frontend and user flows. Real screens, not placeholder wireframes.
Week 4. QA, staging environment, and handoff. You get the repo, the credentials, and documentation. The code and IP are yours from day one, not after a license fee.
The PoC tier runs 3,000 euro in 15 days. The MVP tier runs 6,000 euro in 30 days. The full Launch tier runs 9,000 euro in 45 days. Payment is 50 percent on signing and 50 percent on delivery. We take four founder builds per month, no more, because quality requires a cap.
Real Builds, Not Pitch Deck Claims
A stealth SaaS we built in Cyprus needed a product that could charge real customers. We built and shipped it in 45 days. They now have 50 or more paying customers. That is not a beta list. That is revenue.
A compliance SaaS we built, also in Cyprus, shipped in 45 days.
Galaxy, based in Albania, needed an ecommerce catalog with more than 1,000 SKUs live and functional. Done in 60 days.
None of these were vibe coded. All of them used AI heavily. The engineer was accountable for every line that went to production.
The Objection Worth Addressing Directly
The most common hesitation we hear: "I can probably figure this out myself with AI tools. Why pay for this?"
Here is the honest answer. You probably can figure it out, eventually. The question is what you are trading. Most founders who try to vibe code their MVP spend six to ten weeks and end up with something they cannot show investors or hand to a developer without embarrassment. The time cost is real. The opportunity cost, shipping two months late, is often larger than the build cost.
If your idea is time sensitive, or if you need the product to hold up under scrutiny, the math on doing it yourself changes quickly.
We are the official technology partner for TrepCamp, which means founders coming through that program already know our work. If you found this article through a search, you are doing the same diligence they did.
The Honest Version of What Vibe Coding Is Good For
Use vibe coding to:
Test an idea over a weekend before committing budget Build internal tools you will throw away Create a clickable mockup for early user interviews Learn what a feature might feel like before speccing it properly
Do not use it to build the thing you are going to show investors, charge users for, or hand to a technical cofounder. Build that one properly.
For a deeper look at how AI is being applied in real production environments, the engineering notes at ledianshera.com cover the specifics from the founder's own experience shipping products.
What Happens When You Book a Call
The 45 minute call is a scope conversation, not a sales call. You describe what you are building. We tell you honestly whether it fits our process, which tier makes sense, and what the 30 to 45 day path looks like for your specific product. You leave with a clear picture of what a real build would take, whether you work with us or not.
We take four builds per month. If we are full, we will tell you that too.
Book at calendly.com/albtechsolutions/45min.