Ben Broca raised $30 million and built a $10 million AI company with 10,000 customers — without hiring a single employee

Ben Broca raised $30 million and built a $10 million AI company with 10,000 customers — without hiring a single employee

Rinna Diamantakos

Mon, August 3, 2026 at 5:30 PM GMT+3 4 min read

Running a successful business has traditionally meant building a team, hiring employees and taking on the costs and responsibilities that come with managing a workforce. But advances in artificial intelligence are beginning to rewrite that playbook — and a growing number of entrepreneurs are using AI to do it entirely alone.

That's what Ben Broca is doing. The 40-year-old launched a company last December that offers AI tools to entrepreneurs. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), he's already added 10,000 paying customers and is on track to bring in $10 million in revenue this year.

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He's still his company's only employee.

Broca told the WSJ that he's raised $30 million from investors and is saving millions in salaries he would be paying his employees. He uses AI tools to answer emails, help with coding, deal with customer requests, sign up new subscribers and handle issues that arise.

What is a solopreneur?

Individuals who run their business entirely alone are often called solopreneurs. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a solopreneur "is an individual building and running a business on their own without any employees."

An analysis by the payments company Stripe found there are now thousands of solo operators on the site that are generating millions in revenue.

More than twice as many solopreneurs earned over $1 million in 2025 compared to 2023 — and closer to three times as many crossed the $5 million and $10 million thresholds.

In 2023, roughly four million Americans earned their primary income as solopreneurs, making over $100,000 in annual revenue. That's nearly double the amount of people compared to the early 2010s when solo business platforms, like Stripe and Substack, were first gaining popularity.

According to the Stripe analysis, the rise is being driven in part by AI which is making it easier for people to manage their own business without having to rely on employees. It's also lowering the barriers to business formation and improving growth capabilities.

A Bank of America Institute study found that new business applications in the information sector have risen by nearly 45% over the past year. However, those in the industry who say they plan to hire workers experienced the sharpest decline compared to any other industry.

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The perks and challenges of solo operations

There are a lot of benefits to being a solopreneurs, with the most obvious one being the money you save by not paying employees. Since there are no employees, you don't have to worry about meeting payroll every month. The cost of operating a solo business is oftentimes also low, meaning you get to keep a greater share of your earnings.

Solopreneurs also have a high level of control over their business. For Broca, one of the perks of running his company alone is having the ability to make whatever decision he wants, often from the comfort of his own home.

"I think compromises make lukewarm results," he told WSJ.

Becoming a solopreneur also protects you from employees poaching or copying any of your plans. Troy Johnston, another solopreneur with whom WSJ spoke, said that possibility creates anxiety for him.

"Everybody has the sword and we all have the ability to unsheathe Excalibur now," Johnston told WSJ. The 40-year-old runs an AI-assisted business alone and makes around $3,000 a month in profit.

Being a solopreneur, however, means you are entirely responsible for the success and running of your business. Without employees to offload work onto, you are to handle every aspect of the business. But with the emergence — and expansion —- of AI tools, this burden is lessening and could help pave the way for more solopreneurs.

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This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: Ben Broca raised $30 million and built a $10 million AI company with 10,000 customers — without hiring a single employee

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