Using AI to become a million-dollar company: How founders use the Lovable platform

Düsseldorf, Berlin. Nico Wittenberg came up with the idea for his start-up 14 years ago during a snowstorm. His girlfriend's flight was canceled and all alternatives were also cancelled. Wittenberg searched for a long time until he found a night train that took his now wife to Hamburg. “I thought to myself at the time: There has to be an easier way.”

An app that shows all travel options - from buses to planes - and allows you to book them directly. He presented this idea to colleagues at his former employer, Google. “They told me that the implementation would cost an entire team of developers and millions of euros,” says Wittenberg.

Last year he built the Avara platform anyway - alone, using only the AI ​​tool Lovable. Since then, he says he has received inquiries from venture capitalists from all over the world. Today, Avara is used in more than 125 countries, according to Wittenberg.

Wittenberg is one of many Lovable founders: people who implemented their business idea without any programming knowledge but with the AI ​​tool. With Lovable, the AI ​​start-up promises, a million-dollar company can be built today without outside help. But does it really work?

Handelsblatt spoke to entrepreneurs who have built their core business with Lovable - and collected the most important insights for all those who want to realize their dream of owning their own start-up.