“Yes, absolutely I felt lonely”: Base44 founder reflects on the solo path to Wix’s $80M deal
Maor Shlomo and Wix’s Nir Zohar revisited one of the AI era’s most unusual acquisitions, from timing during wartime to the ease of trust.
In a technology world defined by scale, Base44 was an anomaly: a one-person company that grew fast enough to draw the attention of Wix. For founder Maor Shlomo, the journey was both liberating and isolating. “Yes, absolutely I felt lonely,” he admitted at EY Israel’s Journey Conference on Tuesday. But his decision to build alone led to one of the most distinctive acquisitions of the AI era, with Wix paying $80 million to acquire Base44 in June.
“When the difficult moments come, there’s no one to share the burden with. In my previous company, which I founded with partners, we supported each other. My view, though it’s not for everyone, is that centralized decision-making is best in the early stages,” Shlomo told moderator Shelley Oppenheimer-Levi of EY Israel. “In the first months, being a non-democratic company is a huge advantage because only you understand everything about the product. You don’t yet have departments or committees making decisions. I suggest that every early-stage company designate one person to make the major product decisions.”
When asked what tools allowed him to build everything on his own, Shlomo said, "I spend 20-30 percent of my time automating the business rather than writing code."
On whether raising venture capital would have been better in retrospect, Shlomo explained: "It depends heavily on the product. If I were building a cybersecurity solution, I couldn’t do it alone. You need a sales team, travel to customers, and more organization. But today, there are more products, especially B2C, that can be built solo. I have nothing against venture capital, some of my friends are VCs, and I’ve worked with them in my previous company."
Wix co-founder and president Nir Zohar was asked how one acquires a one-man company. "I don’t have much acquisition experience, but I had a very personal experience here," he said. "There was no need to negotiate with a table full of executives. Maybe it sounds strange, but the acquisition process was enjoyable even before we started working together."
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Shlomo added: "I had a gut feeling we would enjoy working together, and there was a very good connection between us."
Zohar explained Wix’s perspective: "From our viewpoint, Base44 is creating something new from scratch, much like Wix did in 2007. We didn’t invent websites, but back then, you needed deep pockets to create a good website. We lowered the financial barrier and provided reliable technology, enabling people to achieve a good-looking, branded result. Maor’s technology removes the barrier to building useful software without heavy investment in exactly the same way."
On what surprised them most about the deal: Zohar said, "That we closed it in the midst of the war with Iran. Many people called to thank us for providing calm and reliable news during the chaos." Shlomo said, "I was surprised by how calm and composed Nir and Avishai Abrahami were. That’s not what I expected from the leaders of a company this size."
On advice for young entrepreneurs, Shlomo said: "Be the person people want to work with and spend the next decade with, because the goal isn’t just to sell and leave."
Regarding Wix’s acquisition strategy, Zohar commented: "There are many markets in which we can operate. There might be combined sales with Wix, but what matters most is being a company that enables everyone to build apps."
