Solo Founder? Why not?

For years, the startup core ideology was clear: you need a co‑founder. YC said it. Founder Institute said it. Investors repeated it so often it became muscle memory. Even I, wearing my investor hat, instinctively flagged solo founders as “riskier.”

But something is shifting and not slightly, it’s more a structural change in how companies are being built.

This week I stumbled on a piece of data that grabbed my attention, even more due to the last session of the Founder Institute Portugal was about 'How to find your Co-Founder’; more than one‑third of all new startups in 2025 were founded by solo founders. Not as an exception. As a trend. As a new normal.

And suddenly, the session I ran with my fellow partners Elisa and Fernando at Founder Institute Portugal on “how to find your co‑founder” felt… incomplete. Not wrong but incomplete.

Because the truth is that the world that created the “mandatory co‑founder” rule is not the world we’re building in today.

• AI has changed the cost of execution

• No‑code has changed the cost of prototyping

• Global talent has changed the cost of scaling

And founders themselves have changed. I’ve seen it myself on different programs with I work with; they’re more experienced, more technical, more resourceful, and often more capable of carrying the early weight alone than the ecosystem gives them credit for. This doesn’t mean co‑founders are obsolete. Far from it. But it does mean the old dogma “solo = red flag” is starting to feel outdated.

What we’re seeing now is a more nuanced reality:

• Some founders thrive alone and only need a team later.

• Some founders force a co‑founder relationship too early and regret it.

• Some founders are better off solo than with the wrong partner.

• And some of the most resilient companies start with one person obsessed enough to push through the first impossible miles.

Maybe the real question isn’t “Do you have a co‑founder?”

Maybe it’s “Do you have what you need to build the first version of your company?”

As an ecosystem, we need to evolve with the times. As investors, we need to update our filters. And as founder‑support organizations, we need to stop treating co‑founders as mandatory and start treating them as strategic one option among many, not a checkbox.

The rise of the solo founder is a reflection of the tools, the talent, and the times.

And if one‑third of new startups are being built this way, maybe it’s time we stop calling it an exception and start calling it what it is: a legitimate path to building great companies.

• 💡 Save the date! StartupWeekend Women Loulé will take place next March 6, 7 & 8. An inclusive event open to anyone who wants to support and empower women founders and innovators!

• 💡 LandingJobs The Tech Talent Trends 2026 is ON! the study made by the tech community for the tech community is counting on you again!

• 💡 Hackaboa is a community-run group of indie makers / coders / designers / hardware hackers who build their own independent apps/startups, meeting up every Thursday for weekly co-working (and demos) at Unicorn Factory Lisboa

• 💡 Calling all MSc, Ph.D., and Postdoc students in STEM areas or fields of study! Are you ready to turn your innovative ideas into the next big thing? Join Faber's exclusive Entrepreneurship Program (deadline Mar 01) and learn from the real-life experiences of successful entrepreneurs who have turned their dreams into thriving businesses.

Keep following Adamastor to stay up to date with our ecosystem.

See you at the next event.

✍ Quote of the week

“It’s not about ideas. It’s about making ideas happen.”

Scott Belsky

Highlights of the week

• 🔷 SCALE UP NOW, promoted by Startup Portugal in collaboration with Plug and Play, is a program designed to prepare Portuguese startups for the challenges and opportunities of expanding into the United States market - the world’s largest innovation ecosystem. Apply here

• 🔷 Cobuntu, a platform where communities become co-creation engines of aligned sustainability promote the Community Campfire with free practical strategies and insights drawn from real-world experience.

Congrats

• 👏 Lampsy, Manie, DOJO AI and Windcredible made WIRED’s 100 Hottest Startups in Europe list.

• 👏 Le Ticket (french media for PMs) has featured PRODUCTIZED Conference as one of the leading product events for 2026.

• 👏 Pedro Nunes Institute is now joined by Instituto Superior Técnico in managing the European Space Agency’s (ESA) business incubation programme.

Something to read, listen and watch

• 📚 Europe’s Beer Crisis Isn’t About Beer or Why the Future of FMCG Will Be Decided in Restaurants by Nuno Fernandes (DIG-IN).

• 📚 21 Lessons From 14 Years at Google by Addy Osmani.

• 📚 AI and the Human Condition by Ben Thompson.

• 📚 EIT Health Annual Report 2024.

• 📚 AI for healthcare admin.

• 📚 A multimodal sleep foundation model for disease prediction by Nature Medicine.

• 🎧 Modem Futura on Technosphere and Solarpunk: Designing Energy Futures That Let Us Thrive with Clark Miller.

• 🎥 Interview with founder of Statista and CEO of ECDB Friedrich Schwandt.

• 🎥 João Cotter Salvado aborda empreendedorismo e o crescimento do Católica-Lisbon Entrepreneurship Center (CLEC).

• 🎥 Adora Cheung (YC Partner) on How to Set KPIs and Goals.

Looking for your next spark of inspiration or connection? Discover what’s happening in the ecosystem—check out the Adamastor Events Calendar and find the perfect event that fits your goals, your vibe, and your stage. From founder meetups to investor talks, there’s something for everyone.