# Why Bolt.new Won and Most DevTools AI Pivots Failed - Victoria Melnikova AI Engineer · 2025-06-10 Victoria Melnikova explains how StackBlitz's Bolt.new achieved explosive growth from near-death to over 100M ARR by avoiding common AI pivot traps. She outlines three mistakes: adding a chatbot UI, competing broadly against big AI labs, and waiting for perfect AI instead of building tactically. StackBlitz succeeded by identifying its unfair advantage—running full dev environments in the browser without containers or servers—and amplifying it with AI to let users describe apps and see them live instantly. This created a new category of vibe coding, not just an AI feature. Melnikova urges devtools founders to find their unique moat and reinvent workflows rather than bolt AI onto existing ones. ## Questions this episode answers ### What mistakes do developer tools startups make when adding AI, according to Victoria Melnikova? Victoria Melnikova outlines four common mistakes: 1) Sprinkling AI into the UI (e.g., chatbots), which users find underwhelming and rarely try again, leading to deprecated features. 2) 'Boiling the ocean'—trying to compete broadly with giants like OpenAI and Anthropic. 3) Waiting for AI to be perfect instead of iterating. 4) Not talking to users, building unneeded interfaces. She cautions these pitfalls burn runway without results. [1:20](https://aie.addtry.com/92c6e84e-6d9c-4f07-8dd1-905109d23ce0?t=80000) ### What is Victoria Melnikova's three-step framework for a successful AI pivot in developer tools? She proposes a three-step framework: 1) Identify your unfair advantage—a unique competitive edge beyond features, like StackBlitz's browser-based full dev environment (no containers/servers). 2) Determine how AI amplifies that advantage—for StackBlitz, simplifying vibe coding by letting users describe apps in words and instantly preview. 3) Create a new category by reimagining the user flow, as Bolt.new did for app creation. This shifts from adding AI to an existing workflow to inventing a new one. [3:17](https://aie.addtry.com/92c6e84e-6d9c-4f07-8dd1-905109d23ce0?t=197000) ### How did StackBlitz's Bolt.new go from near shutdown to $100M ARR? In December 2023, StackBlitz faced a board ultimatum after years of flat growth. They pivoted by applying their unique web container technology (running full dev environments in-browser without servers) to AI, creating Bolt.new. Users could describe apps in natural language and instantly deploy them, drastically simplifying vibe coding. This led to $20M ARR in 2 months and reportedly crossing $100M ARR within 18 months, turning near-shutdown into explosive success. [0:00](https://aie.addtry.com/92c6e84e-6d9c-4f07-8dd1-905109d23ce0?t=0) ## Key moments - **[0:00] The Ultimatum** - [0:00] Eric Simons received a board ultimatum in December 2023: StackBlitz had to show real progress by end of 2024 or be shut down. - **[0:41] Overnight Success** - **[1:20] AI Pivot Traps** - [1:20] Adding a chatbot interface to an existing developer tool often leads to quietly deprecated features as users lose interest. - [2:32] The biggest killer of AI product development is not talking to users, leading companies to build features users don't need. - **[2:54] The Solution** - **[3:17] Unfair Advantage** - **[3:35] Amplify Advantage** - **[4:14] New Category** - **[4:42] Takeaway** - [4:42] "StackBlitz's secret wasn't 'unique AI.' Everybody has access to Anthropic. It was their unique competitive advantage." ## Speakers - **Victoria Melnikova** (guest) ## Topics Vibe Coding ## Mentioned Anthropic (company), Evil Marshals (company), OpenAI (company), Stackblitz (company), Bolt.new (product) ## Transcript ### The Ultimatum **Victoria Melnikova** [0:00] December 2023, StackBlitz board meeting. Eric Simons walks into the room, knowing that his company is dying. Seven years of building this revolutionary web container technology, millions raised, but the revenue is practically zero and the growth is practically flat. The board gives him an ultimatum: "You show us real progress by the end of 2024, or we shut this down." Just 2 months later, Bolt.new is showcasing explosive growth: 20 million ARR in just 2 months. And today, 18 months later, we expect to see another update: crossing over 100 million ARR for Bolt.new. This "overnight" success didn't really happen overnight. It took 7 years in the making. And today, I'm going to tell you exactly how that happened, so you can replicate it for your business. I'm Victoria from Evil Marshals, the go-to agency for developer tools. ### Overnight Success **Victoria Melnikova** [0:56] We've been StackBlitz's technical partner since 2021, back when nobody believed in browser-based technology, web containers, and investors thought that this was the dead end. We work with 40-plus early-stage developer tools startups each year, and everybody is asking the same question: "How do I bring AI into my product?" First, let's talk about what doesn't work. The most common mistake I see is, "Let's sprinkle some AI into our UI." And the problem with that is people are very tired of chatbot interfaces at this point. It's very hard to convince yourself to try something new, to test new features, because oftentimes the results are underwhelming. ### AI Pivot Traps **Victoria Melnikova** [1:43] So if you're just slapping on a chatbot, you're taking a risk. Your customers might just lose interest and never try it again, and the result will be very sad as well: a quietly deprecated feature. The second common trap I see is boiling the ocean. When you're trying to AI-power everything, you're competing with the big guys like OpenAI and Anthropic, and the reality is you just don't have that big of a team and that big of an investment behind you. Instead, try to think about what you can leverage. What's your unique domain? What's your unique expertise? What's your unique technology? If we bet on that, the chances that we succeed are much higher. Then there are companies that are waiting for the AI to be perfect. And the reality is we have to build the tooling as we go. It's up to us. If we get scrappy, if we get creative with our solutions, we will stay ahead of the game. But the biggest killer? Not talking to users. I've seen many companies reinvent the wheel, invest a lot of money, a lot of resources into building beautiful, intricate interfaces that users don't need. ### The Solution **Victoria Melnikova** [2:54] And the reality is: no market, no product. Talk to your users first. While everyone else bolted AI into their existing workflows, StackBlitz did something different. I want to take you through 3 simple steps that you can apply to your business, and try to replicate StackBlitz's success with Bolt.new. ### Unfair Advantage **Victoria Melnikova** [3:17] Step 1: identify your unfair advantage. Not product features, but your unique competitive edge. Let's take StackBlitz. They're the only company that can run a full development environment in the browser. They don't need containers. They don't need servers. They don't need local setup. What's your unique advantage? It could be something like domain expertise, or data distribution, or infrastructure. You name it. Step 2: figure out how AI can amplify your competitive advantage. So instead of thinking, "How do I bring AI into my product?" ### Amplify Advantage **Victoria Melnikova** [3:52] think, "What becomes possible when AI meets my unique capability?" For StackBlitz, it was pretty straightforward. Every other vibe coding tool had the same issue: the process is just too complicated for an average user. So instead, you describe your app with words, you see itright there in the browser, and you can share the URL with the public. Easy. It only became possible because they had this unique competitive advantage. So now it's your turn. What becomes possible when AI meets your unfair advantage? Step 3, last but not the least: create a category. Instead of thinking in existing workflows, think about how your capability can change the flow altogether. ### New Category **Victoria Melnikova** [4:42] If we take a look at StackBlitz, this is called inventing a category. They reinvented how people vibe code. Why this moment matters? The reality is StackBlitz's secret wasn't "unique AI." Everybody has access to Anthropic. It was their unique competitive advantage. ### Takeaway **Victoria Melnikova** [5:01] And once they figured it out, they reinvented the user flow, and they bet everything on it. They went all in. So I want to encourage you to take a look at your product. Be honest. Sometimes it's painful. Take a look at your product and think: what's your unique moat? What's your competitive advantage? How can AI amplify that advantage? Can you reinvent a workflow? Can you create a category out of this process? If you find answers to all of those questions, you're on theright track. Good luck. --- This library is powered by PodHood (https://podhood.com), the podcast website platform.