Ex-Shopify Founder Aims to Help Devs Build Solo Unicorns
▼ Summary
– Sam Altman and other tech CEOs are betting on when the first one-person billion-dollar company will emerge, enabled by AI-driven startups.
– Polar, led by CEO Birk Jernström, aims to support solo entrepreneurs by handling billing and taxes, allowing them to focus on scaling their AI-first businesses.
– Polar raised $10 million in seed funding from Accel, targeting AI-native startups seeking streamlined payment infrastructure with minimal coding.
– Jernström’s prior startup, Tictail, was acquired by Shopify, where he later contributed to building the Shop app before founding Polar in 2021.
– Polar has grown to 18,000 customers, primarily developers, and integrates with popular tools like Framer and Raycast, aligning with Jernström’s goal to simplify software entrepreneurship.
The concept of a solo founder building a billion-dollar company is no longer science fiction, thanks to AI. What once seemed impossible is now within reach as independent developers leverage artificial intelligence to create scalable businesses with minimal overhead. At the forefront of this movement is Birk Jernström, former Shopify founder and now CEO of Polar, a platform designed to help solo entrepreneurs monetize their software effortlessly.
Polar distinguishes itself by catering specifically to developers, handling complex tasks like global billing and tax compliance through a simple API integration. This streamlined approach caught the attention of Accel, which led a $10 million seed round. According to partner Andrei Brasoveanu, the rise of AI-native startups demands infrastructure that lets founders focus on growth rather than operational headaches.
Jernström’s track record adds credibility to Polar’s mission. His previous venture, Tictail, simplified e-commerce for small merchants before its acquisition by Shopify in 2018. After contributing to Shopify’s Shop Pay ecosystem, he left in 2021 to launch Polar, a decision supported by Shopify’s leadership, including CEO Tobias Lütke, who now backs the startup as an angel investor.
What sets Polar apart is its hands-on, developer-first ethos. Jernström personally engages with users, resolving dozens of support tickets daily to refine the platform. Since its 2024 launch, Polar has attracted 18,000 customers, many of whom are indie developers monetizing niche tools. The company’s cap table reads like a who’s-who of the dev-tool space, with backers from Framer, Raycast, Supabase, and Vercel, all aligned with Jernström’s vision of democratizing software entrepreneurship.
The timing couldn’t be better. AI has lowered barriers to entry, enabling solo builders to compete with traditional startups. For Jernström, Polar represents more than just a business, it’s a continuation of his lifelong focus on empowering underdogs. “Like Shopify did for e-commerce, we want to unlock independence for developers,” he says. “Let them build, ship, and scale on their own terms.”
With heavyweight support and a market ripe for disruption, Polar is poised to redefine what it means to be a solo founder in the AI era. The billion-dollar one-person unicorn might not be a fantasy after all, it could be the next logical step in tech’s evolution.
(Source: TechCrunch)
