alt Hacker NewsThis is great advice (that we need to follow) but needs to be updated for 2026. The information value of providing (or receiving) a demo has dropped to roughly zero with vibe coding. Today, an apparently functional and useful product can be produced and demoed in minutes, but that demo provides absolutely zero information into the technical capabilities of the demoing team to follow through on promises with polish and at scale. It doesn't reflect a studied architecture or edge case handling. It basically only shows a vision, which can be tailored to perfectly mirror the recipient's expressed desire even though it's absolute vaporware. This makes it even harder to sell to enterprise in 2026 when the scene is awash in such noise.
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>that demo provides absolutely zero information into the technical capabilities of the demoing team to follow through on promises with polish and at scale.
With vibe coding comes vibes-based capital. I'm only half kidding.
The artifact can be faked cheaply now, so the only buying signal left is commitment. That's exactly the "ruthless" move the post argues for, I think.
> The information value of providing (or receiving) a demo has dropped to roughly zero with vibe coding.
Only if you're a software-only startup. If you have hardware, the entire article is still valid.
Right, and the story now shifts to: What's your customer service & support model? How can you prove this is stable and that you can maintain it? Who is going to handle the pages in the middle of the night?
In my experience demos are half about the product and half about the team / company behind it. So I wouldn’t call its value zero: part of the reason a potential client is asking for a demo is to see if there’s actually a real, intelligent company behind the product.