Almost exactly a year ago, we explored the differences between a founding engineer and a CTO—a post that resonated with many readers. With 2025 well underway, we’re revisiting the topic to see what, if anything, has changed.

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The Rise of Vibe Coding in 2025

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While vibe coding isn’t entirely new, it’s become a major buzzword in the software development world over the past year. A glance at Google Trends shows that in 2023, the term was nearly invisible. By 2024, interest started climbing—especially alongside the rise of AI coding assistants. In 2025, it’s everywhere.

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Here at Linda Mar, we’ve experienced this shift firsthand:

• In 2023: AI-assisted coding wasn’t on our radar. We were focused on low-code and no-code platforms (and yes, we still are).
• In 2024: We began experimenting with AI coding tools. We helped non-technical founders start vibe coding. Vercel’s launch of V0 was a game-changer.
• In 2025: Every engineer on our team uses vibe coding tools and IDEs like Cursor. It’s become essential to how we work.
  

Does Vibe Coding Change the Founding Engineer vs. CTO Dynamic?

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Short answer: Not really.

While vibe coding improves developer productivity, the core distinction between a founding engineer and a CTO remains unchanged. As Doug puts it, these tools boost execution but don’t replace the need for strategic thinking, leadership, and scale-readiness.

However, both people should be aware and capable of using an AI-assisted editor like cursor. Vibe coding is here to stay. If you are talking to someone for this role and they aren't using these tools, it is a red flag.

A founding engineer can get your MVP to market quickly but may struggle with leadership and long-term vision. These challenges often surface after the seed stage. A CTO, on the other hand, brings deep experience in team-building and technical direction from the start.

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Your Product-Building Options in 2025

Despite all the advancements in tooling, your core options are the same:

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1. Hire a Founding Engineer or CTO

• A founding engineer helps you move fast but may lack scale experience.
• A seasoned CTO takes longer to hire and might not match your company culture.
  

2. Hire Engineers and Manage Them Yourself

• Platforms like Upwork make hiring easy, but quality control and coordination are tough
• Do you really have the time or skills to manage dev work day to day?

3. Work with Linda Mar

• We bring proven Silicon Valley tech leadership
• Our engineering team ships and scales products efficiently.
• We’re 100% LATAM-based—world-class talent with cost-effective rates.

Why Linda Mar?

We offer the best of all worlds:

• Strategic product and tech leadership
• Hands-on engineering, design and product execution
• Affordable, nearshore collaboration
  

Let’s talk. We’d love to help you build something great.

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