IT veteran starts a "one-person company" — gameplay is completely different in the AI era

□Sichuan Daily All-Media Reporter Yin Mengqi Text/Photos

Software development is a systematic project involving requirements analysis, system design, coding, testing, and delivery. Under traditional models, even a standard software project typically requires five or six people working together.

However, Chengdu Huairui Shulian Technology Co., Ltd., which provides software development and related services to small and micro enterprises, is somewhat special. It is a “one-person company.” The company’s general manager, Si Fengrui, has been in the software industry for over ten years, trying entrepreneurship and working at various companies.

The so-called “one-person company” doesn’t mean just “one person” in the literal sense, but refers to a highly AI-dependent micro-team of one or two or three people. Relying on this “individual + AI” super-entity model, Si Fengrui can mobilize “an army of thousands,” efficiently connecting market demands. Last year, his “one-person company” completed four software development projects, with a total contract value exceeding 600,000 yuan.

With AI as the “strongest partner”

“Transforming coders into project managers”

March 10th, a regular workday. At 9 a.m., Si Fengrui, carrying a backpack, walks into a building in Tianfu New Economic Industry Park by Xinglong Lake, Chengdu, following the flow of commuters. He opens a small office that can accommodate dozens of people and chooses a seat by the window. This is one of his “workstations,” also the startup company of a friend.

Approaching Si Fengrui’s workstation, his computer screen is filled with various code files and client order documents. In mid-January, he received his first order of the year: to develop an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system for a new energy battery supplier’s Changzhou production base — the fifth project he has taken on since deciding to focus on running a “one-person company” last year.

With over ten years of experience in the software industry, Si Fengrui has a rich work background: he has tried entrepreneurship, worked at multiple companies, engaged in software development, marketing, and has served as a project manager.

As early as 2019, when he was working at a company, he had the idea of “freelance orders.” “Information technology is a light-assets industry; the core asset is basically a computer. The initial startup costs are not high, so I’ve always wanted to do some projects I’m interested in and broaden my industry horizons,” he said.

However, software development is a systematic project involving requirements analysis, system design, coding, testing, and delivery. Under traditional models, even a standard software project usually requires five or six people working together.

“Deciding to start alone means I not only have to handle the project but also take on administration, finance, sales, and other roles — basically managing all daily operations of a company,” the “post-85s” IT veteran said with a smile. “It’s like on a sports field: I have to be both coach and player, and also handle logistics.”

Ultimately, Si Fengrui chose to focus on running a “one-person company” because he welcomed a “super partner.”

2025 is widely regarded as the year of large-scale AI application implementation in the industry. In Si Fengrui’s computer, there is a “virtual team” that is online 24/7. He switches between platforms: using Cursor to assist coding, Doubao to organize customer needs and draft initial plans, WPS AI features to process documents and create PPTs, and Yimeng AI for image generation…

While advancing the ERP project with Cursor’s help, he reflects, “In the past, such a software development project would be impossible for me alone, but now, with AI tools, I can deliver in just over two months.”

In this “one-person company,” Si Fengrui has transformed from a professional “coder” into a “project manager” — only now, the team members are different AI tools instead of people.

One person is a team

Flexible but still facing challenges in finding projects and funding

“Tomorrow I’ll come back to discuss specific requirements,” Si Fengrui’s phone kept ringing all morning. Besides coding, he also handles various client requests.

Market expansion, requirement matching, coding, software delivery… His schedule is packed. When asked about the work rhythm of a “one-person company,” he said, “It’s actually no different from a regular company — funding sources, policy support, all the considerations are there, and no business segment is left out.” But the biggest difference is that his “colleagues” have shifted from a group of people to a set of AI tools.

On the surface, a “one-person company” means “one person supporting a company,” but behind it lies a new organizational logic.

“In the past, entrepreneurship focused on defining strategy and building a team; team size largely determined what kind of business a company could do,” Si Fengrui explained. “But in the AI era, creating a ‘one-person company’ works differently. The key now is to identify the niche, build the platform, and improve efficiency — all decisions revolve around maximizing AI tool utility.”

“The ‘one-person company’ is flexible and flat in management. For example, in software projects, when a client requests new features, large companies often require multiple approval layers; in a ‘one-person company,’ the decision-maker and executor are the same person, so decisions are quick and can be implemented rapidly,” he said. Many clients are attracted to this model’s flexible decision-making, quick response, and lower costs, which has helped him carve out a new market niche.

With AI tools, the concept of “one person equals a team” becomes a reality — enabling a “one-person company” not only to adapt swiftly in a competitive market but also to undertake and complete full business cycles.

However, looking further ahead, Si Fengrui recognizes the development bottleneck: currently, the company mainly relies on project-based income, which is unstable, and each project’s high customization makes it hard to replicate, leading to a lack of continuity. “In the future, I hope to shift toward productization, developing universal products, and transforming the company’s revenue model from passive project-based orders to proactive development and long-term operation,” he said.

His daily work locations are constantly changing: home, friends’ spare desks, cafes… Now, Si Fengrui is applying for a workspace at an OPC community in Chengdu. “The biggest challenge now is still finding projects and funding,” he said. He hopes that the resources and policy support from the OPC community, including project demand, funding channels, and other resources, will help his “one-person company” go further and more steadily.

“Starting a ‘one-person company’ is a choice with both opportunities and risks,” Si Fengrui said. “Whether I can bear the risk of no income in the short term and whether this model is sustainable all depend on careful planning. During this process, I must constantly fight against complacency, face market competition, and push myself to find new breakthroughs.”