In a bold move that defines entrepreneurial courage, two former Google employees, including an Indian-origin founder, made the dramatic decision to shut down a profitable business. They chose to start from scratch, betting everything on the transformative power of artificial intelligence. That gamble has now paid off spectacularly, with their new AI-powered startup achieving a staggering valuation of $100 million.
From Profitable Marketplace to AI Visionaries
Dhruv Amin, 33, and Marcus Lowe, 33, are the co-founders and co-CEOs of 'Anything', an innovative AI "vibe-coding" startup. Their journey, however, began with a different company called 'Create'. Founded in 2018, Create was a marketplace that used AI tools to connect startups with freelance engineers for building apps and websites. Remarkably, the business was profitable from its very first day, generating an impressive $2 million in annual revenue.
The landscape shifted irrevocably with the public launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT in November 2022. Amin described this event as a "surprise leap in AI capability" that forced a fundamental rethink. By early 2023, the duo reached a critical conclusion: generative AI would eventually automate a significant portion of coding work. This insight meant their existing business model was under imminent threat.
The Pivotal Decision to Start Anew
After months of intense deliberation, Amin and Lowe took a drastic step in October 2023. They shut down the profitable Create marketplace, laid off half of their seven-member team, and severed ties with their network of freelance developers. "Within two weeks, we were back to an empty office," Amin recalled, highlighting the stark reality of their reset.
This decision to "go back to zero" was, by Amin's own admission, among the hardest of his career. Yet, he believed the timing was crucial. They immediately began building anew, focusing entirely on AI's potential. Their first tool could generate app components like forms and calendars. By April 2025, they had launched a revolutionary product capable of building entire online businesses—including backend systems and payments—without requiring any coding experience from the user.
The Meteoric Rise of 'Anything'
The rebranding to 'Anything' marked the true take-off point. The company quickly reached a $2 million annualised revenue run rate within just two weeks of launching its new product. This explosive growth attracted significant investor interest, leading to an $11 million funding round that valued the startup at approximately $100 million, as reported by CNBC Make It.
Amin now views the painful pivot as a foundational story for the company. "This company will stick through it, even if the technology shifts, even if the business model shifts," he stated. He added with pride, "We've painted it in blood, sweat and tears." Amin's entrepreneurial path is notable beyond this pivot. He previously gained viral attention for sharing his experience of hiring Soham Parekh, the Silicon Valley engineer infamous for moonlighting at multiple startups, which drained Create's resources.
Dhruv Amin's background is rooted in elite tech education. The Indian-origin founder holds a bachelor's and a master's degree in Computer Science from Stanford University, complemented by an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. His professional experience includes roles as an Associate Product Manager at Google and a Product Manager at YouTube before embarking on his entrepreneurial journey.
The story of Anything is a powerful testament to the foresight required in the fast-evolving tech world. It underscores a willingness to abandon short-term profitability for a long-term vision shaped by artificial intelligence, a bet that has positioned these founders at the forefront of the next wave of software development.
