# Stand on an open model and build the experience around it

- Category: mindset
- Author: Camil (https://indie.md/people/camil/)
- Source: https://indie.md/journeys/camil-soundscrub/
- Canonical URL: https://indie.md/advice/build-on-open-models/

SoundScrub's audio separation is powered by Meta's open-source SAM Audio, not a model Camil trained. The leverage for a solo builder in 2026 is enormous: the hardest research is published and free, so your job is the product around it (the interface, the workflow, the trust). Do not try to out-research a frontier lab. Find the capable open model that does the hard part, and compete on the experience, the focus, and the polish that the raw model will never have on its own.