Business building · Do this yourself

Build and launch a simple AI tool fast, then grow it.

💰 Starter Story makes about $42k a month doing this. $42K MRR (reported by Starter Story)

No X data

Based on Starter Story on YouTube (opens in new tab)

Who it’s for

Founders and makers.

Adapt it to your industry

Coach: an app or tool that helps clients between sessions
Shop: a tool that solves one annoying problem for your customers
Freelancer: package your best service into a self-serve product

Step by step

Write down one problem a specific group of people pays to solve (for example “gym owners losing members”).
Open ChatGPT, Claude or Grok and paste the prompt below to sharpen the idea and list what the first version must do.
Build a simple first version with a no-code builder such as Lovable, Bolt or Bubble, or with Cursor if you code.
Create a Stripe account and a Payment Link so people can pay from day one.
Make a one-page website that explains the problem, the fix and the price.
Show it to 10 people from your target group and change what confuses them.
Launch where those people already gather, then ask every new user for feedback.

Ready-to-copy prompt

List 10 tasks in [niche] that people already pay freelancers for and that an AI tool could do in minutes. Rank by willingness to pay.

Start with AI

Opens the AI with this guide and the prompt filled in.

Open in ChatGPT (opens in new tab)Open in Claude (opens in new tab)Open in Grok (opens in new tab)

Time: 2–6 weeks for a first versionOur estimate

Your launch plan

Everything to build it, get customers and get paid, in order. Prices are public list prices, checked Oct 15, 2026.

Sign up for Claude (incl. Claude Code) (opens in new tab) (Free tier · Pro $20/mo).
Sign up for Lovable (opens in new tab) (Free tier · Pro $25/mo).
Sign up for Supabase database (opens in new tab) (Free tier · Pro from $25/mo).
Build the first version: follow the steps above, or press “Open in ChatGPT/Claude/Grok” to get help.
Set up payments with Stripe payments (opens in new tab) (No monthly fee · 2.9% + 30¢ per card payment) and put the payment link on your page.
Get customers. X: post a short demo or before/after every day (free).
Get customers. Reddit: answer questions in the subreddits your customers read; follow each subreddit’s self-promo rules (free).
Get customers. Cold email: a short, personal note to 20 people a day who clearly have the problem.
Get customers. SEO: one helpful page per question your customers search for (free).
Offer your first 3 customers a “founding” price for honest feedback and a testimonial.
Charge $29 per customer per month (monthly subscription (saas)), and ask every happy customer for one introduction.

Monthly cost$0–$70/monthFree tiers → paid plans of the tools above. Card fees come out of each sale.

What you could earn · EstimateEstimate: 10 customers × $29 = $290/moOur estimate, not a fact or a promise. It’s simple math if you land these customers at this price.

Details: source, numbers and tags

What they did

CJ Zafir built the AI product and grew it in three months; the video walks through how.

How it went

Reported at $42,000 MRR.

Worth knowing

Starter Story interviews the founder and shows dashboards on camera; we have not verified the numbers.

Difficulty: AdvancedOur rating
Time to build: Not reportedOur estimate
Monthly cost: Not reported
Revenue: $42K MRR (reported by Starter Story)Third-party reported: Reported by a third party (interview, podcast or article); not verified by us
Engagement: 177,838 YouTube viewsfetched Oct 15, 2026
X buzz: No X data