Business building · Do this yourself

Build an app with an AI code editor and launch it to people who already follow you.

💰 Starter Story makes about $25k a month doing this. $300K ARR (reported by Starter Story)

No X data

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

Who it’s for

Creators and makers with an audience.

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

Plan a launch-day offer for my app to my audience: early-bird price, deadline, and 3 posts for launch day.

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)

Cost: $0–100/month to start (AI plan, builder, domain)Our estimate
Time: 2–6 weeks for a first versionOur estimate

How to make money from it

Pricing idea: Start with one simple monthly plan (for example $9–49 a month for consumers, $49–299 for businesses) and a free trial or free first use.

Finding your first 10 customers

Write to 30 people who clearly have the problem (forums, LinkedIn, your contacts) and offer early access.
Give the first users a lower “founding” price in exchange for feedback.
Post your build progress publicly every week.

Ideas, not promises. Results vary.

Details: source, numbers and tags

What they did

Alex Finn built the app with Cursor and launched it to an existing audience.

How it went

Reported at $300K ARR (about $25K a month).

Worth knowing

Starter Story interviews the founder and shows dashboards on camera; we have not verified the numbers. The monthly figure is $300K ARR divided by 12.

Difficulty: IntermediateOur rating
Time to build: Not reportedOur estimate
Monthly cost: Not reported
Revenue: $300K ARR (reported by Starter Story)Third-party reported: Reported by a third party (interview, podcast or article); not verified by us
Engagement: 207,253 YouTube viewsfetched Oct 15, 2026
X buzz: No X data