Most first apps never go live. Not because the AI gets stuck, but because the idea is too big.
If you're building your first app with an AI coding assistant, the best thing you can do before opening it is answer five questions on one page. If an answer needs more than two lines, the idea is still too big.
The five questions
- Who is it for? One kind of person, like "freelance designers", not "everyone".
- What problem do they have? Say it the way they would say it.
- What is the one thing they do in your app? One action, like "log a client call".
- What do they see afterwards? The result that makes them come back.
- How will you know it works? For example: one real person uses it twice in a week.
Then fill in this sentence:
For [who], who struggle with [problem], [app name] lets them [one action], so they [result].
That sentence becomes the first line of your brief to the AI. A tool that knows exactly what you're building makes far fewer wrong guesses.
Cut it down
| Big idea | Version one |
|---|---|
| A platform for personal trainers | Trainers send each client a weekly workout plan as a link |
| A CRM for freelancers | Log each client and the last time you spoke; show who's overdue |
| A recipe app | Save recipes from a link and tag them |
| A team habit tracker | One person ticks one habit a day and sees their streak |
Leave these out of version one
- Payments
- Admin dashboards and settings pages
- Teams, sharing and invitations
- Notifications and emails
- A phone app from the app stores
- Several languages
Build a web app, not a phone app. It works in any browser, needs no app store approval, and you can change it in minutes. If people love it, a phone app can come later.
One more thing
My first product had a seven-phase plan. I launched after phase four and moved the rest to a list called "Later". Launching taught me more than building those three phases would have.
If it doesn't fit in a weekend, it's not version one.
This is chapter 1 of Live by Sunday, a 42-page guide for people who don't code: build your first app with AI in one weekend and put it live on your own domain by Sunday night. 30 copy-paste prompts are included. More at livebysunday.app.
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