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sher1096
sher1096

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I Built 6 AI Tools in 30 Days - Here's What I Learned

#showdev #startup #ai #buildinpublic

Last month I challenged myself: build and launch as many useful AI tools as possible. The goal wasn't perfection - it was speed and learning.

Here's what I shipped:

The Tools

1. CleanCSV AI

Problem: Messy CSV files with duplicates, mixed dates, empty cells.
Solution: Upload → AI diagnoses issues → One-click fix → Download clean file.
Stack: Next.js + deterministic cleanup logic (no AI guessing for simple fixes)

2. BriefPDF AI

Problem: Too many PDFs to read.
Solution: Upload any PDF → Get executive summary + key points.
Stack: Next.js + Claude for analysis

3. InvoiceQuill

Problem: Creating invoices is tedious.
Solution: Describe in plain English → AI generates invoice → Live PDF preview.
Stack: Next.js + OpenAI for NLU

4. LegalDocs AI

Problem: Lawyers charge $500 for template documents.
Solution: Answer questions → AI generates Privacy Policy / Terms / NDA.
Stack: Next.js + OpenAI + Creem payments

5. DepthPilot AI

Problem: Learning AI/ML is overwhelming.
Solution: Upload papers → AI extracts key concepts → Track learning progress.
Stack: Next.js + Claude for analysis

6. 16Traders

Problem: Most traders don't know their trading personality.
Solution: 3-minute test → Get your trader archetype (like MBTI for traders).
Stack: Next.js + custom scoring algorithm

What I Learned

1. Speed beats perfection

MVP first, iterate later. None of these are perfect, but they're live and getting feedback.

2. The AI is the easy part

The hard part is everything else: deployment, payments, SEO, marketing, support.

3. Self-hosting is underrated

All 6 tools run on a single $10/month VPS. No Vercel bills, no Lambda surprises.

4. Creem > Stripe for MVPs

Creem handles merchant of record, taxes, compliance. One integration, global payments.

5. Distribution is 80% of the work

Building is fun. Getting users is hard. SEO takes months. Twitter is noisy.

The Numbers (After 30 Days)

  • Total revenue: $0 (yes, zero)
  • Total users: ~200 (mostly from Dev.to)
  • Biggest traffic source: Dev.to articles
  • Biggest time sink: Payment integration

What's Next

The challenge isn't building more tools. It's getting these 6 to product-market fit.

Current focus:

  1. More content marketing (like this post)
  2. Google indexing (submitted to Search Console)
  3. Finding communities where users hang out

If you're building in public too, I'd love to connect. What's been your biggest challenge shipping fast?

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