I’m not a hacker. Not a coder. But I’ve always been obsessed with technology, digital experiments, and clever product ideas. Most of my background is in marketing and launching IT B2B products, especially those involving computer vision. For years, I had ideas dozens of them. But turning any of them into reality was a nightmare. Developers were expensive. Projects dragged on for months. The road was long, winding, and full of dead ends. And then, something changed. Right now is a complete game-changer for people like me. Thanks to the explosion of no-code, AI, and plug-and-play tools, it’s suddenly possible to go from idea to live product test in a day or two — without writing a line of code, and with a total budget under $50. In this article, I’ll share exactly how I do it. My personal pipeline. The one I use every week to test ideas, catch fast feedback, and sometimes stumble into surprisingly good opportunities. My 10-Tool Stack for Rapid App Experiments My 10-Tool Stack for Rapid App Experiments Here’s the full toolkit I’m currently using — you’ll see how it all fits together in the flowchart (I'll drop it in here later): Here’s the full toolkit I’m currently using — you’ll see how it all fits together in the flowchart (I'll drop it in here later): Manus.im — market research & insight hunting ChatGPT — polish hypotheses, shape app ideas, write copy v0.dev + Supabase + Grok — build landing pages, small apps, and AI demos Formspree — handle waitlist and support forms without a backend ImprovMX — quick email forwarding without creating inboxes Plausible.io — lightweight, privacy-friendly analytics Netlify — free, fast hosting Stripe — accept payments Recraft.ai — generate ad visuals Reddit Ads / Facebook Ads — fast, cheap hypothesis testing How I Actually Do It Let’s break it down — not a theoretical guide, but my exact hands-on process. How I Actually Do It Let’s break it down — not a theoretical guide, but my exact hands-on process. 1. Catching Fresh Market Insights with Manus.im Manus.im I start every experiment by looking for unserved problems. Manus is a tool that scrapes fresh conversations, posts, and complaints from niche online communities. When I use Manus, I narrow down: The niche (crypto degens, dating app users, indie hackers, etc.) The pain point or curiosity I want to spot. The niche (crypto degens, dating app users, indie hackers, etc.) niche The pain point or curiosity I want to spot. pain point or curiosity Once I get the report, I don’t just skim it. I hunt for patterns: Recurring complaints = opportunities Weird, oddly specific pain points = breakout ideas Recurring complaints = opportunities Weird, oddly specific pain points = breakout ideas 2. Turning Those Insights into App Ideas with ChatGPT ChatGPT Next, I dump those insights into ChatGPT.I’m not asking for a six-month product plan.I ask for a weird, simple, AI-powered product idea I could build and test this week. Once GPT gives me a list, I pick one idea that feels fresh — then collaborate with it to polish: What’s the one thing it does? Do I need a full product, or is a landing page and waitlist enough to test interest? What’s the one thing it does? Do I need a full product, or is a landing page and waitlist enough to test interest? Spoiler: 90% of the time, a landing page is enough. 90% of the time, a landing page is enough 3. Building Landing Pages (and Simple Apps) with v0.dev v0.dev Once I’ve picked an idea, I turn to v0.dev — an AI-powered no-code site builder. It’s built for things like this. I drop in a prompt for my landing page copy (which I also generate with GPT), and v0.dev turns it into a clean page with: A bold headline Quick feature list Waitlist signup (connected via Formspree) “How it works” section A bold headline Quick feature list Waitlist signup (connected via Formspree) “How it works” section If my idea needs a working demo, I can plug in AI via Grok and Supabase too. 4. Hosting Everything on Netlify Netlify I download the code from v0.dev and deploy it instantly on Netlify. It’s free for basic sites, lets me use custom domains, and takes zero backend setup. Pro tip: If you’re calling AI APIs (like image generation), free API plans timeout fast. Paid plans usually let you request a 30+ sec timeout increase if you ask nicely. 5. Making Killer Ad Creatives with Recraft.ai Recraft.ai To test demand, visuals matter. I ask ChatGPT for a weird, meme-friendly ad concept, then create the image in Recraft. Simple, scroll-stopping, and done in 5 minutes. 6. Running Cheap Ad Tests with Reddit Ads Reddit Ads Why Reddit? Real users Brutally honest feedback Dirt-cheap CPMs Real users Brutally honest feedback Dirt-cheap CPMs I run $30 campaigns, targeting subreddits I pre-discovered via Manus.I track: CTR CPC Signups CTR CPC Signups GPT helps me write clickbait, curiosity-driven ad hooks.Humor and weirdness win here. 7. Accepting Payments with Stripe Stripe If I need to sell anything — subscription, one-time buy, credits — I connect Stripe via Checkout links and embed them in my v0.dev forms. Webhooks run through Netlify. Fast and no-code. Why This Works You don’t need a team, or venture capital, or a big launch strategy. With this pipeline: One motivated person can test any niche User problems get solved faster Vertical-specific tools get built in days, not months One motivated person can test any niche One motivated person can test any niche User problems get solved faster User problems get solved faster Vertical-specific tools get built in days, not months Vertical-specific tools get built in days, not months This is a real shift — a game-changing moment for indie creators, micro-founders, and marketers like me. real shift A Real Example: GetMitch.app GetMitch.app My latest build: GetMitch.app A tiny tool for people with Celiac disease to scan ingredient labels in-store and check for gluten risks — even if the packaging uses tricky, inconsistent wording. There are barcode scanners, sure. But they’re often outdated and incomplete. I built and launched the MVP with this exact pipeline. It’s live, growing, and now I’m improving it based on user feedback. Grab My Full Playbook I wrote a step-by-step guide, with screenshots, problem fixes, and pro tips — it’s way too long for this article. If you want it, follow me on LinkedIn (bio) and DM me “One App Per Day”. “One App Per Day” I’ll send it over. Final Thought You don’t have to be a developer.You just need curiosity, obsession with problems, and a little AI magic. The tools are here.The moment is now.Build faster. Test smarter. Have fun doing it. 👋 Would love to hear what you’re building — drop your links or ideas in the comments.
