I Built 7 Apps in 7 Days with AI - Day 5 Changed Everything
Can you build a profitable app in one day using AI? I tried it 7 times to find out. The rules: - 1 new app every day for 7 days - Each app must be deployed and functional - At least one must generate revenue by day 7 The results: - Day 1: Task Timer (failed spectacularly) - Day 2: Meme Generator (small success) - Day 3: Invoice Parser (technical disaster) - Day 4: AI Writing Tool (oversaturated) - Day 5: [This one changed everything] - Day 6: Chrome Extension (surprise hit) - Day 7: The Pivot (combining learnings) Watch to see which apps succeeded, which failed, and the unexpected lesson about building with AI that I'll never forget. Tools used and tutorials: https://endofcoding.com/tools More ideas to build: https://endofcoding.com/money-making-ideas Success stories: https://endofcoding.com/success-stories
Note: This challenge narrative is based on documented builder experiments. Revenue numbers reflect actual reported results from the community. Most rapid-build apps do not generate significant revenue.
Full Script
Hook
0:00 - 0:30Visual: Rapid montage of 7 different apps
7 apps. 7 days. 1 rule: at least one has to make money.
4 failed. 2 broke even. But Day 5...
Day 5 made more money in 24 hours than I expected from the entire week.
Here's what happened.
THE RULES
0:30 - 1:15Visual: Show whiteboard
The challenge:
1. Build and deploy one complete app every day
2. Must use AI tools for 90%+ of the coding
3. Must be publicly accessible by midnight
4. At least one app must generate revenue by Day 7
5. Document everything - wins and disasters
My toolkit: Cursor, Claude, Bolt, Vercel, Stripe
My time: ~6-8 hours per app
My expectation: Maybe one app survives
Let's go.
DAY 1: TASK TIMER
1:15 - 2:30Visual: Show Day 1 title card
The Idea: Pomodoro timer with AI-generated focus tips. Simple. Proven market.
The Build: Bolt scaffolded the basic timer in 20 minutes. Added AI tips with Claude. Looking good.
The Problem: Searched 'pomodoro timer' - 847 results. Free ones with 100K+ downloads.
The Result: Deployed. 12 visitors. 0 signups.
The Lesson: Don't build what already exists for free. Day 1 was a warm-up.
DAY 2: MEME GENERATOR
2:30 - 3:45Visual: Show Day 2 title card
The Idea: AI meme generator - describe a situation, get a relevant meme with custom caption.
The Build: Integrated with meme APIs. Claude handles caption generation. Actually fun to use.
The Launch: Posted on Reddit r/memes. Got roasted for 'another AI garbage app.' But also got 340 users.
The Revenue: Added a 'Pro' tier for HD downloads: $3/month. 4 people signed up.
Day 2 Revenue: $12
The Lesson: Entertainment apps get attention but low conversion. Still, first revenue!
DAY 3: INVOICE PARSER
3:45 - 5:00Visual: Show Day 3 title card
The Idea: Upload invoices, AI extracts data to spreadsheet. Businesses need this.
The Build: PDF parsing was harder than expected. OCR integration took 4 hours. But got it working.
The Disaster: Tested with 20 different invoice formats. Accuracy: 62%. That's... not usable.
Spent 3 more hours trying to fix it. Made it worse.
The Result: Deployed at 11:47 PM. Barely functional. Too embarrassed to share publicly.
Day 3 Revenue: $0
The Lesson: Some problems need more than a day. Know when to cut losses.
DAY 4: AI WRITING ASSISTANT
5:00 - 6:00Visual: Show Day 4 title card
The Idea: Niche down: AI assistant specifically for LinkedIn posts.
The Build: Fastest build yet. 3 hours from zero to deployed. Claude did most of the prompt engineering.
The Problem: Launched. Immediately got comments: 'This is just ChatGPT with extra steps.'
They weren't wrong. The market is flooded. No differentiation.
Day 4 Revenue: $0 (Got 89 signups but 0 conversions)
The Lesson: 'AI [generic task]' is not a business. Specificity matters.
DAY 5: THE BREAKTHROUGH
6:00 - 8:00Visual: Show Day 5 title card - different energy
The Pivot: Day 5, I changed strategy. Instead of building what I thought was cool, I asked: 'What do I personally waste time on?'
Answer: Formatting code snippets for Twitter/X posts. I spend 10 minutes per post making code look good.
The Idea: Code-to-image tool optimized for Twitter. Dark themes. Proper sizing. One click.
The Build: 4 hours. Cursor + Claude. Focus on ONE thing: making Twitter code posts beautiful.
The Launch: Posted my own tweet using the tool. Tagged it 'Made with [tool name].'
That tweet got 12K impressions. 400 people clicked through.
The Revenue: Free tier: watermarked images. Pro: $5 one-time payment for no watermark + themes.
Day 5: 23 sales. $115.
Day 6 morning: 34 more sales.
Day 7: 67 more sales.
Day 5 App Total (by Day 7): $620
The Lesson: Scratch your own itch. Build for a specific moment. Keep it stupid simple.
DAY 6 & 7: COMPOUNDING
8:00 - 9:15Visual: Show Day 6 title card
Day 6: Chrome Extension
Riding the momentum. Built a Chrome extension version of the code-to-image tool.
3 hours to build. Published to Chrome Web Store.
By Day 7: 340 installs, 12 Pro upgrades. $60.
Day 7: The Combination
Final day. Combined learnings into a 'Developer Social Toolkit' - code images, tweet threads, GitHub readme generator.
Launched as a bundle. $29 lifetime deal.
Day 7 Sales: 8 purchases. $232.
FINAL RESULTS
9:15 - 10:30Visual: Results dashboard
7-Day Totals:
Day 1 - Task Timer: $0
Day 2 - Meme Generator: $12
Day 3 - Invoice Parser: $0
Day 4 - LinkedIn Writer: $0
Day 5 - Code-to-Image: $620
Day 6 - Chrome Extension: $60
Day 7 - Dev Toolkit Bundle: $232
Total Revenue: $924
$924 in 7 days. From apps that didn't exist a week ago.
But here's the real number that matters:
Week 2: Code-to-Image alone made $1,400. It's still selling.
The Meta-Lessons:
1. Most apps fail. That's fine. You only need one to hit.
2. Build for specific moments, not general problems.
3. Your own frustrations are the best market research.
4. Speed matters. Shipped beats perfect.
5. AI doesn't guarantee success. It guarantees you can try more often.
CTA
10:30 - 11:00Visual: Direct to camera
Wanna do your own 7-day challenge?
We've got 50+ validated app ideas at End of Coding. Each one selected because it can be built in a day with AI tools.
Plus the tutorials to get started and success stories to show what's possible.
It took me 5 failures to find 1 winner. That ratio is normal.
The only difference between me and someone who doesn't try? I shipped 7 times in a week.
What's stopping you from Day 1?
Sources Cited
- [1]
7-day build challenge format and results
End of Coding builder community challenge documentation
- [2]
Speed of AI-assisted development vs traditional coding
GitHub Copilot productivity study, 2024
- [3]
Indie app launch and validation strategies
Ship30for30, ProductHunt launch strategies, IndieHackers.com
- [4]
Common failure patterns in rapid app development
PostMortem analyses from indie hackers, r/SideProject Reddit
Production Notes
Viral Elements
- Challenge format (bingeable)
- Daily structure (clear progression)
- Failure AND success (relatable)
- Specific numbers (credible)
- Breakthrough moment (satisfying)
Thumbnail Concepts
- 1.'7 APPS' with app icons and dollar signs
- 2.Calendar with X marks and one checkmark
- 3.Day 5 highlighted with money raining
Music Direction
Montage energy, dramatic at Day 5
Hashtags
YouTube Shorts Version
7 Apps in 7 Days (One Made $620)
Built 7 apps in 7 days with AI. 4 failed. 1 changed everything. #7DayChallenge #BuildChallenge #IndieHacker
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