Building My First AI App (and Why You Don't Need to Be a Developer to Do It)
For years, I said it like a joke:
"One day, I'll build an app."
Usually followed by something snarky about moving to Palo Alto, hiring a bunch of dudes named Mike, and pitching my idea to VC bros with Patagonia vests and an alarming amount of oat milk lattes.
(Spoiler: I did not move to Silicon Valley.)
But here I am, officially building my first Al app.
No code. No hoodie-wearing co-founder. No technical co-pilot whispering "We'll build it in Python."
Just me, my idea, a no-code tool called Lovable.dev, and two years of quietly training an Al on everything I know about marketing, messaging, and digital products.
The Dream That Used to Feel Out of Reach
A year ago, the idea of building software felt impossible.
Too expensive. Too technical. Too many moving parts.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to do it. I just assumed it was out of reach unless I raised capital, hired a full-stack developer, and turned Boss Project back into a startup overnight.
But then… AI changed the game.
It didn’t replace my strategy, voice, or vision—it accelerated it.
Now I can prototype in hours instead of months. Build workflows that used to take a team. Test ideas at lightning speed. And I don’t need to learn how to write a single line of code.
It became crystal clear: if I didn’t do this now, I’d miss what’s coming next. Not because this has to be your next move but because, for me, it was the most aligned way to amplify the work I’m already doing.
Why I Chose Lovable.dev
I’ve tried other no-code platforms before, but most of them feel like dragging sticky notes around a glorified whiteboard.
Lovable.dev is different.
It actually thinks like a product builder. The flow isn’t about designing pretty boxes, it’s about mapping out how someone moves through your experience. It’s built for people who think in user journeys, not just static pages.
Plus, it integrates with the tools I actually need—like Supabase for backend management and OpenAI (a.k.a. ChatGPT) for real-time AI generation. That combo, that’s what makes this whole project possible.
Behind the Build: My No-Code Dev Process
Let’s pull back the curtain. Here’s how I’m building this AI-powered app step-by-step, without writing a single line of code.
1. Play Pretend
No, actually, this may be the most crucial step.
Before I even committed to what app I wanted to build, I played. I built out ideas I had no intention of finishing, just to see what was possible using Lovable.dev. Plus I wanted to test the ropes on how the builder worked behind the scenes.
I didn’t expect it to be fast. But it was. I didn’t expect to be capable. But I was. And suddenly those “maybe one day” ideas? They weren’t nearly as far-fetched as I thought they’d be. I started entertaining entirely new possibilities because I had access to a tool that made things feel doable.
You don’t need to start with the perfect idea. Start with anything. This is just to see the potential.
2. Find Your MVP
Now that I had the tool, I needed the idea. For months, I’d been compiling a list of concepts I could pursue. Some ideas were smaller than others. But ultimately, I wanted something that checked a very specific set of boxes:
A daily hurdle for both me AND my ideal clients
A problem that could be solved quickly but shows up again and again
A pain point, not a “nice to have”
An idea that could scale—something I could launch lean, but expand over time
Once I landed on the concept, the next question was: what’s Beta? What’s the absolute minimum viable product (MVP) it needs to function and prove value? What idea would have legs?
That’s the version I’m building first. No bloat. Just results.
3. Mapping the Framework
This is really where I fully jumped into the platform. Instead of trying to know all the answers before I plug things in, I’m using Lovable.dev as a collaborator and co-conspirator on the development side.
My job is more focused on thinking like a user and how they would flow from page to page, and sharing my vision with the tool to see its creative solution to getting there. Thinking through:
What’s the first action they need to take?
What should they see next?
What does success look like?
I’m filling in the gaps by mapping out key pages I need to make it functional. Using one of my funnel map templates in Canva would be a great way to create a visual sitemap.
Seeing the whole flow laid out helped me make quick decisions and keep things user-first.
At this point, what I was building wasn’t abstract. I could see a real-time preview of the app as I built it. Clicking through and testing functionality in the moment. No waiting days for a dev handoff. No losing the vision in translation.
4. Making It Functional
Next step? Making sure it does what it’s supposed to.
If someone clicks a button, where does it take them? What should it do?
I didn’t need to know “how” it was going to do it, simply had to be able to describe the actions, menus, and panels needed without touching code.
No guessing.
No hoping it works.
Testing and tweaking in real time.
For now, we’re just defining the experience. We’ll build the logic behind it later. Focus on what should happen and when, without getting lost in syntax.
And because I’ve spent the better part of two decades designing websites and mapping out user journeys, this step felt second nature. If you’ve ever built a great client experience? You already have the skills to make this happen.
5. Connecting Supabase
Time to give the app a brain.
Supabase is the backend glue. It handles the behind-the-scenes magic, like:
Storing user inputs and generated outputs
Saving preferences (like tone, voice, platform)
Handling user authentication
Securing my proprietary training data (more on that in a sec)
It’s basically the database and logic engine that makes the whole experience feel real, not just like a demo.
And I didn’t have to write SQL or set up a database server. Supabase integrates with Lovable.dev like a dream, and it’s powerful enough to scale with me.
6. Integrating OpenAI (And Rooting It in My Training)
Here’s where it gets exciting.
For the past two years, I’ve been quietly training AI inside my business. Feeding it my voice, my frameworks, and the kind of strategic marketing nuance you can’t just copy/paste from ChatGPT.
This app is rooted in that. It’s not pulling from some random default model—it’s drawing from my proprietary system.
Goal: Launch ClickCopy.ai
To transform your existing content into polished, platform-specific assets like emails, social posts, or lead magnets.
In your voice.
For your audience.
Instantly.
It’s built for creators, coaches, and online businesses who want to spend less time staring at blank pages and more time doing what they actually love. And yes, the plan is to expand far beyond just these outputs. This is just the beginning.
I’ll be sharing a full breakdown of how I’m training the AI soon. Including how I’m approaching prompt engineering vs. fine-tuning, how I’m building the dataset, and how I’m versioning improvements over time.
And if you want in early? Join the waitlist to get updates as we roll this out.
What I’m Building I’ll Use Every Day (And I’m Hoping You Will Too)
ClickCopy.ai isn’t just some shiny object. I’m building it to solve my own daily problem. Turning high-quality, long-form content into strategic, ready-to-go copy that I can use everywhere.
That means I’m testing it constantly. I’m in it. I’m giving it feedback. I’m watching how it behaves across different styles, industries, and tones.
This is not a hobby project. It’s the future of how I want to run my content marketing, with more speed, better outputs, and easier to replicate results.
What This Means for You
If you’ve ever had an idea for an app, tool, or software but told yourself:
“I’m not technical enough”
“I’d need to raise money”
“I wouldn’t even know where to start”
Let this be your proof. You don’t need to wait.
With tools like AI and no-code builders like Lovable.dev, the barrier to building something real has never been lower. But the reward is bigger than ever.
This is your permission to try.
Ready to Think Like a Builder?
You don’t have to become a full-stack dev to think like a product creator.
You just need to shift into an experimental mindset—the one that asks “What if?” and “Why not?” and “What would happen if I actually built this?”
Start here:
👉 Try Lovable.dev (it’s genuinely my favorite no-code builder, and this is my affiliate link)
👉 Need help thinking like a builder? Watch my Mindset Reboot workshops. This is the mindset reset you didn’t know you needed to start selling like the future you.
Because the future of business doesn’t belong to the loudest. It belongs to the ones building what comes next.
