From Idea to App: My Vibe-Driven Workflow

Every app I build starts with a conversation.

Not with a co-founder.

Not with a product manager.

But with ChatGPT.

That’s my starting point — the spark zone.

Most of my ideas aren’t wild inventions.

They come from tiny pain points I experience in my day-to-day life.

Something I feel could be way simpler with a little product love.

🔍 Step 1: The ChatGPT Jam

It always begins with me dumping the context into ChatGPT.

I talk it out.

I ramble.

I process the problem out loud, with the model as a sounding board.

Somewhere in that flow, an idea takes shape.

And I go: “Yup, that’s something I want to build.”

🧠 Step 2: Social Mode Validation (ft. Perplexity)

Next stop: Perplexity.

I run the idea in “social mode” — the unsung hero of idea validation.

Perplexity scours Reddit, community forums, and question threads to surface real user pain around the same problem.

It’s not perfect, but it gives me signals.

Sometimes I find threads where people are literally begging for a solution.

And that’s when I know — this one’s worth building.

⚡ Step 3: Bolt.new + ChatGPT Prompt

Once I’m convinced, I head to Bolt.new.

Before that, I ask ChatGPT to create a crisp prompt to feed into it —

usually something like:

“Build a landing page for an app that helps startup teams stay in sync through async check-ins and shared streaks.”

I paste the prompt, click Build, and in seconds — boom — I get a solid landing page to start iterating from.

🎨 Step 4: App Screens via Google Stitch

Now I need the actual app UI.

Again, I turn to ChatGPT —

“Give me a prompt to generate app UI screens with branding, layout, and flow.”

I drop that into Google Stitch, and let it cook.

Within minutes, I have my app screens laid out — with branding, structure, and design language in place.

🎧 Step 5: The Final Vibe — Hand Coding the App

And just like that, the real journey begins.

I sit down, fire up my React Native + Expo project, and start coding everything screen by screen.

No rush.

No pressure.

Just building what feels right.

That’s how I work.

That’s how I ship.

⚙️ Why This Works for Me

This isn't a playbook.

It's not “the right way.”

It’s just my way — driven by flow, curiosity, and a need to solve my own problems.

The tools are fast.

The feedback loops are short.

And the vibe? Always alive.