I built a $99K/month AI app

An entrepreneur built an AI platform, Magi, in just 8 weeks without coding experience or initial funding, generating nearly $100,000 monthly. The platform addresses the fragmented AI market by consolidating access to multiple AI models, including language, image, and video generators, into a single subscription. This approach solves the problem of users needing multiple subscriptions for various AI tools and enhances the user experience by adding missing features like search and folders.

The success of Magi stems from a combination of factors: a personal brand built over 10 years with a substantial email list, a generous recurring revenue affiliate program, and strong industry relationships. The founder's journey involved self-teaching no-code tools and applying past business experience to identify a market need, transforming a perceived personal failure into a successful venture.

Magi offers a unified dashboard for various AI models, including GPT5, Claude, Dolly, and Flux, through a single subscription. It monetizes through paid plans, with a $20/month solo option and a $40/month team plan for up to five users, allowing for scaling to enterprise needs. The core message emphasizes that past failures should not define future potential, encouraging aspiring builders to focus on their ideas and execute them effectively.

• An AI platform was built in 8 weeks using no-code tools.
• The platform generates nearly $100,000 per month in revenue.
• It offers access to multiple AI models (language, image, video) in one subscription.
• Growth strategies included building a personal brand and a generous affiliate program.
• The founder advises against letting past failures dictate future confidence.

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The Genesis of a Million-Dollar AI Platform [00:00]

• The speaker introduces a founder who built an AI platform that generates almost $100,000 a month.
• The founder, Dustin, had a revelation about the direction of the world and the next three years.
• With no money and no coding experience, he taught himself to build apps and created a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
• His first month generated $3,000, followed by $10,000 a month two months later, and $30,000 a month after a year.
• The video promises to explore the app's problem-solving capabilities, its 8-week no-code build process, and why building AI now is recommended.

I built an AI platform that makes almost $100,000 a month.

Background and Entrepreneurial Journey [01:19]

• The founder grew up in small-town Pennsylvania and initially pursued acting in California.
• Hating waiting tables, he started a business and discovered a talent for social media and technology.
• He taught himself web design and marketing, starting an agency.
• He realized that his perfectionism didn't scale well in an agency model.
• He shifted focus to building digital products to help hundreds of thousands of people.
• His first digital product was a WordPress plugin company started in 2014 with partners, which he later exited.
• Subsequent products failed, leaving him unsure of his next steps, but he persisted.
• The idea for Magi marked a new phase in his life.

I found that if I focused all that perfectionism into building digital products, I could help hundreds of thousands of people rather than one client at a time.

The Idea Behind Magi [02:21]

• The founder noticed the global shift driven by AI technology.
• While using ChatGPT, he identified missing features like chat search and folder organization.
• He believed he could create a better, improved version.
• Leveraging his no-code app development skills and experience in subscription SaaS, he recognized customer fatigue with subscriptions.
• He saw a market gap where users might need multiple AI subscriptions and envisioned a solution to consolidate them.
• This led to the genesis of Magi, addressing both quality-of-life improvements and the need for a unified AI platform.

I saw the writing on the wall. I saw that the whole world was about to change.

Building Magi with No-Code Tools [03:41]

• The founder confirmed he is not a developer and was broke when the idea struck.
• He learned to build without spending money by taking an online course and learning rapidly.
• Within 8 weeks, he built a full MVP using a combination of Bubble and some code he understood.
• He launched the app expecting minimal sales but was surprised by the initial revenue.
• The first month generated $3,000, the second $4,000, and by the third month, it reached $10,000 a month.
• After one year, the monthly revenue hit $30,000.

I had to find a way to build it myself without spending any money.

Growth Tactics and Marketing Strategies [04:36]

• The most crucial marketing strategy was building a personal brand over the past 10 years and "building in public."
• He maintained a personal blog for over 10 years, accumulating over 100,000 email subscribers.
• This provided a built-in audience upon launching his product, eliminating the need for paid advertising.
• He implemented a generous, recurring revenue-based affiliate program, paying partners multiple times for referred customer subscriptions.
• He also credited strong relationships with friends in the industry, including skilled marketers, for contributing to initial momentum.
• He emphasized genuine care for people and his extroverted nature as factors in building these relationships.

You need to be building in public. People want to see the journey.

Introducing Rocket.New as a Solution [06:04]

• The speaker highlights the common issue of founders getting stuck in the build phase for months.
• Rocket.New is presented as a tool to accelerate app development.
• It allows users to go from a few sentences describing their idea to a full-stack app without coding.
• Users can describe their vision once and receive a complete, functional app with back-end integrations and production-ready code.
• Features include importing designs from Figma, adding integrations like Stripe and Superbase, and generating mobile APKs for instant testing.
• The platform emphasizes user ownership of all code.
• Over 400,000 users in 180 countries are using Rocket.New to build apps in minutes, not months.

Rocket helps you go from just a few sentences to a full stack app. No coding required.

Demo and Functionality of Magi [07:03]

• Magi is described as similar to other chat apps like ChatGPT and Claude, featuring an input area for AI interaction.
• The key differentiator is providing access to all top AI models, not just those from a single provider.
• Users can select from a list of models, including GPT5, Claude, and more, within the app.
• It offers access to the best AI models in one subscription and dashboard.
• Beyond language models, Magi also includes access to image and video AI models like Dolly, Flux, GBT Image, and Idoggram.
• Users can generate images, such as a cat playing cards, directly within the same chat conversation.
• The front end is largely built with Bubble, integrated with Stripe for payments and ConvertKit for email marketing.
• OpenRouter serves as a central access point for AI models, providing a unified API for LLMs.
• Foul.ai consolidates image, video, and audio models.
• Direct API connections are used for some models, including the highest tier with OpenAI.
• Google Analytics and Ahrefs are used for user behavior tracking and SEO monitoring, respectively.

We give you access to all of them. So if you look in the top left corner of the app, you can open up the full list where all the top models in the world are accessible.

Monetization Strategy [09:03]

• Magi operates strictly on a paid model with no free tier or premium options.
• The "Solo" plan is $20 per month, offering average monthly usage.
• Users can purchase additional usage if needed.
• The "Team" plan is $40 per month for up to five users, providing three times the usage.
• Additional team members can be added for $20 per person per month.
• This model is designed to scale for enterprises requiring more than a thousand users.

We have a strictly a paid model. We don't have any premium.

Advice for Aspiring Founders [09:41]

• The biggest problem founders face is letting past failures define them.
• The founder experienced initial success with his first software company, followed by two significant failures that eroded his confidence.
• He advises that rejections were for the products, not personal rejections.
• He emphasizes the importance of building confidence and moving forward despite setbacks.

I think the biggest problem that founders face is letting their past failures define them.

Conclusion and Call to Action [10:32]

• The host reflects on the powerful feeling of bringing an idea to life, as exemplified by the founder's journey with Magi.
• Starter Story Build is introduced as a program designed to teach users how to build fast using AI coding tools.
• The program aims to guide participants from a simple idea to a working app in a few days.
• Interested viewers are directed to a link in the description for Starter Story Build.
• The episode concludes with a thank you to the sponsor and viewers.

One of the most powerful feelings in the world is taking an idea from up here in your head and bringing it to life.