How far 3 months of coding in “monk mode” with AI will take you
You only need to know the destination, not the way to get there
Hey Nico, we discovered you on Twitter while taking a look at what’s happening around Generative Ai there. We loved the fact that you are an indie dev creating a tool based on Ai and sharing the process in public. Can you tell us who you are and how you ended up doing AI-generated art?
Nico: Hey! 🙂 I’m Nico, maker of MakeLogo.ai & OpenForAds.com! I ended up in Generative AI a bit randomly, I started to learn programming in May, it was around the same time that it became popular, so I just directly jumped on it (full story here).Â
We think that it’s not easy to switch from Marketing to Code, as it might not be the same part of the brain doing the work but in your case it seems it’s working quite well. We read that you use GenAI to generate logos, but you also used chatGPT at some point. Can you share with us how did you approach your makelogo.ai project from a marketing/coding POV and how did you leverage ai in the process?Â
Yes, it wasn’t easy, I went in monk mode for 3 months, not leaving my hotel room to learn every day non-stop.
As for the app, I use Copilot and ChatGTP to help me write the code or answer questions I have. To make the app, I wanted to go fast, so I just made a basic landing page with a Typeform, and manually generated the logo using the AI models, then sent them by email.
Once I got a few sales, I then made a fully automated version (more details here).
In this series, we meet interesting founders and creators from the AI scene and discuss with them not only their take on this new era of technology, but maybe learn a few secret tricks from them. If you’d like to share your story and tips, you can get in touch with us here.
It seems your product is having nice growth, you are shipping new features often, asking for feedback, and doing great with marketing. what is your vision for your product in 6 months?
I don’t have a specific vision, I just want to make a go-to and affordable app for entrepreneurs who don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars for a logo. The goal, for now, is to fix the main issues and allow users to get more control over the outcomes, so, that’s what I’m aiming toward.Â
You also started another project “open for ads” which sounds interesting, even for us at Madebyai (as we are a young media platform), are you using AI tech in some way for this project?
For now, the project is in a very early stage, nothing is really built yet, but I can definitely see AI playing its part. For writing the code of course, but it could also be used to recommend specific media to advertisers, or be used to generate creatives for the advertisers, etc… I haven’t really thought about it, but I’m sure I will find a way to incorporate it!
We want to pick your brain around Marketing and Ai, what do you think are going to be the next big disruptions in Marketing, using ai tech?
For eCommerce, Generative AI is going to be HUGE. Lots of entrepreneurs can’t afford professional photoshoots, but with AI, you can generate thousands from a few pictures. I can also see automated optimization playing a huge part to increase conversion rate% in the future (ex: Generate 50 variants of a headline and see which one works the best).
With your experience using Generative Ai and chatGPT, you probably discovered a couple of tips and tricks. Which ones would you be ok to share with our audience?
In general, for text-based prompts, it’s always good to add examples so the AI can get some context. Instead of just saying “Do XXX”, add one or two example so the AI can catch-up the format you want. A funny trick with ChatGPT is that you can ask him “Write as if you were XXX” and it’s going to totally change the tone of voice. Try “Write as if you were a drunk pirate”.
For eCommerce, Generative AI is going to be HUGE.
As for AI art, there is no secret, it’s just lots of trial and error in my opinion.
What is the next thing you are going to try using Ai tools ?
Well, probably things related to marketing, but for now all my focus will be on MakeLogo.ai and OpenForAds.com, I don’t really have specific tools in mind. I’m really curious about how it’s going to be used in the video games industry however, I see huge potential for indie game developers.
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Is there anything else you want to share with our audience ?
It’s easy to get lost in the hype with AI, but remember that you still need marketing to promote it! AI is only a tool to help your customers do XXX better than they previously did. Think about the main benefits. Does your app help them to do what they want faster? Cheaper? What’s the difference with the current tools?
Where can people find put more about you ?
I write everything on Twitter and on my blog jeannen.com.
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