From Idea to MVP in 1 Hour: Introducing My Affordability Calculator

[jasonharless]

Hey r/startup community!

I wanted to share my experience of turning an idea into an MVP within just one hour. I recently built an Affordability Calculator using ChatGPT 3.5, React, Vercel, GitHub, and the Gestalt UI library.

It's a proof of concept but works well for basic calculations.

https://affordability-calculator-bice.vercel.app/

 

[lostsoul2016]

@jasonharless Nice work
I am trialing ChatGPT with GitHub copilot and python.

I am non tech and currently getting much better results than any no code.

 

[jasonharless]

@lostsoul2016 Thank you!

 

[jasonharless]

@lostsoul2016 Good luck with your projects!

 

[donovb1975]

@jasonharless What exactly are you using chatgpt for?

 

[jasonharless]

@donovb1975 I used ChatGPT to create a React application with javascript only, basically for the all code that in the app. I made a couple of tiny fixes like added/cleaned some imports ChatGPT missed.

All calculator logic was created by ChatGPT

 

[tories]

@jasonharless I like this idea! Very simple no need for the extra stuff! Well done

 

[jasonharless]

@tories Thank you!

 

[iamsavedbygracethrufaith]

@jasonharless Very cool. Do you think chatgpt could create more complex apps or make more "pretty" UI?

 

[brooklyn1212]

@iamsavedbygracethrufaith Pretty UI is pretty difficult for gpt to do.

It could do more complex apps but you gotta supply the logic and guide it step by step and know exactly what to check for because the code it gives tend to be buggy.

What it can't do is think about things like data structures and architecture for you.

In short, yes it can make calculators with almost no effort, but for the rest, think of it more like your intern.

Source, am a software engineer.

 

[kkcarter215]

@jasonharless Biggest tip I can give you- don’t rely on chat gpt for code lol

 

[jasonharless]

@kkcarter215 Why? It worked out pretty good for me

 

[limit]

@jasonharless Not worth sharing

 

[tguy123]

@jasonharless This is super cool actually, I love the concept.

In my experience though, mot MVP's can be built with 0$. Just depends how much time you're willing to spend.

Most MVP's can be built through Figma (with their prototyping feature) or even something like softr (which is still a little much). The MVP should be as manual as possible, no costs or developers involved really. It's called an MVP for a reason.

Anyone who's thinking about building an MVP should also be in the right stage. Have you spoke to potential customers about the problem to validate it. Not about the idea but just the problem. mentioning the idea on a call with your ICP brings ego in and decreases the real conversation.

I'm actually making a platform called Ufoundwhich connects founders to founders using their own qualities as an ICP - check it out