Welcome to Money Making Story,

Today, we’re thrilled to share the story of Alex Finn, who quit his tech job and turned a content creation habit into a profitable AI-powered startup.

In this discussion, we’ll discuss his:

• Top Advice

• From Tech Job to Tweeting to Tech Founder

• From Spreadsheet Hacks to a Real Business

• Discovering the Power of Cursor

• ChatGPT Prompts for Building Business

• Scratching His Own Itch

• The Launch That Made $200K in 2 Hours

• The Stack Behind the App

• Lessons Learned

• Lessons for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

• Transform Your Life

Top Advice:

"Solo founders can now build high-impact software without traditional coding skills by combining modular thinking, smart AI usage, and audience-first product building."

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In the new age of AI-assisted software development, Alex Finn’s story stands out as a masterclass in speed, strategy, and solo execution. In just three months, Alex built Creator Buddy, an AI-powered content coaching tool that now earns over $300,000 per year—without writing a single line of code himself.

And it all started with one tool: Cursor.

From Tech Job to Tweeting to Tech Founder

Before becoming a solo founder, Alex was a team lead at MongoDB, managing technical consultants. But like many aspiring creators, the 9-to-5 grind left little room to build. In 2021, he started creating content on Twitter. By 2023, after Elon Musk open-sourced the X algorithm, Alex went deep into the code, broke it down in a viral thread—and caught the attention of Elon Musk himself.

The exposure changed everything.

With newfound momentum and a fast-growing audience, Alex quit his job and went all-in on building his own software—despite having no real coding experience.

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From Spreadsheet Hacks to a Real Business

For Alex Finn, the road to building a six-figure software product didn’t start with code—it started with curiosity.

Back in 2021, Alex was leading a team at MongoDB, juggling the pressures of a full-time tech job. But on the side, he was experimenting with ways to improve his tweets.

He built a spreadsheet system to track performance. He analyzed trends. He tested hooks.

But the real breakthrough came in March 2023, when Elon Musk open-sourced the X (formerly Twitter) algorithm. Alex dove into the GitHub code, made sense of it, and shared a breakdown thread.

That single post went viral.

It was then he realized—he didn’t just have ideas. He had attention.

Discovering the Power of Cursor

When Alex first tried Cursor (an AI coding assistant), he had an epiphany:

His secret? Break every feature down into tiny tasks.
Instead of asking AI to “build an app,” he’d prompt it to write an input field. Then a button. Then a function. With this modular approach, aided by ChatGPT for extra context, he eliminated most bugs and stayed fast.

It wasn’t about mastering code.
It was about mastering how to communicate with AI.

ChatGPT Prompts for Building Business

Scratching His Own Itch

Alex’s product idea was simple: automate the thing he was already doing manually.

Creator Buddy was born out of his own content process. The app would:

• Pull tweets directly from X

• Analyze them using AI

• Offer improvement suggestions in real-time

The Launch That Made $200K in 2 Hours

Alex started beta testing in December 2024, personally onboarding 150 users from his Twitter audience. Feedback flooded in. Bugs were fixed. UX improved. By January 24, 2025, he was ready to launch.

Within 15 minutes: $100,000 in sales.
Within two hours: $200,000.
By the end of two weeks: $300,000 ARR, with 500 paying subscribers.

But it wasn’t magic—it was the result of 6+ months of consistent content creation, trust-building, and transparent building-in-public.

The Stack Behind the App

1. Despite building solo, Alex’s setup was far from amateur. Here’s how he structured the backend:

   • Cursor (initially), Windsurf (later) for code generation

   • ChatGPT-3 as a virtual PM for breaking tasks

   • Next.js + Vercel for frontend hosting

   • Supabase for backend database

   • Resend for transactional email

   • Claude + OpenAI APIs for tweet analysis

   • X API access at $5,000/month

   All in, his monthly costs run around $5,300—but with 80% profit margins, Creator Buddy remains highly profitable.

Lessons Learned

Audience First, Then Product

Critics were quick to say his success came from his following.
Alex didn’t deny it. But he reminded everyone:

His takeaway?

Breaking the Myth: Do You Need a Big Audience to Win?

Some critics argued that Alex only succeeded because he had a large following.

His response?

He’s proof that audience-building isn’t about overnight fame—it’s about showing up over and over again until people start listening.

Distribution is the Real Moat

With tools like AI, anyone can build a product. What separates winners from the rest is how well they distribute it.

That’s why his strategy always involved sharing his journey, engaging his audience, and making feedback part of the product loop.

From Outsourcing to Doing

When faced with a new challenge, Alex didn’t hire help. He didn’t delegate.

He turned to AI.

He broke the problem into micro-tasks. Then he solved them, one at a time.

This mindset let him move quickly, stay lean, and avoid decision paralysis.

Lessons for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

• You Don’t Need to Know Code—You Need to Know How to Think

  Learn how to break problems into parts and guide AI—don’t wait to “learn coding first.”

• Scratch Your Own Itch

  Build what you personally need. If it helps you, it’ll likely help others too.

• Distribution > Product

  Build trust and attention early. Start sharing. Document the journey.

• Use AI as a Teammate, Not Just a Tool

  Think of AI as your co-founder. Learn to delegate intelligently.

• Don’t Outsource Too Early—Figure It Out First

  Build self-reliance. You’ll make better decisions later if you understand the parts.

• Start Before You’re Ready

  Perfection is the enemy. Launch. Learn. Iterate.

• Audience is a Moat

  Invest in audience-building. It’s your most defensible asset.

• Momentum Beats Motivation

  Small actions create big momentum. Start moving, and clarity will follow.

Learn More About Alex Finn

Asked what he’d tell his past self—or anyone still sitting on an idea—Alex didn’t hesitate:

What started as a personal spreadsheet is now a profitable app with nearly 500 paid users, earning $300,000/year, and built entirely by one person, with AI’s help.

Transform your Life

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