How I Use Claude Code & Cursor (Ship 10X Faster)
The Startup Ideas Podcast
Model choices and when he uses each
Chris explains model preferences: Opus for complex tasks, Cursor plan mode with GPT-5.1 High for planning, Sonnet for execution.
On this episode I sit down with indie app builder and designer Chris ****Raroque to walk through his real AI coding workflow. Chris explains how he ships a portfolio of productivity apps doing thousands in MRR by pairing Claude Code and Cursor instead of picking just one tool. He live-demos “vibe coding” an iOS animation, then compares how Claude Code and Cursor’s plan mode tackle the same task. The episode closes with concrete tips on plan mode, MCP servers, AI code review, dictation, and deep research so solo devs can build bigger apps than they could alone.
Timestamps
00:00 – Intro
03:04 – Which Tools & Models to Use
09:16 – Thoughts on the Vibe Coding Mobile App Landscape
11:14 – Live demo: prompting Claude Code to build an iOS “AI searching” animation
18:07 – Live demo: prompting Cursor with same task
21:02 – Chris’s Best Tips for Vibe Coders
Key Points
You don’t have to pick one IDE copilot: Chris actively switches between Claude Code and Cursor because they have different strengths.
For very complex bug-hunting, he prefers Cursor with plan mode; for big-picture app architecture, he leans on Claude Code with Opus.
Non-developers should start on higher-level “vibe coding” platforms like Create Anything for mobile apps before graduating to Claude/Cursor.
Plan mode plus detailed, spoken prompts dramatically improves code quality, especially for UI and animation work.
MCP servers and AI code review bots let solo developers safely set up infra, enforce security, and catch bugs they’d otherwise miss.
Claude’s deep research is a powerful way to choose the right patterns and libraries before handing implementation back to Claude Code or Cursor.
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The Vibe Marketer - Resources for people into vibe marketing/marketing with AI: thevibemarketer.com
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