Behind the Craft The #1 Hack to Build Apps With AI Without Getting Stuck | Colin Matthews
14 snips
Feb 2, 2025 
Colin Matthews, a rockstar instructor known for his popular AI Prototyping for PMs course, dives into the world of building AI apps without coding skills. He shares crucial tips on selecting the right AI prototyping tool and emphasizes the importance of planning before coding. Listeners will learn how to create a habit-tracking app in just 20 minutes and avoid common pitfalls in the development process. Colin also discusses the necessity of a strong data model and offers strategies to overcome the frustrating '70% problem' in app development.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Reflect Before Coding
- Use "reflection" when prompting AI: provide all the information and ask for a plan first.
- This lets you modify the plan and learn about the process, resulting in better code.
Pick the Right Tool
- Choose AI prototyping tools based on your needs: chatbots for client-side, cloud environments for full-stack, and local assistants for advanced users.
- Replit excels at data-driven apps, Bolt offers flexibility, Lovable integrates well, and V0 has strong default styling.
Personal AI Tool Examples
- Colin built a tool with Replit to resize images for Substack, solving a specific problem he faced.
- He also created a custom GIF converter for better control over file size and other parameters.