What I learned building a product with AI as my co-development team
I decided to build my own product. What happened next surprised me.
The Setup
I had a small idea sparked by something I saw online. Instead of just running with it, I tried something different. I treated ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini as my co-founders.
I told each one: “Assume your co-founders made mistakes in previous products that caused failures, but they also had brilliant ideas. Challenge them. Find the best approach.” (short version of my long prompt)
Then I did something interesting - I sent each AI’s response to the others, creating a three-way debate until we found the optimal solution.
The Development
- 100% of frontend code: AI-generated
- 100% of tests: AI-generated
- 80% of backend: AI-generated
And for sure, I defend some structures, some best practices, some acceptance criteria about the tests and codes before asking them to develop.
What normally takes a team of developers a year, I accomplished in 1-2 full time weeks.
Sounds amazing, right?
Here’s the plot twist
Halfway through, I realized the AIs were creating over-engineered masterpieces. Beautiful, complex, “enterprise-grade” features that nobody asked for.
Tag categories with hierarchical relationships. Complex taxonomies. Sophisticated abstractions.
Perfect code. Wrong product.
The Wake-Up Call
I had to stop and think for myself again. Yes, AI can write incredible code. But it defaults to complexity because complexity feels “professional.”
The truth? Less is more.
The most elegant solutions often come from removing features, not adding them.
My Takeaways
✅ What Works:
- AI is an incredible force multiplier for solo developers
- Cross-AI collaboration yields better ideas than any single model
- You can build enterprise-quality products in weeks, not years
⚠️ What to Watch Out For:
- BUT you must stay in the driver’s seat
- AI loves over-engineering - resist the temptation
- Simple solutions often beat sophisticated ones
The Bottom Line
AI doesn’t replace thinking - it amplifies it. The developer who learns to leverage AI while maintaining product judgment will have a massive competitive advantage.
Currently in the final stages of my product. More details coming soon! 👀