How To Build an AI App (Before It's Too Late)

Kristoffer · January 15, 2026 · 8 min read

Have you ever wondered how apps like Simply Draw are making over $4 million per month while you're still stuck trying to learn code?

I just built this exact same app without writing a single line of code using one AI tool where you literally prompt your idea and it builds the entire app for you.

In this tutorial, I'll show you my complete step-by-step process: how I recreated this $4 million per month app, the exact prompts I used, and how you can build and launch a professional Apple-styled app within just a few days.

Here's our game plan:

Step 1 - Planning the App

Finding a Profitable App Idea

The first question everyone asks: "Where do I even find a good app idea?"

I was researching apps on SensorTower with filters set to the UK, Education category, looking at "Top Grossing" apps.

I saw Simply Piano in 3rd place, Simply Guitar in 22nd - but then I spotted something interesting in position 25: Simply Draw.

I clicked on it and saw they made $4M last month with 900,000 downloads. All their app does is teach people how to draw. Simple concept, massive revenue.

Most people try to invent completely new app ideas. Don't do that if your goal is making money. Find apps already making good MRR and figure out what you can do better or differently.

Extracting Features with AI

I jumped over to Claude and prompted:

"I want to rebuild this app - what features does it have?"

Then I pasted the link to Simply Draw's website. Claude listed all the features: freehand drawing, color picker, brush size adjustment, eraser tool, and more. Now I have my feature list.

Generating Your Prompt with Braindumper

Next, I copied all that context and headed to Braindumper.ai - a free tool I built to turn messy app ideas into prompts optimized for AI app builders.

Everyone gets 5 free credits a month. Paste in your context, hit next, and choose your AI app builder.

I'm running a $3,000 Cash Prize Hackathon together with Base44 from January 15th to February 15th. You'll have 30 days to build, ship, and market your app to get your first paying user. To participate, choose Base44 as the AI App builder.

Hit generate and wait about 10 seconds. Now we have a complete prompt ready to go.

Step 2 - Building the Design

With the prompt ready, I continued by prompting:

"Okay nice, now the drawing logic works well, but it does not look like an app yet! We need to add a homepage to clearly showcase what this app is and does, then add a button that redirects to the drawing page."

Initial Homepage

Base44 made the homepage with a CTA to start drawing, a screenshot placeholder section, and a section explaining all the features.

When I click the "Start Drawing Now" button, it takes me to the drawing board. The "Home" button redirects me to the homepage.

Copying Professional UI

I didn't love how the UI looked, so I headed over to crayo.ai for inspiration. I took a few screenshots of their homepage and pasted them into Base44:

"Let's take inspiration from these images to generate a professional, modern and premium looking homepage."

About 2 minutes later, the hero section looked great.

Refining the Design

For sections that needed improvement, I prompted with specific screenshots:

  1. "In this section, let's paste in a screenshot of the editing tool we've just made."

  2. "The components are looking too AI-made, especially with the icons. Make the homepage more concise and premium."

  3. "Remove the lightning icons from all CTA buttons and make the CTA shorter - like: Try SketchLite."

Adding Smooth Animations

When I clicked on "features" and "demos" in the navbar, there was no smooth scroll animation. I prompted:

"Make sure when you click 'features' or 'demo' in the navbar, that it scrolls down with an animation to the section."

Now it has smooth scrolling. I tested the download logic - drew something random, clicked download, and the drawing was saved correctly. Professional-looking homepage with a working drawing app.

Step 3 - Adding Features

Planning Missing Features

I asked: "What are we missing now to create a real SaaS?"

Base44 suggested: user authentication, drawing saving, gallery, sharing, templates, auto-save, and more.

I replied: "Yes! We need to implement all of this, so start at the beginning!"

90 seconds later, it added save functionality and a gallery page where you can view, edit, download and delete saved drawings.

Key principle with AI building: always test each feature as it's built. Don't let AI stack 10 features before testing - you'll lose track of what's broken.

Building Core Pages

Base44 created:

Authentication Setup

I prompted: "Okay now we probably need to set up authentication and make sure the database is set up!"

Base44 already has authentication and database set up from the start. It updated the Gallery and Draw pages to only show each user's own drawings.

When you click on the Dashboard button, you see a complete overview: Users, Data, Analytics, Domains, Integrations, Security, Code, Agents, Scheduled Tasks, and more.

Adding More Features

I prompted: "What's remaining to do now?"

Base44 suggested: sharing functionality, template library, auto-save, onboarding tutorial, different export formats, and version history.

I focused on the important ones: "Let's implement 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 9." (Number 9 is the user profile page.)

Base44 implemented all 6 features:

Testing Features

When I opened the drawing page, I got the onboarding flow: Welcome to SketchLite, Choose Your Tool, Pick Your Color, Adjust Brush Size, and Save Your Work.

The "Share" button now works after saving - I could copy a link to share with others. For Version History, I could see all saved versions and revert between them easily.

Fixing Auth Issues

When I tried to log out, it got stuck loading. I prompted:

"Make sure that the log in and log out logic works, and that users need to create their account works properly too."

Base44 added authentication checks to all protected pages. Users are redirected to login/signup when needed, and logout works properly.

Step 4 - Deploy It Live

Publishing the App

Click the share icon in the top right corner, copy the URL, open a new tab and paste it.

To publish, click "Publish" in the top right corner, then confirm in the modal. It publishes your app live and opens it in a new tab.

Click "continue with Google" - this works from the start since Base44 handles authentication entirely without needing a backend.

Fixing UI Issues

Even when logged in, it still said "Sign in" in the top right corner. I prompted:

"We have the sign in button in the top right corner even if we're already signed in. If user is not logged in, show 'Get Started' and 'Log in' - if user IS logged in, show 'Dashboard'."

After publishing again, it now shows "Dashboard" instead of "Sign in."

Dashboard Redesign

I didn't like the dashboard UI, so I used Braindumper.ai as reference for a left sidebar layout.

I prompted: "Let's make the dashboard similar to the Braindumper page sidebar structure."

A minute later it was done but had an error. Clicking "Resolve with AI" automatically fixed it.

The left sidebar was implemented but everything went dark mode. I prompted:

"Make sure the dashboard is white theme like all other pages and all the tabs are connected perfectly with the dashboard homepage."

Testing the Full Flow

After publishing one more time:

The complete app is now live with a professional UI, user authentication, and all features working.

BONUS - Monetization with Stripe

Implementing Payments

I prompted: "Now finally, let's implement Stripe for payments!"

Base44 asked me to approve the Stripe integration. I clicked "Install Stripe" and it set up the Stripe integration automatically.

Testing Payments

I headed to the Pricing page and chose to upgrade to the Pro tier. I was redirected to a Stripe payment page in Sandbox testing mode.

I entered a test card:

Card: 4242 4242 4242 4242
Expiry: 04/26
CVC: 424

The payment was successful and I was redirected back to the app dashboard.

Going Live with Payments

To turn Stripe from test-mode to live-mode:

  1. Head back to Base44 → Dashboard → Integrations
  2. Find Stripe in "My Integrations"
  3. Follow these steps:
    • Try a test payment (done)
    • Connect your Stripe account
    • Copy your Publishable key and Secret key
    • Click "Save API keys"

Final Thoughts

A few years ago, building an app like this would've cost tens of thousands of dollars and months of development time.

Here's what's important: The barrier to building apps isn't technical anymore. It's just taking the first step.

If you've been sitting on an app idea, waiting for the "perfect time" - this is your sign. Start building.

Check out my other tutorial where I built a mobile app from scratch using this exact workflow.

Happy building!