Alex Dernie

I'm about to release my first app having never coded before - it took about 2 weeks This is the optimal process for anyone looking to do the same: 1. Do Apple's Swift tutorial to understand the fundamentals (4-6 hours) 2. Download @antigravity 3. Create a PRD (product requirements doc) with Gemini 3 Pro - define the problem you're solving, the features and objectives - then save it as a .md file 4. Copy and paste the Swift build guide created by @twostraws as a custom instruction for the model 4. Start a new chat and select Claude Opus 4.5 Thinking 5. Ask the model to create a phased implementation plan for the entire project - all future conversations will anchor off this. Ask it to include a task list for each phase, and include instructions like asking you to build and run the app for testing. For these 'core' docs I also tell it we'll be working on the project across multiple conversations and days, and it'll need to pick up where it left off - it tends to then add a session log, capture decisions etc 6. Start a new chat (shorter chats = better focus from the model, and gives you runway to have longer chats if you're troubleshooting a bug) 7. Choose Opus 4.5 Thinking and ask it to start on Phase 1 8. Coach the model through, using @Xcode to build and test the app when it asks you to 9. Rinse and repeat through all the phases Main lessons: - Spend time upfront creating and refining documents and task lists; these keep the model focussed and ensure you know what's being built - Use .md files for planning work that takes multiple conversations/days and use Implementation Plans (Antigravity's native, rich artifacts, where you can give feedback, embed Figma designs etc) for stuff you can one-shot in a single convo - Start new conversations as often as possible; the model will perform better, and it'll give you runway for when you find a complex bug that needs lots of troubleshooting - In my experience, the models can't create genuinely great UX (yet); you should go in and fine-tune the UI and feel of the app to take it to the next level (ask the model to guide you in the code to apply refinements) I could keep going but hopefully that's helpful - good luck!

@nickgdwn @Superwall @BusinessofApps @yusuftor @parezem @volhasa Awesome talk, and great to chat afterwards!

This @BusinessofApps London conference has been one of my favorites. Thanks to everyone who came to my talk and asked questions afterwards. I hope I was able to get to everyone! Deck link: figma.com/deck/Hi4FFoUZe… Shout out to @yusuftor @parezem @volhasa for making it awesome!

Just remembered the story about a computer scientist who had his bike stolen and tried to explain binary search to a cop

Computer use in the new Codex app is yet another mind blowing AI experience you’ll never forget Just watched the agent build @PadelPointer from Xcode, go through onboarding then give me feedback on the flow It even stopped the simulator before it replied 🤖

This is wild

I was just out playing padel with my family at a local padel club. Noticed a player tracking the score with their Apple Watch - not that unusual, but thought I'd check which app they're using just in case... The app was @PadelPointer First time seeing it in the wild! 🤯

@alexchristou_ Is the barnet an April fools too?

All transcription apps are boring. Speaking into a blank screen. No stimulation. No inspiration Today that changes. Dev preview of Slop Transcription:

@nikitabier what’s the reason for not translating posts immediately at the point of creation, so every user doesn’t have to tap to translate? Would save huge costs on Grok translation and mean more content for us all to doom scroll

Would highly recommend @posthog AI (which appears to be unlimited on the free plan) The analysis is really strong, and it creates funnels and charts on the fly to explain the numbers Does a better job than plugging Posthog + RevenueCat + codebase into Codex which is surprising

@alexchristou_ Never in doubt 👏

Approaching the first $100 milestone for BlazingFastTranscription.com 💰 Having worked on 50+ projects in the last couple of years, it feels so nice to have a focus and paying users as commitment. The deeper I go into the app the more doors open to build the best transcription app on the market, but also in terms of growth and GTM.

This will never get old

@alexchristou_ Can massively relate to build trap - currently trying to nail activation and feels logical to slow down acquisition efforts until I’m happy with it Hard one to balance, cos you also need acquisition volume to get meaningful results on experiments

My activation flow being so rocky is making me want to slow down GTM a bit. Doesn't feel polished enough yet but that's build trap talking. Got a new update dropping soon with a big overhaul on all this 👀 Have quite a few modes knocking about now so need to make sure things are explained properly

@alexchristou_ Nice how much is DataForSEO costing? Feels like you need a PhD in cryptography to navigate their pricing page

Started SEO on monday on a blank canvas on Monday Getting a few signs of life The win is to go for long tail, low competition keywords. Use DataForSEO to find them (or ahrefs). Bonus points if you add a video to the post - pretty much guaranteed rankings in the first 2 weeks.

@alexchristou_ Lift off 🚀

Something came across my desk last night 9 days after launching, we have first revenue! 💰 After working on 15-20 products in the past year, I'm pumped to be going deep into one. The early signals feel strong. Let's see where we can take this

@pomis172 @PadelPointer Such a neat idea, thanks for sharing it! How were you able to achieve the dot matrix interaction?

@AlexDernie @padelpointer Yeah, creating UI is super fast now. It took me 3 hours including ideation and different iterations to implement the result on video with Opus 4.6

Saw this and had to spin up a version for the Momentum Shift plot in @padelpointer Dropped some frames from the video into Codex, explained the different elements An hour later, I've got to this after a few turns Needs refinement but the pace of development is blistering 🫨

UGC is still unparalleled for consumer apps - and you don’t need experience I started making TikToks/Reels a few weeks ago 3.6M+ organic views, $0 spent Literally anyone can do it: find viral hooks, apply your own spin, iterate, scale what works