The Story
Connor Burd built a fitness mobile app that generates $20K/month - and he did it in just 14 days using vibe coding. His secret weapon? Aggressive Facebook advertising from day one.
Connor's approach is different from the typical indie hacker playbook. Instead of building in public and hoping for organic growth, he treated the app like a direct response business: build fast, launch ads immediately, and let the data tell you what works.
The 14-day timeline forced extreme focus. No fancy features, no perfect code - just the core functionality that users would pay for. Connor used AI coding tools to move fast, describing features in plain English and iterating rapidly.
Once the app was live, Connor immediately started running Facebook ads. He tested multiple ad creatives, audiences, and offers. Within days, he found winning combinations that brought in paying users profitably.
Key Insights
The Speed Advantage
- •14 days forces ruthless prioritization
- •Ship ugly, iterate based on real data
- •Perfect is the enemy of profitable
- •AI tools make this timeline possible
Facebook Ads from Day One
- •Don't wait for organic growth
- •Paid ads give you immediate feedback
- •Test multiple creatives and audiences
- •Scale what works, kill what doesn't
Vibe Coding for Speed
- •Describe features in plain English
- •Let AI generate the code
- •Focus on product, not technical perfection
- •Iterate based on user feedback, not code quality
14-Day Launch Playbook
- •Day 1-2: Idea validation - Research competitors, identify gaps, define core feature
- •Day 3-7: Build MVP - Use vibe coding tools, focus only on must-have features
- •Day 8-10: Polish and test - Fix critical bugs, improve onboarding
- •Day 11-12: Prepare launch - App store assets, ad creatives, landing page
- •Day 13-14: Launch and ads - Submit to stores, start Facebook campaigns
- •Day 15+: Optimize - Double down on winning ads, iterate on product
Facebook Ads Strategy
- •Start with broad targeting - Let Facebook's algorithm find your users
- •Test multiple creatives - Video, static, carousel - see what resonates
- •Use UGC-style content - Authentic beats polished
- •Optimize for purchases, not installs - Quality over quantity
- •Scale winners aggressively - When you find a winning ad, increase budget fast
Tech Stack
- •React Native (mobile)
- •Supabase (backend)
- •RevenueCat (subscriptions)
- •Cursor (vibe coding)
- •Facebook Ads Manager
- •Figma (quick designs)
Costs & ROI
- •Facebook ads: Variable (start with $50-100/day)
- •Target: 2-3x ROAS (return on ad spend)
- •Break even quickly, then scale
Resources
- •Follow Connor: https://x.com/connorburd