POD Combined
305 users in first 2 months. Built solo in 3 weeks.
I rebuilt this three times before it worked. The fix wasn't better code, it was better constraints.
Visit →The Product
Print-on-demand sellers manually compare profit margins across providers using spreadsheets. No side-by-side comparison tool existed. POD Combined delivers real profit margins across 100+ provider-product-region combinations in under 30 seconds.
CSV over database, USD-only storage — prove the calculation engine first, invest in complexity later.
The Process
The product story isn’t the interesting part. The process story is.
This was my first attempt building end-to-end with AI as co-pilot. I rebuilt it three times before finding the right approach.
- Build 1 failed: prompting reactively, fixing problems as they appeared. AI over-engineered and missed edge cases.
- Build 2 improved: realised better prompting wasn’t enough. Created a structured Knowledge Base for context and constraints.
- Build 3 worked: invested entirely in the Knowledge Base before writing code: project overview, product laws, tech stack, development phases. The AI stayed on track because the constraints were clear.
That Knowledge Base approach became my foundation for everything I built after.
AI handled backend logic and deployments, but the UI needed to feel human. That’s where I stay hands-on.
Outcome
305 users in the first 2 months, with sellers using it daily for margin calculations. A clean, live product that works.
Distribution is the next challenge.