How we rate: credibility & difficulty
We don't judge whether a case is “true” — we only label how strong the evidence is. The idea borrows from Zillow's Zestimate: the less data, the lower the accuracy rating, and when uncertainty is too high the estimate isn't shown at all.
Credibility (0–4 stars)
| Credibility | Meaning | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| ★★★★4/4 | Payment-platform verified | Revenue synced read-only from Stripe or similar via a third party (e.g. TrustMRR). |
| ★★★★3/4 | Screenshots + named person + consistent history | A named person posts screenshots or checkable code/artifacts, consistent across multiple public records. |
| ★★★★2/4 | Interview / long-form self-report | Self-reported in an interview, media account or long retrospective; no third-party data. |
| ★★★★1/4 | Single post | Only one post or source, no cross-checking. Amount hidden. |
| ★★★★0/4 | Unverifiable | Source can't be opened or information conflicts. Amount hidden. |
Difficulty (1–5 dots)
Difficulty estimates how hard it is to put the method described in the source into practice. It is always an editorial estimate — never the original author's claim. Cases whose recipe card already had a three-level difficulty (★/★★/★★★) were mapped to 2/3/4 on this scale; for the other cases we assigned a new estimate from the sourced method (marked “Editorial estimate (new)” below).
| Difficulty | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 1/5 | Off-the-shelf AI tools only; no code. |
| 2/5 | One AI chat or ready-made tool plus a simple publish (static page, Artifacts, or using an existing CLI tool as-is). |
| 3/5 | Building a web product or service with an AI coding tool, with accounts or payments; or chaining 3+ services into an automation pipeline. |
| 4/5 | Native/cross-platform app, or several integrated services (subscriptions, database, payments, paid acquisition) that need ongoing operation. |
| 5/5 | Needs a specialist team, significant capital or complex infrastructure. |
Display rules
- Amounts are always quoted from the original source and labelled Self-reported.
- 0–1 stars: amount hidden.
- Cases tagged “Media automation” or “Workflow automation” usually state no income figure in the source. They are labelled Income not disclosed and listed last on the home page, and their stars rate the evidence that the automation was actually built (e.g. whether code/artifacts are publicly checkable). Non-monetary outcomes (e.g. follower counts) are quoted only when sourced, and never converted into money.
- The people involved can add evidence or request corrections via the “Claim / report an error” link on each case page.
Current case ratings
| Case | Credibility | Reason | Difficulty | Difficulty basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SuperX: $21,933 MRR X growth tool (Stripe-verified on TrustMRR) | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via the Stripe API | 4/5 | Editorial estimate mapped from the recipe card's “★★★ Hard” |
| Skillry: visual-style Agent Skills for websites, decks, images and video, $8,240 last 30 days | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via the Stripe API | 3/5 | Editorial estimate mapped from the recipe card's “★★ Medium” |
| OpenAlternative: $57,361 revenue in 2025, MRR peaked at about $6.3k in November | ★★★★3/4 | A named founder repeatedly posts dashboard screenshots in his blog review and monthly X updates, with consistent numbers; no third-party payment verification | 3/5 | Editorial estimate mapped from the recipe card's “★★ Medium” |
| Profit AI: spreadsheet turned Shopify app, $30K MRR | ★★★★2/4 | Self-reported in a Starter Story video interview | 4/5 | Editorial estimate mapped from the recipe card's “★★★ Hard” |
| Kleo 2.0: $62k MRR 90 days after starting the build (53 days after beta) | ★★★★3/4 | Several named co-founders show the Polar revenue dashboard on X and in a video interview, with consistent numbers; no third-party read-only sync | 4/5 | Editorial estimate mapped from the recipe card's “★★★ Hard” |
| LaunchFast: Amazon research extension built with Cursor, $25K MRR | ★★★★2/4 | Self-reported in a Starter Story video interview | 4/5 | Editorial estimate mapped from the recipe card's “★★★ Hard” |
| Lancer: AI agent for Upwork proposals, $10K/month | ★★★★2/4 | Self-reported in a Starter Story video interview | 4/5 | Editorial estimate mapped from the recipe card's “★★★ Hard” |
| GeoSports: web game built in 8 hours with Claude, $40K/month | ★★★★2/4 | Self-reported in a Starter Story interview | 3/5 | Editorial estimate mapped from the recipe card's “★★ Medium” |
| Screenshot to Code: AI UI-to-code, $4,783 MRR (Stripe-verified) | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via the Stripe API | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: an AI screenshot-to-code SaaS with an open-source frontend, paid backend and Stripe subscriptions. |
| fastwrite.io: AI academic writing for students, $13,277 MRR | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via the Stripe API | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: an AI writing SaaS embedded in Microsoft Word, distributed via TikTok/Instagram/YouTube/Reddit. |
| ChefGPT: AI calorie tracker & recipes, $2,028 MRR (RevenueCat) | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via the RevenueCat API | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: an Expo/React Native app on iOS and Android with Firebase and RevenueCat subscriptions. |
| Snag: free-stuff app built with Cursor + Claude Code, $30K MRR | ★★★★2/4 | Self-reported in a Starter Story video interview, with a revenue dashboard shown | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a mobile subscription app with Supabase and a Superwall paywall, grown via UGC creators and Meta ads. |
| Bilinote Pro: open-source video notes → paid AI product, ~CN¥7.3k/mo | ★★★★2/4 | Long V2EX retrospective with monthly receipts and order counts; no third-party payment verification | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: online transcription, multiple models and memberships on a self-built stack with payments, while keeping AI costs covered. |
| Boothie: AI retro-look selfie app, $49,483 MRR 4 months after launch (RevenueCat) | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via the RevenueCat API | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: an AI photo app on iOS and Google Play with weekly subscriptions and credit packs, grown via TikTok carousels. |
| Gomotion AI: One-click AI YouTube documentary generator: founded July 2026, $61,921 MRR (Stripe) | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via the Stripe API | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a SaaS that generates 15+ minute documentaries in one click, automating script, voiceover, footage research and editing. |
| White Glove Content: done-for-you faceless videos with AI voiceover, $71,482 MRR (Stripe) | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via the Stripe API | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a done-for-you faceless video subscription (scripts, AI voiceover, editing, thumbnails) with optional multi-platform auto-publishing. |
| CalBuddy: Hebrew AI calorie tracker built in 2 weeks with Cursor, $80K+/month | ★★★★2/4 | Self-reported in a Starter Story video interview with a revenue chart; no third-party payment verification | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a localized calorie app whose MVP a non-developer built with Cursor in two weeks, grown with paid ads and revenue-share deals. |
| ShawnShi: Laid off, built a tool site mostly with Claude: $5,000+/mo subscriptions after 7 months (V2EX series) | ★★★★2/4 | Consistent monthly V2EX recaps with claimed Stripe screenshots, but product undisclosed and no third-party payment verification | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: an overseas tool site mostly built by Claude, with Stripe/PayPal payments and a script that auto-publishes SEO articles. |
| Vid.AI: AI idea-to-video tool, $46,626 MRR (Stripe-verified on TrustMRR) | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via the Stripe API | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: an AI video-generation SaaS for creators (voiceover, visuals, editing), grown with paid ads and influencers. |
| Faceless video tool: AI videos with auto-posting, $43,410 MRR (Stripe-verified on TrustMRR) | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via the Stripe API | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a SaaS for AI video generation plus multi-platform auto-posting, built on a video model and grown via SEO. |
| Rank Prompt: AI-search visibility (AEO) tool, $43,483 MRR (Stripe-verified on TrustMRR) | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via the Stripe API | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a B2B SaaS that tracks how sites appear in AI search results, with a free first report as the funnel. |
| Stella: a creator's AI manifestation app built with Claude Code, $300K MRR two months after launch | ★★★★2/4 | Self-reported in a Starter Story video interview; the host asked for revenue screenshots, but the transcript doesn't confirm what was shown, so it's rated as an interview self-report | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a simple AI subscription app with an MVP in about 2 days, but revenue depends on the founder's multi-million-follower brand. |
| Payout: class-action settlement finder built in 14 days with Claude Code and Cursor, $20K/month | ★★★★3/4 | A named founder states the monthly figure in a video interview; RevenueCat's official winners post separately reports cumulative revenue and paying subscribers in the same range; the monthly figure itself isn't synced from a payment platform | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a simple subscription app built with AI coding tools in about 14 days; growth relies on UGC and paid ads. |
| MonAI: AI expense tracker grew from $300 to $35K MRR with one Colombian creator | ★★★★3/4 | A named developer shows his revenue dashboard in a video interview, consistent with Starter Story's official X post; not synced from a payment platform | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a simple iOS expense-tracking subscription app; after 1.5 years solo, growth came from a long-term creator partnership. |
| Maxed AI: an AI lifting coach app built with Claude Code by a first-time builder, ~$14K/month | ★★★★3/4 | A named founder shows his RevenueCat dashboard and states revenue in a video interview; his X posts are consistent (on 2026-09-13 the founder reports ~30% of revenue comes from X, matching "about a third" in the interview); not synced from a payment platform | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a feature-rich cross-platform fitness subscription app (AI coach chat, tracking, social leaderboard) built with Claude Code; growth relies on daily founder videos plus Meta ads. |
| Fastlane: AI short-form marketing SaaS that makes and schedules videos, ~$69K MRR about two months after launch | ★★★★3/4 | A named founder shows his Stripe dashboard in a video interview; his X posts on ARR are consistent (on 2026-06-08 the founder reports they hit $1M ARR; on 2026-10-15, $1M ARR within 3 months of launch); not synced from a payment platform | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a multi-service SaaS (database, a separate content-generation service, multi-platform scheduling, payments), built by a VC-backed team. |
| Certified AI Partners: Three college students run an outsourced AI department, landing a $15,000/month construction client by texting for advice | ★★★★2/4 | The founders state the contract amount in a podcast interview, with no contract or payment screenshots; rated as an interview self-report | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: use Claude for assessments and working process demos, then deliver AI implementation on a retainer; the hard parts are lead generation and selling to executives. |
| Laper: AI screenwriting & storyboard creative OS, $44,257 MRR (Stripe-verified on TrustMRR) | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via a Stripe API key | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: professional workflow software for screenwriters, directors and storyboard artists with a built-in AI agent; needs film-production know-how, and the team grew from 1 to 5. |
| AmICited: AI-search visibility (AEO) platform, $17,621 MRR (Stripe-verified on TrustMRR) | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via a Stripe API key | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a B2B monitoring dashboard that regularly runs prompts across several AI search platforms and logs citations; the hard parts are data reliability and selling to brands and agencies. |
| ChatSEO: AI SEO agent, $32,628 MRR (Stripe-verified on TrustMRR) | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via a Stripe API key | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a multi-agent SEO product wired to Search Console and other data, with publishing integrations and an MCP; growth relied on the founder's existing SEO audience. |
| SEOBOT: $34,936 MRR autonomous SEO AI agent (Stripe-verified on TrustMRR) | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via a Stripe API key | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a fully automated agent covering keywords, writing, linking and programmatic SEO, running for three years; the hard parts are content quality and retention. |
| SuperbulletAI: Roblox AI game-creation platform, $11,896 MRR (Stripe-verified on TrustMRR) | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via a Stripe API key | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: an AI generation platform plus creator marketplace for Roblox developers; requires Roblox development know-how and familiarity with platform rules. |
| Pet Plus Us: AI people+pet portraits, $31,359 last 30 days (Stripe-verified on TrustMRR) | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via a Stripe API key | 2/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a single-feature product (upload photos, pick a style, generate a portrait) sold as one-time purchases; the hard part is ad conversion and cost. |
| Uizze: UI-reference MCP for coding agents, $1,846 MRR (Polar-verified on TrustMRR) | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via a Polar API key | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: an MCP server plus a searchable UI materials library, run solo; the hard parts are collecting, licensing and updating materials. |
| CodeGuide: knowledge-base docs for AI coding tools, $42K MRR in 90 days | ★★★★2/4 | The founder details the amount and method in a long Starter Story interview, with no payment-platform or screenshot verification | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a docs-generation SaaS built by two people in two weeks; growth came from the founder posting tutorials on X consistently. |
| MyFutureSelf: AI Future-Self identity coaching app, ~$11K–$12.9K/mo revenue | ★★★★2/4 | The founder self-reports revenue and method in a Starter Story written interview, with no payment-platform verification | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: an AI chat app built by two non-coding founders with Claude and Cursor; growth came from short-form content, UGC creators and Meta ads. |
| Vugola: a 19-year-old's AI video-clipping agent, built with no coding background and grown with 3–6 self-filmed Instagram posts a day, ~$11.2K MRR | ★★★★3/4 | A named founder shows his revenue dashboard in a video interview (MRR $11,200.11); his X posts say he reached $10K MRR by posting UGC himself (2026-10-02) and gets users through Instagram + ManyChat (2026-10-17), consistent with the interview; not synced from a payment platform | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: an AI video-clipping SaaS built with Lovable, Claude and Codex by a non-coder, needing a video-rendering backend (AWS); growth came from the founder posting self-filmed Instagram videos daily. |
| Voicy: $18k/month, $12k MRR AI dictation tool (self-reported) | ★★★★3/4 | A named founder shows his Stripe dashboard in a video interview; on X he posted on 2026-09-30 that Voicy has $11K MRR, over 2,000 paying users and 25,000 monthly clicks from Google, and on 2026-10-11 that he grew it to 12K MRR, consistent with the interview; not synced from a payment platform | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a dictation tool on OpenAI's Whisper API whose first version was a Chrome extension built in two weeks, later expanded to several platforms; growth came from long-term SEO writing. |
| Vaultaire: an encrypted iPhone vault built with coding agents in three weeks, grown by Claude writing one search-data guide a day, $67,211 in September | ★★★★3/4 | A named founder shows App Store Connect analytics in a video interview; he posts monthly revenue on X ($26,384 for July on 2026-07-31, $67,211 for September on 2026-09-30), consistent with the $2,000–3,000/day he states in the interview; not synced from a payment platform | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: an on-device encryption iOS app built with coding agents in about three weeks; growth came from one guide a day generated by Claude from search data. |
| DocsBot: AI customer-support agents for businesses, first customer was his own employer, $1M+ ARR after three and a half years | ★★★★2/4 | A named founder states ARR and ARPU in a podcast interview without showing a revenue dashboard; the product, pricing page and partner program are publicly visible; rated as an interview self-report | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: an AI support-agent SaaS that answers customers from help docs; the hard part is B2B sales, now driven mainly by agencies and in-person selling. |
| ClimbX: $1,102 MRR AI tool for growing on X (Stripe-verified on TrustMRR) | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via the Stripe API | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: build an audience on X with a large number of daily replies, then turn your own posting routine into a SaaS with Claude Code; the hard parts are sustaining hundreds of replies a day and growing MRR past about $1k. |
| Plug AI (RizzGPT): MRR peaked near $250k (self-reported, 2024) | ★★★★2/4 | Figures come from the founder's X posts and a video interview; no payment-platform data or screenshots | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: an iOS app the founder built after teaching himself to code with ChatGPT; promotion started with two small-creator videos at $50 each, but growth hinged on viral videos that are hard to repeat. |
| ChartDetector AI: snap a trading chart and AI gives a long/short read; about $56K/month (self-reported, TikTok paid ads) | ★★★★3/4 | Named founder shows a revenue dashboard in a video interview, with monthly revenue on screen; he has posted monthly revenue and costs on X (April 2026: $43,704 revenue, about 25% profit; May 2026: "40k MRR"), consistent with the interview; not payment-platform data | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: building the app isn't the hard part; you have to front ad spend (he recommends at least $50 a day), set up AppsFlyer attribution (he suggests hiring a freelancer) and keep making new videos; his margin is about 25%. |
| VectoSolve: turns images into vector files Cricut, laser and embroidery machines can read; $1,676 MRR verified via Stripe (SEO-driven) | ★★★★4/4 | Revenue is synced by TrustMRR directly from the Stripe API (payment-platform data); the named founder shows Stripe in a video interview, and his "$1.7K MRR" on X matches TrustMRR | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: the conversion itself can be built on an existing API; the hard parts are building landing pages at scale and waiting for Google to index them, then adding exports for each machine's file format one at a time. |
| Cat on Chair: a cat Pomodoro app a designer built with ChatGPT; sales topped $18K in 30 days (self-reported) | ★★★★2/4 | Named founder shows App Store Connect in a video interview, with the figures on screen; his X posts on downloads (April 2026, "100k downloads in 8 months") and on how it took off match the interview, but revenue figures appear only in this one interview and there is no payment-platform data | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: the founder couldn't code and built it step by step with ChatGPT; the hard parts are turning a character into a mechanic people return to daily, needing illustration or design skill, and the takeoff depending on other people posting about it. |
| Brawler: $22,552 MRR AI boxing coach app | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via the RevenueCat API; the founder's own higher figure is listed separately as self-reported | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: the founder can't code and generated the app with AI; the hard parts are writing accurate correction standards, making the video analysis reliable, and paying for ad tests. |
| OpenTweet: $4,006 MRR AI X post scheduler | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via the Paddle API | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a solo after-hours SaaS with a clear path; the hard parts are a crowded X scheduler market and needing your own visible results on X to grow. |
| QR Code AI: $14,827 MRR, art QR codes made with ControlNet | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via the Stripe API | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: a first version in 13 days and SEO-driven growth; the hard parts are reproducing the effect, which needs GPUs and tuning, and a now crowded category. |
| Fiddl.art: $13,336 last 30 days, AI image and video platform | ★★★★4/4 | TrustMRR syncs revenue read-only via the Stripe API | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: aggregate model APIs and resell via points; the hard parts are pricing each run for margin, many similar platforms, and ongoing conversion and SEO work. |
| Dropmagic: $120,000 MRR AI store builder (self-reported) | ★★★★2/4 | Named founder states the figures and method in an X post and a Starter Story interview; no payment-platform verification | 4/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: the 72-hour rule and creator deals are clear; the hard parts are finding a proven direction, shipping a deliverable AI store product, and creator deals that take money and connections. |
| CountryTaxCalc: ~$1,000/mo ads, AI-built tax calculator site (self-reported) | ★★★★2/4 | The founder recounts the figure and method in an X article; full name not given, no revenue screenshots or payment-platform verification | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: the founder started without coding skills and built with AI; the hard parts are ongoing checks of tax data against official sources, near-zero traffic for months, and the large time investment. |
| Visualizee: an AI rendering tool for architects and interior designers; $8,394 MRR verified via Stripe (grew after swapping a node editor for a chat box; SEO-driven) | ★★★★4/4 | Revenue is synced by TrustMRR directly from the Stripe API (payment-platform data); the named founder shows his revenue dashboard in the Starter Story video, and the monthly revenue he posted on X (about $8,832 for September 2026) matches TrustMRR | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: rendering itself can run on existing image-model APIs; the hard parts are turning one industry's render needs into a few follow-up questions and building traffic slowly through SEO (the founder made about $150 a month for the first two years). |
| VizTunr: an AI try-on tool that lets tuning-shop customers see wheels and colors on their own car; $791 MRR verified via Stripe (cold email only, each email is just a link to a page built for that shop) | ★★★★4/4 | Revenue is synced by TrustMRR directly from the Stripe API (payment-platform data); the named founder's "$792 MRR" and $634 September VizTunr revenue on X match TrustMRR | 3/5 | Editorial estimate (new) Per source: try-on can be built on an existing image editing API, though keeping the car undistorted and the wheel in proportion takes iteration; the hard parts are building a page for each of hundreds of shops, sending cold emails one by one, and accepting a very low response rate (the founder says about 0.5% pay). |
Tool icons
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