The Startup Ideas Podcast

On this episode I sit down with indie app builder and designer Chris ****Raroque to walk through his real AI coding workflow. Chris explains how he ships a portfolio of productivity apps doing thousands in MRR by pairing Claude Code and Cursor instead of picking just one tool. He live-demos “vibe coding” an iOS animation, then compares how Claude Code and Cursor’s plan mode tackle the same task. The episode closes with concrete tips on plan mode, MCP servers, AI code review, dictation, and deep research so solo devs can build bigger apps than they could alone.

Timestamps

00:00 – Intro

03:04 – Which Tools & Models to Use

09:16 – Thoughts on the Vibe Coding Mobile App Landscape

11:14 – Live demo: prompting Claude Code to build an iOS “AI searching” animation

18:07 – Live demo: prompting Cursor with same task

21:02 – Chris’s Best Tips for Vibe Coders

Key Points

• You don’t have to pick one IDE copilot: Chris actively switches between Claude Code and Cursor because they have different strengths.

• For very complex bug-hunting, he prefers Cursor with plan mode; for big-picture app architecture, he leans on Claude Code with Opus.

• Non-developers should start on higher-level “vibe coding” platforms like Create Anything for mobile apps before graduating to Claude/Cursor.

• Plan mode plus detailed, spoken prompts dramatically improves code quality, especially for UI and animation work.

• MCP servers and AI code review bots let solo developers safely set up infra, enforce security, and catch bugs they’d otherwise miss.

• Claude’s deep research is a powerful way to choose the right patterns and libraries before handing implementation back to Claude Code or Cursor.

Join me as I sit down with Jonathan Courtney to host the second annual “Sippy Awards,” the most prestigious award show in tech for the products, games, and tools that shaped 2025. We crown our most-hyped products for 2026, favorite games of the year, best productivity tools, and best products under $100. We also dive into analog tools like Traveler’s Notebook, hi-fi systems, Japanese porcelain, and simple clothing uniforms as ways to make everyday life better and de-fragment your brain.

Timestamps

00:00 – Intro

03:23 – Most Hyped Product of 2026

14:43 – Game of the Year 2025

19:49 – The Way to Innovate

25:41 – Premium Domains

29:56 – Best Productivity Product

42:02 – Favorite Product of 2025

54:10 – Best products under $100.

Key Points

• The Sippy Awards are a playful but serious way for Greg and Jonathan to highlight the products and games that genuinely improved their lives in 2025.

• They argue that cult classics (Wind Waker, Pinkerton, Kid A, Breath of the Wild, Elden Ring) come from creators who put the audience last and follow their own taste, even at the risk of initial backlash.

• Distinctive visual identities and premium dot-com domains are framed as both trust builders for users and commitment devices for founders.

• Their favorite productivity and lifestyle tools—ChatGPT, Things, Endel, Traveler’s Notebook, YouTube Premium, Japanese porcelain—show how small, well-crafted tools reshape daily workflows and rituals.

• Analog practices (morning pages, notebooks, hi-fi listening) and simple clothing uniforms are presented as ways to de-fragment your brain, reduce decision fatigue, and focus on what matters.

I sat down with James, the Boring Marketer, to stress-test Claude 4.5 Opus against Gemini 3 Pro for real-world coding and design work. Together we live-build and compare landing pages and clickable prototypes for an “EstateClear” probate-family dashboard, then zoom out into conversion copywriting frameworks, “elevated direct response” brand voice, and ad creative workflows. The episode is a practical walkthrough of how non-technical builders can go from idea → landing page → prototype → ads using modern AI tools without vibe-coded, low-converting sites. 

Timestamps

00:00 – Intro

02:00 – Startup Idea: EstateClear

03:17 – Claude Opus 4.5

04:47 – Gemini 3.0 Pro

09:02 – Reviewing Opus’ landing page

11:16 – Reviewing Gemini’s version

12:17 – Comparing the two

17:29 – Reprompting Opus 4.5 and Gemini

19:02 – Google’s vertically integrated stack (AI Studio, Anti-Gravity, TPUs, Workspace)

21:50 – Nano Banana Pro and ad creative experiments

27:35 – Opus 4.5 builds a clickable EstateClear prototype

31:38 – Gemini’s prototype and comparing product depth

36:40 – Anti-Gravity + Nano Banana workflow for mockups and code

44:41 – Claude Skills Workflow and Best Practices

56:41 – Final Thoughts

Key Points

• Claude 4.5 Opus can act like a senior engineer for non-technical builders when paired with a tight skill and tools setup.

• Conversion wins come more from “elevated direct response” copy and clear page architecture than from fancy visuals alone.

• Claude’s front-end design skill meaningfully reduces “AI-looking” gradients and vibe-coded layouts, producing cleaner, production-grade UIs.

• Live tests show Opus 4.5 generates more refined layouts and deeper product thinking, while Gemini often injects clever AI product features.

• Google’s integration of Anti-Gravity, Nano Banana, and AI Studio points to a powerful end-to-end environment for shipping and promoting products.

On this episode I sit down with indie app builder and designer Chris Raroque to break down how solo developers can make apps that truly stand out in a world of “vibe-coded” clones. Chris walks through concrete examples from his own products, Ellie (planning), Luna (budgeting), and Amy (calorie tracking), showing how small details in animations, interactions, and haptics dramatically change how an app feels. We dig into mascots and illustrations, iconography and typography, widgets and Apple Watch apps, and the design resources Chris studies to sharpen his eye. The episode is a practical blueprint for turning AI-assisted prototypes into polished, premium-feeling apps that users remember and keep coming back to.

Timestamps

00:00 – Intro

03:54 – Animation and Interactions

20:50 – Illustrations and Mascots

33:57 – Iconography and Typography

37:28 – Widgets

43:04 – Design Inspiration Resources

Key Points

• In a world where anyone can ship an AI-generated app in 24 hours, polish and interaction design are the real differentiators.

• Thoughtful animations, micro-interactions, and haptics can be the difference between a tweet that flops and one that goes viral.

• Mascots and custom illustrations give apps a recognizable personality and can transform empty states and onboarding into memorable moments.

• Consistent iconography and basic typography choices have outsized impact on perceived quality, yet are often overlooked by “vibe-coded” apps.

• Home screen, lock screen, and watch widgets act as retention engines by giving apps constant real estate in users’ daily flows.

• Continuously studying well-designed apps and curated UI libraries sharpens design taste and makes it easier to brief AI tools effectively.

On today’s episode I stress-test Gemini 3.0 in Google AI Studio to see how good it really is as a designer, not just a code generator. Across the episode, I ask Gemini to redesign my personal website in a Windows XP–inspired style, build a restaurant analytics SaaS dashboard, and create a workout mobile app inspired by the “Brain Rot” app. Along the way, I experiment with prompts, visual annotations, and reference images to see how well Gemini takes feedback. By the end, he’s rating each build.

Timestamps

00:00 – Intro

00:54 – Personal Website

15:48 – SaaS

21:52 – Mobile App

26:35 – AntiGravity

27:17 – Final rating and takeaways

Key Points

• Gemini 3.0 can now generate full, styled web and mobile UIs (not just “purple Tailwind vibe-coded” layouts) when given strong prompts and references. greg-take-02

• A Windows XP–themed personal site, built from a screenshot and a short prompt, impresses Greg enough that he considers redoing his actual homepage. greg-take-02

• Visual annotation inside Google AI Studio (drawing on the canvas and commenting) is a powerful way to refine icons, backgrounds, and layout without “speaking designer.” greg-take-02

• A restaurant analytics SaaS dashboard (“Chef OS”) shows how combining Dribbble shots + Teenage Engineering hardware as references pushes Gemini toward more tactile, “real button” UI. greg-take-02

• The “Gains” workout app, modeled on the Brain Rot app, demonstrates that AI can remix an existing product pattern into a new behavior-change app with streaks, goals, and a reactive mascot. greg-take-02

• Greg’s big takeaway: good ideas + taste + references + Gemini 3.0 let non-designers ship highly differentiated experiences, raising their odds of standing out. greg-take-02