Morning, CEO!
Meet Connor.
He is 23 years old.
While I was celebrating my 23rd birthday by panicking because I didn't know what a '401k' was (I thought it was a running race), Connor is currently generating $185,000 a month.
That is over $2 million a year. From his laptop.
He doesn’t have a giant staff. He doesn’t have venture capital funding. He just has a very specific way of looking at the world that makes me feel both incredibly inspired and deeply, deeply lazy.
Today, we are going to surgically remove the top of his skull (metaphorically, legal team, calm down) to see how he built an empire before his prefrontal cortex even finished developing.
1. The Death of the “Coder” (and the Birth of the Vibe)
I usually treat coding like a high-stakes bomb defusal. One wrong wire (or missing semicolon), and the whole thing explodes.
Connor treats coding like he’s ordering a sandwich.
He uses AI tools like Cursor and Claude. But he doesn’t just ask them to “write code.” He treats the AI like a highly talented, extremely literal intern who has had way too much coffee.
The Workflow:
Step 1: He downloads 20 successful apps in a niche.
Step 2: He screenshots the best parts. The onboarding flow from App A. The payment screen from App B.
Step 3: He throws those screenshots into a Figma file to create a Frankenstein monster of “good design.”
Step 4: He feeds the design to the AI and says, “Make it look like this.”
He does not write code. He conducts it.
If the button is the wrong color, he doesn’t hunt for the hex code in a CSS file. He tells the AI, “Make it pop more. Like, angry red.”
He has sacrificed Precision (understanding exactly how the engine works) for Speed (driving the car at 200mph).
He realized that in 2026, writing code is a commodity. The AI can do the syntax.
The scarcity is Taste.
His job isn’t to build the wall; his job is to tell the bricklayer exactly where to put the brick so the house looks cool.
2. The “Marriage” Proposal
Okay, so he Vibe Coded an app in two weeks. Great.
Now he has the classic problem: The Empty Party.
He built a cool house, but nobody is there.
Usually, this is where we panic and set a pile of money on fire by giving it to Mark Zuckerberg for ads.
Connor realized something counter-intuitive: Paying for attention is for suckers.
He looks for influencers who have:
Massive, niche audiences (like “hardcore mountain bikers”).
Terrible monetization skills (they are selling t-shirts and making $50).
He slides into their DMs. But he doesn’t offer to pay them $500 for a shoutout.
He offers them Equity.
He says: “I built this app for your fans. I handle the tech. You handle the talking. We split the company.”
When you pay an influencer, they post once and forget you exist.
When you give them equity, they become a Co-Founder. They hustle. They make content because their rent depends on it.
He realized that giving away 50% of the company is actually the greedy move.
Because 50% of a rocket ship is worth a lot more than 100% of a PowerPoint presentation.
3. The “Don’t Fall in Love” Rule
I treat my projects like my actual children. I nurture them. I worry about them. I refuse to admit they might be ugly.
Connor treats his apps like stocks in a portfolio.
He currently has a main app (Payout) making bank. But he has others that failed.
Instead of trying to force a bad app to work, or letting it rot on his hard drive, he plays the leverage game.
If an app is okay but he’s bored of it? He sells it.
If an app needs marketing but he doesn’t want to do it? He finds a partner and gives them the keys.
He separates “ The Builder” from “The Operator.”
He knows his superpower is the 0-to-1 build (the Vibe Coding). Once it hits 1, he gets bored.
Instead of forcing himself to be the manager of a mature company (which sounds like a real job, gross), he just spins up the next plate.
He optimizes for his own attention span.
So, here is the plan.
Step 1: Stop obsessing over your syntax errors.
Step 2: Find a niche influencer who needs an app but hates computers.
Step 3: Let the AI do the heavy lifting while you take the credit.
The gatekeepers are gone, my friends. The only thing stopping us is our own insistence on doing things the hard way.
Links:
https://x.com/BusDownBonnor
https://www.trypayout.app
https://sfstandard.com/2025/03/06/startups-grindcore-ai-agents-hayes-cerebral-valley/
23-YEAR-OLD MAKES $1 MILLION/YEAR WITH APPS BUILT IN JUST 2 WEEKS!
This 23 Yr Old Genius Makes $1M/Year with No-Code Apps. Here’s How
https://www.indiehackers.com/post/tech/growing-a-portfolio-of-mobile-apps-to-185k-mo-hZ4hqICtByIljkiJECQv
