Build-in-Public: What I Learned Building an AI Image SaaS I launched AdLoft AI six months ago. It's an AI tool that turns product photos into ad creatives for e-commerce sellers. No design skills needed—just upload a photo, pick a vibe, and get 20 variations in seconds. I built it in public on Twitter and Indie Hackers. Shared weekly updates: MRR hits, bug fixes, user feedback. This is what I learned, raw and unfiltered. If you're a solo founder eyeing AI SaaS, read this before you start. My first version was garbage. I spent weeks on fancy features like video generation and A/B testing integrations. Users ignored them. Then I stripped it down. MVP: one image upload, five style templates (clean, vibrant, minimalist, etc.), instant downloads. Built the core with Replicate's API for Stable Diffusion and a simple Next.js frontend. Deployed to Vercel. Total time: two days. First 10 users signed up that week. They wanted speed, not bells and whistles. Moral: Ship a tool that does one thing insanely well. AI image gen is commoditized—differentiate on e-comm specifics, like auto-background removal for products. Here's the stack I settled on: Tool Why I Chose It Cost/Mo Replicate Dead-simple API, handles GPU scaling $0.01/image Vercel Free tier for starters, scales easy $20 at 1k users Stripe Plug-and-play billing 2.9% + 30¢ Uploadthing File uploads without headaches Free Total burn at launch: $50/month. Now at $300 with 500 users. Everyone says freemium for AI tools. I tried it. Got 1,000 signups, 2% converted. Churn was brutal—users grabbed free credits and ghosted. Switched to paid-only: $19/mo for unlimited generations. Signups dropped 80%, but revenue jumped 5x. Paying users give real feedback and stick around. Pro tip: Tier it smart. $9/mo: 100 images $29/mo: Unlimited + custom templates $99/mo: API access for agencies Lifetime value now averages $250/user. Acquisition cost via Twitter threads: ~$2. I geeked out on fine-tuning models with e-comm datasets. Shared benchmarks: "My model beats Midjourney by 15% on product realism!" Crickets. Users care about their ads performing better on Facebook/ TikTok. Shifted focus: Integrated a simple analytics dashboard. Upload your ad, track click-through rates from past campaigns. AI suggests tweaks based on winners (e.g., "Bright backgrounds convert 2x—try this"). Feedback loop: User uploads photo + old ad performance data AI generates variants optimized for high-CTR patterns User tests, feeds back results This turned one-off users into monthlies. Churn dropped to 8%. Posted every milestone: Week 1: MVP live, 0 users Week 4: $100 MRR, fixed upload bug Month 3: $1k MRR, added mobile app Twitter got me 40% of users. Threads on "AI ad hacks" drove 200 signups. Indie Hackers comments led to partnerships with Shopify apps. But it's not free PR. Time sink: 2 hours/week writing updates. Trolls exist—"Your tool sucks compared to Canva." Ignore them; amplify fans. Metrics from public building: ![Growth chart] Alt: MRR growth from $0 to $3k in 6 months Image gen is cheap per use, but scales sneaky. At 10k generations/mo, Replicate bill hit $400. Optimizations I made: Cache common styles (saves 60% compute) Queue jobs, process in batches Offer "low-res preview" to cut full-gen calls Switched to self-hosted ComfyUI on RunPod for heavy users. Dropped costs 40%. Always model for 10x growth. Overbuilt frontend: Figma obsession delayed launch by a month. Use Tailwind + shadcn—done in days. Chased virality: Referral program flopped. Focus on retention first. Ignored SEO: All traffic from social. Now ranking for "AI product ad generator" after 10 targeted posts. Hitting $5k MRR soon. Roadmap: White-label for agencies TikTok video ads (biggest ask) EU data compliance for Shopify stores If starting over: Launch on Product Hunt day 1 Partner with e-comm influencers earlier Build mobile-first (80% users on phone) Building in public stripped away BS. No hype, just numbers. AdLoft isn't a unicorn—it's $3k/mo helping 500 sellers make better ads. That's enough. If you're building AI SaaS, share your wins/fails below. DM for the full tech teardown. Current stats: $3.2k MRR, 520 users, 12% MoM growth. I'm [Your Name], founder of AdLoft AI. Building tools for e-comm creators. Follow for weekly AI marketing breakdowns.