Growth & Strategy
Personas
SaaS & Startup
Time to ROI
Short-term (< 3 months)
Last year, a potential client approached me with what seemed like every no-code developer's dream project: build a two-sided AI marketplace platform using Bubble. They had a substantial budget, were excited about Bubble's AI integrations, and wanted to find the perfect template to accelerate development.
I said no.
Not because I couldn't deliver—Bubble has incredible AI templates and could absolutely handle their requirements. But because their core statement revealed a fundamental misunderstanding: "We want to see if our AI idea works."
They had no existing audience, no validated customer base, no proof of demand. Just an idea and enthusiasm for no-code templates.
This experience taught me something crucial about AI MVP development that most founders get wrong in 2025. Here's what you'll discover:
Why the best Bubble template might be the wrong first step
My one-day AI MVP validation framework (no templates required)
When to use Bubble AI templates vs. manual validation
The real templates that matter for AI startup success
How to graduate from validation to Bubble development strategically
This isn't theory. This comes from turning down lucrative projects because I've learned that distribution beats product every single time.
Industry Standard
What Every No-Code Tutorial Teaches About AI Templates
If you're researching AI MVP development right now, you've probably been overwhelmed by the template marketplace. Bubble's ecosystem is impressive—hundreds of AI-powered templates promising to jumpstart your development.
Here's what the no-code industry typically recommends for AI MVPs:
Start with a proven template - Use pre-built AI marketplaces, chatbot templates, or recommendation engines
Customize the design - Modify colors, branding, and layout to match your vision
Integrate your AI APIs - Connect ChatGPT, Claude, or custom models through simple workflows
Add your specific features - Build unique functionality on top of the template foundation
Launch and iterate - Deploy quickly and improve based on user feedback
This conventional wisdom exists because it sounds efficient. Templates save development time, AI integrations are getting easier, and the startup world loves rapid iteration. The promise is compelling: launch your AI idea in weeks, not months.
Where this approach falls short? Most entrepreneurs treat template selection like they're shopping for a finished product. They spend weeks evaluating UI components, workflow complexity, and feature completeness when they should be focused on one critical question: Does anyone actually want this?
I've watched too many founders spend months perfecting their Bubble template when they could have validated their core assumption in hours. The tools are powerful, but the strategy is often backwards.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
The client came to me excited about Bubble's template marketplace. They'd researched dozens of AI-powered templates—chatbot frameworks, marketplace builders, recommendation engines. They even had a shortlist of their top three choices.
But when I asked about their target users, the conversation got vague. "Business owners who need AI solutions." When I pressed for specifics about problem validation, they admitted they hadn't talked to potential customers yet.
This is when it clicked for me. They were treating their AI MVP like product development when it should have been market research. The template selection process had become a distraction from the real work: figuring out if anyone cared about their solution.
Here's what I told them—something that initially shocked them but ultimately saved months of wasted development time.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
Instead of building their platform, I recommended something that made them uncomfortable: "If you're truly testing market demand, your MVP should take one day to build—not three months."
Yes, even with Bubble's amazing AI templates, building a functional two-sided platform takes significant time. But here's what most founders miss: your first MVP shouldn't be a product at all.
Here's my validation-first framework:
Day 1: Create a Landing Page MVP
Instead of a template, create a simple landing page explaining your AI solution's value proposition. Use a tool like Framer, Webflow, or even a Notion page. Include a waitlist signup and basic problem description.
Week 1: Manual Outreach
Start direct outreach to potential users on both sides of your marketplace. LinkedIn, industry forums, email—whatever works. The goal isn't scale, it's learning.
Week 2-4: Manual Matching
When people express interest, match supply and demand manually via email or WhatsApp. This sounds inefficient, but it teaches you things no template can: real user behavior, actual pain points, pricing sensitivity.
Month 2: Consider Automation
Only after proving demand with manual processes should you think about Bubble templates. By this point, you'll know exactly which template features matter and which are distractions.
The Real Templates That Matter:
After helping dozens of AI startups, I've learned that the most important "templates" aren't Bubble components—they're process templates:
User Interview Template - Structured questions to uncover real AI needs
Problem Validation Framework - How to test assumptions before building
Manual Service Blueprint - Delivering your AI solution manually first
Feature Priority Matrix - What to build first when you do use templates
When you're ready for Bubble templates, focus on these proven categories:
Simple Chatbot Templates - For AI customer service validation
Content Generation Tools - For AI writing or creation services
Basic Recommendation Engines - For personalization experiments
Data Processing Workflows - For AI analysis services
But remember: your distribution strategy is more important than your template choice. I'd rather see a basic Bubble template with proven user demand than a sophisticated AI platform with zero validated users.
Validation Speed
Test core assumptions in hours, not months
Manual Process
Deliver your service manually before automating
Market Research
User interviews reveal what templates can't
Strategic Building
Choose templates based on validated demand, not features
The client initially pushed back. "But we could have a working prototype in weeks with the right Bubble template!" they argued. I explained that working and valuable are different things.
Three months later, they reached out with an update. They'd followed the manual validation approach and discovered something crucial: their original two-sided marketplace idea wasn't the real opportunity.
Through direct user interviews and manual service delivery, they learned that businesses didn't want a marketplace—they wanted a simple AI automation tool for their existing workflows. This insight would have been impossible to discover by starting with marketplace templates.
The manual validation process revealed the actual demand, which led to a much simpler (and more successful) AI product. They eventually did use Bubble, but for a completely different solution than originally planned.
This experience reinforced something I now tell every AI startup client: The best template is often no template at all—until you know what you're actually building.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
After working with dozens of AI startups and turning down lucrative template projects, here are the key lessons:
Template Selection is Often Procrastination - Founders research templates to avoid the uncomfortable work of talking to users
Complex Templates Create Complex Assumptions - The more features in your template, the more unvalidated assumptions you're building on
Manual Processes Teach Better Than Templates - Delivering your AI solution manually reveals insights no template can provide
Distribution Beats Templates Every Time - A simple solution with proven user demand outperforms sophisticated templates with zero users
Templates Work Best for Second MVPs - Use templates to scale proven concepts, not to validate new ideas
AI Features Don't Create Demand - Users care about problems solved, not AI sophistication
The Best Template is User-Driven - Let validated user needs determine your template choice, not the other way around
The biggest mistake I see is treating template selection as strategy. Templates are tools—use them after you know what you're building and why.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS startups: Start with manual user onboarding and support processes. Use simple Bubble templates for core workflows only after validating that users will actually engage with your AI features long-term.
For your Ecommerce store
For E-commerce: Test AI recommendations manually through email campaigns first. Build with Bubble templates only after proving that personalized suggestions actually increase purchase behavior in your specific niche.