[Back to resources](/resources) Article Navigation Table of Contents - [How Antler’s Deadline Inspired Fast Prototyping](#how-antlers-deadline-inspired-fast-prototyping) - [Rapid Development Tools: Lovable, Supabase & More](#rapid-development-tools-lovable-supabase--more) - [Adopting a Product-Centric Mindset](#adopting-a-product-centric-mindset) - [Essential Vibe Coding Tips for Fast MVP Development](#essential-vibe-coding-tips-for-fast-mvp-development) - [What’s Next](#whats-next) Free Tools - [CACulator](/tools/caculator) - [Mini VSL Generator](/tools/mini-vsl-generator) - [Form Templates](/tools/v0-ai-styled-form-flow) AI MVP Engineering Startup # Building an MVP with AI - Part 1: From Rusty Skills to Antler Investment How our MVP, built with AI and vibe coding, led to Antler investment. The essential tools, techniques, and mindset shifts that accelerated development. ![Matteo Calo avatar](/_vercel/image?url=_astro%2Fmatteo-calo.CaV9vX0l.webp&w=640&q=100&dpl=dpl_GS3GUSY8EcAQBCmiWhCv4hjmQMCs) Matteo Calo · May 14, 2025 · 8 min read · Updated May 14, 2025 ![Hero image for Building an MVP with AI - Part 1: From Rusty Skills to Antler Investment](/_vercel/image?url=_astro%2Fbuilding-mvp-with-ai-hero.uxvIhqBv.webp&w=1920&q=100&dpl=dpl_GS3GUSY8EcAQBCmiWhCv4hjmQMCs) We built our MVP in about six weeks instead of six months by treating AI like a senior pair, not a junior assistant. Antler asked for a working prototype on a tight deadline; my coding muscles were six years rusty and were never strong to begin with. AI tooling (Cursor, Claude, v0) closed both gaps fast enough to put a real product in front of investors. ## How Antler’s Deadline Inspired Fast Prototyping[](#how-antlers-deadline-inspired-fast-prototyping) Antler requested a working prototype within weeks. The challenge? My dev skills were rusty after six years in management-heavy roles—and I was never the strongest coder to begin with. That’s where AI-powered tools and vibe coding changed the game. ## Rapid Development Tools: Lovable, Supabase & More[](#rapid-development-tools-lovable-supabase--more) Antler provided credits for tools that accelerated our MVP: - **Lovable** (thanks Anton Osika!) - **Supabase** - Database and authentication - **Vercel** - Hosting and deployment - **Make** - Automation workflows - **Google Cloud** - Infrastructure Initially, I built prototypes with Lovable, but integrating backend functionality proved challenging. Every fix seemed to introduce new issues, leading to frustration. I decided to pivot entirely. ## Adopting a Product-Centric Mindset[](#adopting-a-product-centric-mindset) Rather than pursuing a quick-fix MVP, I adopted a disciplined product-team approach: - **Defined Core Features Clearly:** Planned critical functionalities first. - **Deep Provider Research:** Understood clearly how external systems would interact with our MVP. - **Supabase for Backend Simplicity:** Chose Supabase to handle databases, authentication, and monitoring, significantly speeding up development. A crucial early decision: focus on functionality first, UI/UX second. Building on a stable foundation allowed us to progress more efficiently. ## Essential Vibe Coding Tips for Fast MVP Development[](#essential-vibe-coding-tips-for-fast-mvp-development) Optimizing AI-driven coding required refined techniques: - **Use Chat Mode:** Costs more credits, but it lets you guide the AI’s logic actively. - **Employ Prompt-Generating Agents:** Initially helpful to translate human instructions clearly, although I later simplified my workflow. - **Provide Screenshots:** Helps clarify frontend requirements visually. - **Detailed Instructions are Key:** Precise requests ensure accurate outcomes—e.g., instead of “implement OAuth,” specify detailed technical requirements. - **Supply Contextual Information:** Feeding extra context (logs, snippets) helps the AI grasp complex requirements. - **Frequent Testing:** Manually test and implement unit tests early. Tedious, but saves significant debugging time later. - **Always Review Generated Code:** Quick code reviews ensure you catch errors early, crucial given the high volume of generated code. ## What’s Next[](#whats-next) These strategies are just the start. In Part 2, we’ll discuss how Reuben Scheckter built visual prototypes that landed us early customers before our full product launch. We’ll explore how different vibe coding techniques suit different scenarios. Ultimately, the synergy between our prototypes played a critical role in securing VC funding. Stay tuned for more insights on building with AI! ![Matteo Calo, Chief Technology Officer at Flyweel](/_vercel/image?url=_astro%2Fmatteo-calo.CaV9vX0l.webp&w=640&q=100&dpl=dpl_GS3GUSY8EcAQBCmiWhCv4hjmQMCs) Written by ## [Matteo Calo](https://www.flyweel.co) Chief Technology Officer Matteo is the co-founder and CTO of Flyweel, where he builds the infrastructure that ties ad platform spend to revenue in real time. He has spent the last decade in financial technology and payments, leading engineering teams of up to 40 people, and architects Flyweel's data pipelines and the integrations with ad networks and accounting systems that make automated ad-spend reconciliation possible. Software Architecture API Integrations Data Engineering Full-Stack Development Real-Time Data Pipelines Ad Platform Integrations Financial Reconciliation Systems [X](https://x.com/flyweel_)[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/matteotechleader/)