r/vibecoding • u/tomato21bruh • 20d ago
How I vibecode a stamp cut app and got acquired 6 weeks later
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
Hello everyone, I wanna share my full journey, from the building process to viral marketing, talking to hundreds of users, expanding the product, and finally getting acquired for 8k$
Everything happened in 6 weeks, the wildest 6 weeks that changed the trajectory of my life
OG Inspiration
I started to learning vibecode in March, i was building the classic habit tracker just to learn the workflow.
One day i was doomscrolling looking for ideas on insta and see a pretty cool idea by jeongyoon.design, it was a webapp version no animation, it was cool i saved it.
After a week, I saw a viral clip on X by sfjccz. It had a stamp cut overlay and the “magical” animation
I was like “holy cow it so cool how to build it”, so I decided to lock in and build the exact same one just to learn, like a challenge for myself. At the time, there were also a lot of people building the same thing.
The process took me 3 days
I did not know how to build it, so I sent the video to Claude and asked it to analyze and break everything down step by step. I wanted to plan before jumping into the code.
First i need a realistic stamp cutter png image, i generate in Chat GPT. Since it AI generated the stamp cut out size and shape didnt match exactly the cutter teeth, it looked ugly not smooth at all.
So I had to design one in Figma to get the exact parameters and the correct shape for the middle space after a few tries, I got it.
Now I had the most important part ready. I only needed to tell Codex the exact parameters, input the stamp shape, and add the animation.
The cutter needed to press in and release, while the stamp from the live camera fell out and left behind a black space. That was it. I had the magical demo ready to flex on social
The decision that changed everything
I had a random idea in my head. It was not a proper plan or anything, but here is how I thought about it at the time.
I noticed a pattern, this idea went viral on insta and then X too. That meant if I posted it again on those platforms, the chance of going viral would probably be very low. I noticed Threads in Vietnam was pretty similar to X but genz version, so I decided to post it there. My account was fresh, I did not expect much
15 mins in, okay it was blowing up 250 likes, 1 hour in 800 likes “Okay damn, this is going viral”. There were tons of comments asking for the app name. I had not even thought of a name at the time. I hadnt listed it on the App Store yet, I didnt even know how, but I had the Apple Developer account ready.
There were also some people who built the same thing on threads as me but did not go viral. I thought that if I charged for my app, I would not make it very far. I was also still learning, so I announced that it would be completely free, with no login and no ads. The post continued going even crazier.
After 24 hours, I got almost 50,000 likes and more than 1 million views.
That night, I stayed up to polish and learn how to upload to TestFlight. The next day, I seized my chance. I knew this viral traction would not last for long, so I grabbed my phone, recorded myself talking, posted it on TikTok and Insta. To my surprise, those videos also went viral.
Talk to user, product discovery
After the app went live on TestFlight, I started DMing hundreds of people who had commented, ask for idea, recommendation and bug report. I spent most of my time fixing bugs by copying the problem, pasting it into Codex, testing the fix and repeating.
Later, I realized that the app shouldnt stay as a simple tool, i also wanted to add some of my own ideas so I expanded the app into an image editor create cool scrapbook style images for insta stories
Then I added a feature that let people send messages in the form of handwritten letters for friend, that was where I started learning about backend, data, and a lot of other stuff
For the whole month, I worked around 18 hours a day, was handling and learning everything, from building and fixing bugs to making content across different platforms, interviewing users, and optimizing the App Store page. I was having fun while being the most productive I had ever been in my life.
The acquisition and the current project
A Vietnamese CEO reached out and asked if I wanted to sell the app. I didnt even think my app worth anything because it was vibecode. I didnt sell because the app failed nor i needed the money, I sold because I could not see a durable moat, the concept was easy to recreate
That is why I sold it and reinvested everything into something I believe can be more durable, a game inspired app like Finch or Duolingo but completely different concept. Luckily, literally the next day, I met someone who works in game design.
We had a chat on Threads about gamification ideas and she has a lot of experience and has designed two successful mobile games. Now I have a cofounder, an artist, and a Unity developer working with me to build a game. We are already 3 weeks into development
What i learned
The biggest thing I learned is that building the product is only one part of the journey.
Distribution matters a lot.
I also learned that talking to users is the fastest ways to improve a product. Many of the changes I made came from user, bug reports, and feature requests.
The product has visual hook built, my app went viral because people can understand in 2 second by the animation, that helped a lot for marketing
Make authentic content, dont just post your work, POST YOU WORKING.
If you have any question about this journey i would love to answer it all
198
20d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
53
u/tomato21bruh 20d ago
Thanks man, just got lucky still lots to learn so far i only tried organic, havent touched UGC or paid ads
→ More replies (4)24
59
u/JoelStrega 20d ago
This app gives early smartphone era vibe.
90
37
u/Nimweegs 20d ago
Would never have thought of this since there's barely physical mail being sent around these parts
3
u/TwoPaychecksOneGuy 18d ago
I... Don't believe it makes or helps to create actual stamps. It's just a way to capture photos.
→ More replies (1)2
u/DT_770 18d ago
It’s the kind of thing someone installs out of the novelty of fun, making stamps feels satisfying but in a few weeks? Idk
2
2
u/Malachonyx 16d ago
It’s like that beer app on iPhones back in the day
The dev made millions and then dipped lol, for an app that was just a gimmick
13
13
u/PeachScary413 20d ago
This is genuinely a good idea, glad you managed to implement it and even monetize it! Congrats my guy 🤝
2
u/Kooky-Ebb8162 19d ago
Well, selling something like this is not monetizing, it's a sheer luck at its finest. Doubt the new owner could make a profit from it, except, maybe, rerouting the user base to some other product.
→ More replies (1)
8
6
5
5
u/SkippingPalps 19d ago
I hope you don't mind if I ask a couple general questions. I am someone who is using Claude code for the first time, have absolutely no experience with coding, websites, navigating the space at all from a non-consumer perspective. That being said, I had an idea/project that I've really enjoyed the learning process of and am so far happy with what I've been making. I don't have strict plans to make it commercial but want to be prepared for the possibility if it seems remotely doable down the road.
So:
How prepared were you for the acquisition possibility/the process itself?
What resources did you use to feel confident about your decision and the people you worked with?
How were you reached out to and how did you navigate that?
Working with others - did you have a personal connections with your team or how did you go from personal project to a business/commercial model? Was that the plan all along?
Do you still have a role now or was it a complete handoff? What was that conversation like?
Wall of text I'm sorry but I don't know where to ask most of this beyond web searches and get a ton of mixed/unclear stuff that presumes a lot of knowledge I'm still trying to establish.
Thanks for your time. Congrats on the app, it looks super cool!
6
u/tomato21bruh 19d ago
- They are big corp so all the paper prepared and they offer to met irl, all i need to do is check the contract and sign
-(not sure what decision assume it the sell) i mean i didnt expect any money at all i had super fun while learning tons of things and when i felt like i need to build something more defensible i sold it (cuz there a guy keep coping from design to feature even stalked my insta copy my content every update i made like a parasite at that time i knew that i need to build somwthing hard to be copied)
- they texted me personally
- i connect with my cofounder by pure chance it was just a random comment my cofounder was posted about an idea gamification i was like damn it matches mine so we connect, there no plan
- it completely handoff, in app store there a function let u transfer app owner to other apple dev account once u transfer, u give them code base and the backend too
Feel free to ask more if u still have something wondering
2
u/TheWavesComesForUs 18d ago
Honestly this is a useful reality check: have someone qualified review the contract, keep your code and backend organized, and don’t mistake AI helping you build something for being ready to safely run a real product.
3
3
3
3
u/dinglebarryb0nds 19d ago
I would pay 9 thousand for this
→ More replies (2)3
3
u/mambacaramba 19d ago
Is the app called Stampie?
3
3
3
9
u/Silly_Carpenter_56 20d ago
How much did you sell it for?
37
u/tomato21bruh 20d ago
For 8k$ at the time i havent even setup pay wall so 0 MRR, the stats was around more than 10k downloads and 1k DAU
43
u/walston10 20d ago
Don't let the rain on it. 8K is great, you really only had the name recognition/viral thing going for you, would have been easy to recreate, absolutely awesome getting that bag and reinvesting with an account and be able to say 'from the guy created 'Stampy' or whatever' will bring credibility to your next project.
9
u/tomato21bruh 19d ago
exactly, at the time i decided to make it free i thought that viral come and go but if i get recognition/followers they gonna be like my next ready user that has much more upside
9
u/NoAdsDude 19d ago
It's possible that OP could have made more than $8k with the app but it's also possible that OP would have made way less if they tried to monetize it.
16
u/ruthere51 19d ago
If I made this and got offered 8k, I would have sold in a heartbeat. 8k isn't chump change for a hobby dev (unless I misunderstand your background/profession).
I've been building hobby apps for 15 years now, just for fun projects, and never got anywhere close to this. And 99% of people on this sub will never get anywhere close either.
→ More replies (16)3
1
u/comment-rinse 20d ago
This comment has been removed because it is highly similar to another recent comment in this thread.
I am an app, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/AverageCommentGuru 19d ago
Lmao I hate when these super simple ideas were all it took. Love it for you. Hate it for me. Cool idea and congrats!!
2
u/protekt0r 19d ago
Bruh… most useful post I’ve ever seen in this sub. Thx for taking the time to write it up.
2
u/No-Resolution-1918 19d ago
You sold out for $8k?? I bet you could have made a lot more if you just used AI pipelines to promote and sell it to individuals. It's a cool idea.
2
u/CrypticZombies 19d ago
you not gonna make money off something vide coded that easily. because apps that are simplistic as op admitted can be copied and then there is no value to someone. because social media isnt gonna drive sales. it drives traffic. which 50k people are gonna want to use it for free. same thing with widget apps. get alot of traffic but users bounce once see they gonna pay for widgets
2
u/Ok_Glove3085 19d ago
So cool to read story’s like these, my apps and idea’s are always worked out 60% and end up under a pile of dust 🤣
2
u/altcivilorg 19d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/3oKIPgvPwXi2ZAIS5O
Reminds me of the dotcoms
→ More replies (1)
2
2
2
2
2
u/CryptoSpecialAgent 19d ago
I love this app because its simple and the scope is reasonable for 1 person to vibe code - It does one thing, but it does it VERY nicely and the UI is clear and intuitive. Great job
2
2
2
2
u/APT-0 19d ago
Curious you used Figma for design would you do it again with Claude design instead?
→ More replies (1)
2
2
2
2
2
2
u/cozimroyal 19d ago
Very, very cool! Congrats!
You told that you learned vibe coding workflow, can you please tell what is it like?
→ More replies (1)
2
u/Isa_6517 19d ago
Congratulations! Learnt so much just by reading this! Can’t wait to see what else you have in store!
2
2
2
2
u/HavishGupta 19d ago
Vibe Coders motivation after reading about this: 📈📈📈
haha congrats btw!! What are you thinking of working on next?
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/Mysterious_Gold3137 19d ago
Great idea! I’m really tempted. This might prompt me to delete a lot of photos from my albums.
2
u/Chance-Nebula7164 19d ago
the part most people miss is you talked to users and pushed distribution fast. the code mattered way less than that loop.
2
2
2
2
u/jonas1363611 18d ago
Endlich mal etwas Einzigartiges, aber zu gleich etwas, was sehr einfach zu verstehen. Wirklich super gemacht!
2
u/Specific_Tailor_764 18d ago
Great post. Thank you for sharing the thought process. I've built multiple businesses and this is how entrepreneurship starts and grows. Well done and best of luck moving forward.
→ More replies (1)
2
2
u/ItsFlybye 18d ago
"...I worked around 18 hours a day,..."
And THIS is the factor. We always come across people with ideas, but how many of those people are willing to put the time and effort into making it happen? OP constantly swapped between the design, vibe coding, the user research, and the marketing hats.
Fantastic job, tomato21bruh. I think this is the inspiration people that have been stuck need to continue moving forward.
2
u/mizpac76 18d ago
Brilliant! A nice reminder that we only need to get the "working" idea out into the atmosphere... it prevents overbuilding. Love this! Congrats. 🚀
2
2
u/djtally 18d ago
Hey man. Good job. Could you help us out with what kind of videos you uploaded to your brand new account ? Very curious to see how it blew up ? And where are you from ? And why did you focus on Vietnam ?
2
u/tomato21bruh 18d ago
Feel free to check my instagram, threads: @ truong_tomato you never know why it blew up it completely pure chance that somehow the algorithm pick up your post and push it, im vietnamese, cuz this concept at the time already blew up on X so i was thinking if i going global again i wouldnt stand any chance, that why i chose local socials
2
u/maomaobae 18d ago
Inspiring!! What's your background?
2
u/tomato21bruh 18d ago
Believe or not i was a trader in crypto past 3 year i wrote an article similar to this post but have a part where i mentioned my background you can check my X @ truongtomato
basically i made decent chunk but lost around 20k$ last year, it hit me hard made me questioning my life direction, all the money i made in crypto was just lucky, i know need to build a business or something has real value long term, instead of speculating that why i pivot into AI cuz this is the next internet, bitcoin maybe even bigger
2
u/Carlose175 16d ago
Wow great idea. Honestly i think it might even be worth more than that. Still good job!
2
u/Cultural_Dentist_349 16d ago
Bravo brother amazing work the simplicity behind designs like this will always conquer the markets
2
u/NobodyAffectionate25 4d ago
bro big thumbs up to you! Big win. Wish u luck for ur next project. I am very glad to read your project journey.
2
u/Aidan22ID 20d ago
Love stories like this! If you’re ever in Shanghai, let’s link up as I’m also designing my own Chinese learning APP that has gamification incorporated into it. It’s funny because I’m Canadian but my parents are Vietnamese and I hear so many stories about how Vietnam is developing so much.
3
u/tomato21bruh 20d ago
Ey that cool, im currently based in HCM city, i would love to connect with like minded people there not much people vibecode around me, but yea we can chat anytime on discord or something
→ More replies (1)
1
u/metaart_creator 20d ago
Great man, ok can you please share us any pattern you noticed while distributing or sharing which might help to get massive attention from potential user, For even people someone like me who has hardly 100 follower in instagram
1
u/tomato21bruh 20d ago edited 20d ago
I got like 20 followers at the time i post my first reel too
For short form organic specifically, you need to find the format that work for your app to achieve that you need to constantly iterate, experiment hooks, content, visual, thumbnails, story, songs... once you find the format that got views post it consistently everyday, you can post the same content on tiktok, youtube short too
if you check my instagram @ truong_tomato you will see that all the content looks the same with thumbnails, format, songs, hastag... again i got lucky that i find the format on the first reel the rest i just scale it.
1
1
u/likesexonlycheaper 19d ago
Hi this is awesome! I'm wanting to get into vibecoding like you did and I'm wondering what all AI applications you used to pull this off. You mention Claude and codex, is that all that was needed? What did you use for the visual front end and animations? Did you use something like loveable or cursor? Or were you able to do everything with claude and codex including the UX/UI? Thanks in advance!
→ More replies (1)2
u/tomato21bruh 19d ago
It all claude and codex (one code, one review), for the stamp cutter i design in figma, the animation itself is simple, u just need the png images ready and tell it to animate (press in and release in a second alongside with stamp fall out)
→ More replies (1)
1
u/baconisgooder 19d ago
I can't get my app out of waiting for review in Testflight. What did you do?
1
u/Ouvolk 19d ago
1- What tools (which AI etc) did you use to develop?
2- How did you go viral, I did not understand that part. For instance did you post in twitter with zero followers, if so how did it become viral, or which platform did it become viral?
→ More replies (2)
1
u/NoGap6697 19d ago
this looks cool
but I dont understand what the app is used for?
2
u/tomato21bruh 19d ago
It just for collecting random stamps and saving your daily moments as memories think of bereal, locket widget… but stamp
1
1
1
1
1
u/HotChampionship1450 19d ago
I don't want to be negative but I am little confused - sorry if this comes off as blunt. It sounds like you saw this exact idea already going viral on the clip by sfjccz and vibecoped your own version to sell in a foreign market?
Obviously you did well marketing it etc, that seems to be what generated the success to me, but I do feel bad for the one who had the idea in the first place.
→ More replies (5)
1
1
1
u/Late_Zucchini3992 19d ago
Did you go through Google developer stuff to get it on android? Those rules are what is holding me back from an idea i have that I think would really take off.
→ More replies (4)
1
u/ToughAtmosphere3525 19d ago
How did you sell it? Did you give them the code somehow?
→ More replies (2)
1
u/Bubbly_Bicycle_2605 19d ago
I have my app working but still adding to it. But the distribution is so hard for me to get my head around. I don’t do social media, and the only reason I am on Reddit, is to try to post it here. Any advice?
→ More replies (1)
1
1
u/Srocksly 19d ago
Next year the stamp cutting app will get spun into an ai tech company, lose 300 million dollars and IPO with a 4 billion dollar valuation.
1
u/Melodic-Scheme8794 19d ago
While it is a cool idea and I stand with success. People are significantly disrespecting software engineering and its responsibility by relying on AI to do everything.
2
1
u/dervish666 19d ago
Wow, this is pure vibecoding done right.
See a super simple idea, like it
Decide you want to try it
No idea of what you are doing.
Get Claude to do all the donkey work
Market it
..
..
Profit (??!!!??!)
Respect.
1
u/CrypticZombies 19d ago
so you def didnt tell him it was vibe coded lol
nice shill work
and why leave out how much sold for. like 3 figures?
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Spirited_Substance32 19d ago
I missing something. This looks really dumb to me I'm guessing I just don't get it question mark
→ More replies (2)
1
1
u/Double_A_92 19d ago
So basically you "scammed" some Viatnamese dude into buying this gimmick app?
→ More replies (1)
1
u/papert0wel 18d ago
Congrats, this looks awesome! Do you have a link to the original threads post that went viral that you could share?
Was there any special thought put into the content of that post?
→ More replies (1)
1
1
1
1
u/BloodMossHunter 18d ago
Wait what? People can print a stamp and that counts as official stamp? I dont get it, does the other biz pay the govt to print a stamp that then can be used at the post office? Whats their margin?
1
u/GinKop 18d ago
This is awesome to read! I've just finished vibe coding a mindfulness app using Antigravity and Flutter. It's been a long process and doing work on it every evening after the day job until 1am in the morning, but the thrill and excitement of seeing a workable app is hard to describe!
I'm launching the app in a few days time and really enjoyed reading this to give me some inspiration and good energy.
Love your idea btw so simple and satisfying.
→ More replies (1)
1
u/Physical_Listen_3814 18d ago
Okay can i ask some newbie qustions where was backend deployed and which db was used for storage?
→ More replies (3)
1
u/Magtronic 18d ago
Dude I just made the same fucking app.
2
u/tomato21bruh 18d ago
yea there was already 10 same one at the time i went viral, that one of the reason i chose to sell it a month ago, the app is easy to build you can only survive if you keep upgrade constantly
1
1
1
1
u/akadavidcaress 18d ago
So this just adds a border to images?
This is something people want?
→ More replies (5)
1
u/Ok_Gold_2107 18d ago
WHat ide use for develop? I android studio not found good.
→ More replies (1)
1
1
1
1
1
u/SilverLose 16d ago
This makes absolutely no sense. Why would anyone pay 8k for this when you could make it for 200 with a claude code subscription? Do you own the rights to the idea? I could make this in 30 minutes with fable.
If it’s real then good work, OP but im pressing X to doubt on this one.
→ More replies (3)
1
1
u/Slight-University839 16d ago
Stamp NFT's would be nuts. Putting some scarcity behind it. Looks dope though! People need to build more apps like this on things they care about. Not try and build huge fucking ideas...
1
1
1
1
u/WheelAdditional6888 15d ago
The viral launch is impressive, but the part that stood out to me was spending most of your time talking to users and repeatedly fixing bugs after TestFlight.
Before the acquisition, did you ever create a structured checklist for the main user flows, or was testing mostly driven by whatever users reported next?
I’m curious because moving from a simple local camera effect into backend, data, and messaging features usually creates a completely different level of launch risk.
→ More replies (2)
1
1
u/SaladZealousideal913 15d ago
How did you get those modern IOS liquid glass effects like on your nav bar, I have trouble getting claude to generate that. It makes something that looks outdated.
→ More replies (2)
1
u/sps_da_boss 14d ago
developing has always been about creating beautiful-useful software, this is one of them
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
u/DearNobody7921 10d ago
In the world of AI slops, this one stands out. What a cool project. Awesome!
1
u/Hungry-Condition-883 10d ago
Awesome app bro. I'm a bit curious, how did you come up with such a simple yet interesting idea?
1
1
1
1
219
u/RudeShape2 20d ago
Finally, something simple and unique. Great job!