From idea to app in one day using Google Ai Studio

Hi again, this is G again. It has been a while ... like 4 months since I last used Skool...Hehe! Life happened. Anyway, back to sharing how to, ai learnings, tool discoveries here again.

Just sharing a recent build I’m still a bit surprised by myself. I created a working web app in a single day using Google Ai Studio.

I wanted to build something simple for local shops or sari-sari stores in the Philippines to manage customer credit. For those who are not familiar, the Philippines has a very big underground economy in the form of like local stores which we call "tindahan" or " sari-sari" stores, They are like mini groceries which sell from food, household stuff, laundry detergents, snacks, etc.

Culturally. we value relationships a lot to the point we allow people purchasing on credit. NO not with credit card. But we just say, "pa lista po Ate" which means "please include this in my IOUS. 😅

No tedious bank verification
No exchange of personal info
No complicated papers

This the kind where trusted people say, “Ill pay you next in my next salary.”

Now you get how open to abuse this is. And how totally unreliable because everything is done manually via a notebook.

So I vibe coded a simple app called ListaKo (which means "I will write it down") that helps shop owners keep track of those got good but will pay later.

It also uses AI to generate kind and respectful payment reminders. Plus I added a suggestion section for simple loyalty rewards to strengthen community ties.

What excited me here is after getting all the functions running, it was setting up the database.

Anyway. so how I built it...

This was pure vibe coding. I told Google Gemini via Ai Studio what I wanted, how I wanted it to feel, what kind of people would use it. The AI then became the engineer.

Here’s what happened:

I explained the problem and the vibe.
Gemini generated a React + TypeScript frontend using local storage.
I asked to switch to a real backend.
It recommended Firebase, and walked me through everything—setting up tools, writing the code, fixing errors, deploying.

To be honest, what surprised me most was how it handled context. It didn’t just write code. It debugged it. Created test HTML files. Suggested improvements. Built a working app and helped me go live.

Setting up the database was also fun coz since I was using Google AI Studiio... it obviously recommended Firebase. So setting up Firebase database proved to be a learning experince.

NPM installs
Npm build
Firebase deployment
Domain mapping

I mean all these I did not know in the beginning but learned via trial and errors and following instructions with the help conversational ai... aka Gemini (sorry chatgpt.... had to stick to branding... LOL)

Anyway, this experience made something very clear to me.

You don’t need to be an expert to build something real. Y
You just need to know what you want to make. Y
ou can be the director. Let the AI be the engineer.

If you’ve been holding back from building your idea because of tech fears, this is proof that you can just start. One step at a time. One chat at a time.

That’s it for now.– G

PS I do share a lot of how I learn and build things via my Youtube Channel and newsletter.... if you guys want to follow or subscribe. No pressure. LOL

PSS.. Next step is learning how to get clients. LOOOLLL I keep building but I am not the selling anything. haha. One thing to learn...

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