Once · B2C · disposable camera app for events
Build a rough web version in 1-2 weeks and test it at a friend's party
Broke many times but proved guests love a shared disposable-camera album; then rebuilt from scratch
Workedvalidationfeature-development
What they did
Built a web app with only the core features in 1-2 weeks, ahead of a friend's Halloween party. Printed invitation codes so every guest could join and take photos into one shared album. After validating, threw the web version out and rebuilt the mobile app properly, with human-made design in Figma (no AI for design). As a general step he recommends a mockup in no more than 2-3 days (Figma or AI tools) to show users.
What happened
It broke many times during the party, but validated that people love pooling photos into one album with a disposable-camera feel.
- Stage
- pre-launch
“We had a Halloween party hosted by my friend coming up, so we built out this web version, we printed out some invitation codes, so that everyone in the party can join in, take photos, and honestly, it broke many times during the event”
“after we validated with the web app, we threw out the first version.”
Related topics
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More from this episode
- Once: Don't write app code until 10 hosts commit to using it at a real, dated eventGot 12 events booked in one month, built the app, and hit $20K/month 83 days after launch
- Once: Scroll your X, LinkedIn and Instagram friend lists and ask anyone with an upcoming event4 friends agreed to try it: a Halloween party, birthday, wedding and networking event
- Once: Find event hosts through Instagram hashtags like #wedding and send each a 2-3 sentence DM~250 messages got ~15 replies and ~12 events booked in one month
- Once: Charge per event based on guest count: $2 for 10 guests, $50 for 150Part of a model at ~$22K/month; no pricing test reported