Two college track athletes with no coding experience built a niche app for sprinters that has generated roughly $70,000 in about six months, reaching around 40,000 users and a 4.7 App Store rating — illustrating how AI tools have made it possible for non-technical founders to build and ship real products quickly.
The founders are Christian (20, Texas Southern University, recently dropped out) and Braylon (19, Texas State University), who met in high school and previously tried day trading before losing money.
They built the app in about two weeks and made $10,000 in the first month, which convinced them they had something viable.
How they built it without coding
They used AI tools to write and modify the app by describing what they wanted in plain language, rather than writing code themselves.
They primarily used Work (an AI coding tool) to generate and edit the app by prompting it like ChatGPT — for example, describing the desired UI and having it implement changes automatically.
They used Claude and Claude Code to verify the work and troubleshoot issues when they got stuck.
Other tools in their stack included RevenueCat (for handling in-app subscriptions), Apple Dev (for publishing to the App Store), and Super Base (likely for backend/database functionality).
They claim you can build and launch an app on the App Store for less than $500 using these tools.
The app itself
The app is an all-in-one training tool specifically for track and field athletes — a niche they identified as underserved.
It tracks workouts and form, includes a community feature for progress tracking, analyzes training videos, and analyzes meals to check nutrition.
It offers a $10 monthly subscription and a $30 yearly subscription, pricing calibrated to their young demographic (who are more likely to spend $10–20 at a time than $60–70 upfront).
In the episode, Pat tests the app’s AI form analyzer by sprinting; he scores a 56 (essentially an F) on his first run and improves to a 68 (a D+) after adjusting his posture and knee drive based on the app’s feedback.
How they got users without marketing
They leveraged an existing audience in the track and field niche built through social media content, where they had accumulated hundreds of thousands of followers.
They had already been promoting the “3 AK” brand through a Shopify e-commerce store before launching the app, including references like “3 AK method” in their videos and bio links.
When they dropped the app, it “blew up” because they had a built-in audience already familiar with the brand.
Founder backgrounds and motivation
Both founders came from difficult circumstances and were motivated by a desire to build a better life.
Christian’s father died when he was 15, leaving his mom to raise him alone; he described being “dead broke” last year before the app took off.
Braylon’s mother passed away when he was 12, and he grew up without a present father figure; he emphasized that money itself isn’t the motivator — living a certain life is.
Christian recently dropped out of college because the app income made staying in school feel unnecessary for him, despite parental pressure to pursue a traditional career.
Balancing building with school and athletics
They worked extreme hours, especially in the early days — going days without sleep and working 50–60 hour stretches when launching products.
They operated in shifts: while one handled school or practice, the other worked on the app, then they swapped.
They stressed that being a solo founder while in school is extremely difficult, and having a co-founder to share the load was critical to making it work.
A typical day involved waking up early, attending class or practice, then working on the app late into the night (sometimes until 3 a.m.), squeezing in calls and work between obligations.
Their advice for aspiring builders
Monetize something you’re already doing and passionate about, rather than chasing money in an unfamiliar space — you’ll stick with it longer and outlast competitors who are only in it for profit.
Their specific approach to finding app ideas: if you encounter a problem in your daily life, think about whether you’ll have that problem in the future, and build a solution now.
The broader takeaway from the episode is that AI has removed the technical barrier to building apps, so the main ingredients now are a good idea, domain expertise or audience, and the willingness to start building.
