Sometimes, you only need one smart idea to change your whole business. On this episode, I talked with Bill McIntosh, an entrepreneur and tech builder, about how fast things are moving with A.I. and business. We broke down how people can build websites, sales funnels, and apps (even full businesses) with just a few prompts thanks to new A.I. technologies. Bill brought in real stories, lessons, and numbers from his hands-on experience and explained the concept of “vibe coding”—a fresh way people are creating online today. If you’re wondering how to use A.I. to start or grow your own website, app, or business, you’ll find plenty of practical ideas here.
Summary of the Episode
A.I. is making a huge difference for business owners. We talked about how easy it is now to build digital products, websites, and funnels with A.I.—even for people who don’t know how to code. The right mindset, good principles, and some basic research can make a big difference. Bill shared stories from his own past, including how he started out to save money, what he learned from building products, and why humans still matter (even with all these tools around).
Bill described how the world of “vibe coding” is growing fast. Many big companies are now using A.I. to write code and build digital products, and the technology is improving every day. Bill’s company, Buildy, focuses on making A.I.-powered building tools that let anyone launch a website, sales funnel, or app in under an hour.
This episode explored:
- The early days of online business and what’s changed
- What “vibe coding” is and why it’s important
- The challenges and solutions for non-technical people
- How to start thinking of new business ideas with research
- Examples of real-world apps and funnels created with A.I.
- The future of building with A.I., including upcoming features
How online business started for Bill McIntosh
Bill McIntosh jumped into online business back in the late 1990s. He saw a chance to save money for his magazine and newspaper company by moving online.
He built his first website for $70,000. Even though that sounds huge today, it was the beginning of what’s now possible for almost nothing. Bill explained how going digital let him reach bigger and better audiences for much less cash.
One of the biggest lessons from those early days? Starting online made business much easier, faster, and more affordable. But you still need to focus on helping people and solving real problems.
What Is “Vibe Coding,” and How Is It Changing Things?
Vibe coding means creating apps, websites, or other digital tools simply by chatting with A.I.—no coding skills needed. Bill and I explained how it’s less about being technical and more about telling A.I. what kind of digital tool you need.
This field has exploded in the last year. Big companies are buying up tiny teams who develop these building tools. For example, Wix paid $100 million for a startup called Base44 that was only six months old.
A.I. now writes 30–50% of new code at places like Meta (Facebook) and Google. More and more, builders just give instructions and A.I. does the hard parts. But many tools are still tricky for non-technical users.
Building Tools with A.I.—Challenges and Practical Solutions
Most vibe coding tools work well for people who already know basic programming or tech. But if you’re not technical, using these tools can get messy—errors in code, deployment problems, confusing interfaces, and bugs.
Bill’s company, Buildy AI, set out to fix this. Buildy uses agents (like small A.I. helpers) that handle the hard problems behind the scenes so non-technical users can launch online assets without hassle.
Buildy’s approach starts with your goal and builds backwards—so it’s less about code and more about launching a business. They want users to just chat, give instructions, and see their site or funnel up live within the hour.
Bill’s team even added debugging before anything gets deployed, so users don’t get stuck and frustrated. The service saves all your code and lets you control it, connect it to GitHub, and migrate it if you grow big.
External Links:
Key Principles and Mistakes to Avoid When Using A.I.
Fancy tools are great, but don’t lose sight of what matters. You get paid by serving people—not just by building stuff. Bill stressed that keeping human behavior at the core is as important as ever, even in the A.I. age.
People often jump into shiny new tools and forget that business is still about helping others. Staying focused on people’s needs and problems will help you succeed, no matter how cool your tech is.
A.I. can make mistakes, and you need to give clear, specific instructions. If you let it write your copy, always check for errors or made-up facts. Test, ask for feedback, and be ready to make changes.
How to Come Up With Ideas for Apps and Online Businesses
Research is your foundation. Bill recommends searching discussion groups on Reddit, Facebook, online forums, and more to spot common problems people are facing in your niche.
Take notes on what people complain about or need help with, then think how you could solve those problems with a digital tool, website, app, or service.
Once you know the problem, feed that information to the A.I. builder. Add details about your target audience and their needs, and clear instructions about features or guarantees.
Bill shared his own example—he built an app that automates a manual search process for customers, saving time and money.
Real-Life Examples of What You Can Create
Bill’s sons used Buildy to make a fun app where you upload childhood photos and get new pictures of you together in different settings. Another example was a study quiz creator for nurses, letting them upload reading material and automatically get quizzes generated for practice.
Sales funnels, landing pages, and full online stores are simple to build. With just one chat and a few instructions, users get a live website, shopping cart, and can be ready to sell within an hour.
Bill shared that building something with A.I. is so fast now, you can test, get feedback, and launch another version quickly. If you start with your own problems or those close to you, you can create products people truly want.
The Future of A.I.-Powered Business Building
A.I.-assisted building is growing super fast. Companies are launching and selling for a lot of money in very short time frames. Bill is raising funds to help Buildy keep up and add even more features.
He plans to include research agents—A.I. bots that can help users do market research or idea generation automatically as part of the building process.
Buildy will handle nearly everything users need, including voice apps, messaging, and web scraping, with more features coming.
As this field grows, more regular people—not just tech experts—will be able to launch businesses, apps, and websites quickly and cheaply.
Building an online business or digital tool is easier now than ever before. A.I. platforms like Buildy can let anyone move from idea to live site, funnel, or app within minutes or hours. The key is to stay focused on serving real people, do smart research, and guide the technology with clear instructions.
Whether you want to start a new business, fix a problem for your family, or simply automate boring tasks, experimenting with A.I. building tools opens up a huge field of possibilities. Don’t worry about making mistakes—testing and improving is cheap now.
Top lessons from our talk with Bill McIntosh:
- Serve people first and keep human behavior at the heart of your business.
- Use research and ask the right questions to find useful problems to solve.
- You’re only one prompt away from creating something new online.
- Even non-technical users can succeed thanks to new, simpler tools.
Connect with Bill McIntosh
- If you’re ready to build something, check out Buildy AI
- Check out some of the awesome videos Bill has made over on YouTube
- See the latest from Bill on his Website
Two Other Episodes You Should Check Out
- AI is Secretly Deciding Which Websites Succeed Online! – Greg Merrilees
- How to Build Products People Actually Love: The Secrets Behind Lasting Tech with Oji & Ezinne Udezue
Connect with Joe Fier
- What if you could have a FREE personal mentor on-demand?! With Joe's Hustle & Flowchart AI clone, you can tap into the knowledge from over 600 episodes any time! Whether you need advice on scaling, marketing, or productivity, my AI clone is here to help.
- Want us to build your clone for you? We’ll handle setup, testing, and integration so you can launch fast. Head to HustleandFlowchart.com/interest to get started!
- Hubspot has launched a whole new suite of AI Tools, check them on the Hubspot.com
- Check out other podcasts on the HubSpot Podcast Network
- We want to hear from you. Send us the One Thing you want to hear on the show.
- Connect with Joe on LinkedIn and Instagram
- Subscribe to the YouTube Channel
- Contact Joe: joe@hustleandflowchart.com
Thanks for tuning into this episode of the Hustle & Flowchart Podcast!
If the information in these conversations and interviews have helped you in your business journey, please head over to iTunes (or wherever you listen), subscribe to the show, and leave me an honest review.
Your reviews and feedback will not only help me continue to deliver great, helpful content, but it will also help me reach even more amazing entrepreneurs just like you!
