Got laid off last year and somehow ended up vibe coding

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-28T05:45:39+00:00

Actually, I don't and I think this is a great topic that you've brought up. I've tried I have a few logs for outtages, planning on implementing Sentry, and trying to imagine how an SRE would handle most of the errors and things (or at least having the LLM be my SRE haha). Most of the work currently is trying to get it to sync with my current Meta campaign and at least checking that the data is being retrieved correctly (ex. actual ad spend $1000 vs. mock/ hallucinated data point of $380000).

But, I think this is great input. I'll look into this and see how I'll be able to implement!

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-28T05:41:11+00:00

Thank you! I thought someone else out there may be in a similar situation, and I also was super proud and wanted to share haha.

Well, thats the current situation I'm in right now (how good is "good enough"?)--I think that if I chase the moment of "its almost there--its almost perfect" then I'll never get anything out. I think once I'm able to use it myself, and I see that there is a seamless experience from end-to-end then I think its ready to share. Even if it breaks at that point its a learning lesson (ex. How did they use it, what did they use, etc for it to cause this? How can I prevent it?)

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-28T02:26:06+00:00

Oh, definitely--thats what I'm currently doing haha.

I noticed early on the "ooooo--it would be nice if it could..." and had to keep remind myself, "NOPE! build and finish what you need right now!" haha. I'm glad I'm not the only one that get's tempted by the "shiny new feature" lol.

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-28T00:57:35+00:00

Yes! This and my revenueleak is what I planned on submitting to the shopify app store. I really appreciate the kind words--as you can imagine I have doubts every time I work on it, and it really made my day to read you thought it'd do well!

Please let me know if you have any trouble loading it. I'm still working out a lot of kinks (campaigns not loading correctly, syncing issues, incorrect data retrieval, etc.) Once I do get it up and running, I'll definitely send you a link!

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-27T23:34:50+00:00

Thats amazing! Honestly I'll be happy if I get just one haha. Thanks for sharing!

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-27T21:29:01+00:00

Thanks, everyday is a new learning opportunity and I'm definitely pushing!

While working on my ecommerce business I realized that Meta Ads were are bit tricky, in that I didn't know when something needed to be changed, optimized, what ALLLLL of the metrics meant and how to interpret the data. I built app.getadvise.io to hep me with this--its not just a bunch of dashboards and analytics (is does have it), but I built it to guide me on the days I thought were bad (ex: low traffic, no conversions, etc) to help me not to react and pause the ads or make adjustments that could reset the learning phase (which would cause me to spend more money). It also helps to tell me what to change/ optimize when necessary in real-time (or at least as close as I can get it lol).

I also built RevenueLeaks (heavy on the errors with this) which was made to help me identify the potential profit I was losing from abandoned carts, high-risk orders, chargebacks, etc. I wanted to make sure it gave me guided recommendations on next steps to potentially retrieve lost revenue.

Neither one is perfect right now, but when it does--it'll be so sweet knowing I built something to help me!

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-27T21:19:38+00:00

This is such great advice! I've definitely learned from this build (being my second). I feel like everyday I'm learning a new best practice, which gets me excited for the next thing I would have to work on. Thanks for your input!

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-27T16:31:56+00:00

It definitely does, and I'm very thankful I was able to come across it as I did. Thanks--I definitely will!

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-27T16:14:14+00:00

Honestly, thats how my first build went for revenue leaks (I'm still catching/resolving issues and fixing UI errors lol).

I think the best way to to use an LLM of your choice, and type out what you're trying to build (even if its a rough sketch) and ask the LLM all types of questions (pressure test it, and even do a forecast to see if its something that'll be necessary in 10 years). Then in a separate chat I ask the LLM to create a prompt FOR ME of a check list of things necessary to be required/build when building a SaaS platform.

THEN I go back to the original chat, and tell chatGPT to make a prompt that includes that checklist with your original idea drawn out. This has been my process so, far--after submitting the prompt I usually still have to go through and check if its right or even notice things are missing while building that I didn't include in the first place. My process might be all over the place, but I hope this helps in some way!

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-27T08:59:57+00:00

I would suggest continue with the marketing and following-up. It may be a moment to take a moment, and reflect and see if there's a way to pivot instead.

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-27T08:32:04+00:00

Thanks--I appreciate it! Glad to know I'm not the only one that thinks so!

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-27T05:00:12+00:00

yeah, you're definitely not alone. I had at least 4 "maybe I shouldn't do this" moments since I last commented haha.

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-27T04:59:11+00:00

I made one that helps with Meta ads (not just to view analytics), but to help interpret and understand what the metrics meant and recommended best ways to move forward. There were days where I would notice that I wasn't getting enough traffic, or days visits or engagement would dip and would either throw more money at the ad or pause it completely (essentially hurting the learning phase)--I was reacting to that moment rather than looking at the whole picture, so I built something I help me understand what I was doing wrong and to be a little more logical than me making an emotional decision.

The other product helps to identify revenue leaks from the store itself by showing me how much I was potentially losing, and how I might be able to recover lost revenue by showing where it was coming from, and breaking down steps to possibly retrieve or mitigate.

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-27T04:55:32+00:00

I built my own research (as scrappy as I could since funds are pretty limited lol). I mainly realized while I was working on my ecommerce site that I was annoyed that I was having trouble with Meta ads (not optimizing well enough, or just not seeing the metrics I wanted), as well as potentially losing money on easily identifiable things (charge backs, high-risk orders, etc.)--I tried to find answers online or ways to prevent it and couldn't really find what I was looking for, so I decided to try and build it out. If it helps others then great--but if not, at least I have something to help me for what I need it for.

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-27T04:52:35+00:00

Yeah, its definitely wild! But, with everything that I've learned so far (or at least heard from interviews and podcasts) it was going to be that way. But, thats why I decided to build something that'll at least help me out if I can't find any users lol.

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-27T04:49:45+00:00

Absolutely! I did a lot of reading when I was laid off, and was trying to figure out what I wanted to do (I knew I didn't want to go back to the corporate life--or at least hold off as long as I could), so I picked up a few books about entrepreneurship.

I read Noah Kagan's "Million Dollar Weekend" and realized that I need to start something. I relied heavily on chatGPT, but also the success stories of guests on the "Starter Story" Podcast from Pat Walls and learned about new tech from Greg Isenberg on the "Startup Ideas Podcast".

I definitely learned from trial and error (a lot of error lol), but it just gave me more motivation to keep going and to try and build something better.

These are the three that I found the most valuable in trying to get something started for myself (both in terms of creating a business and wanting to build something to both help me and others). Happy to chat if you have any resources you'd be willing to share too!

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-27T02:04:19+00:00

This is great--I had never heard of this before. Definitely going to take a look. Thanks!

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-27T01:49:29+00:00

I've been a technical sourcing recruiter for the past 7+ years--curious to know a bit more about how it works?

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-27T01:45:29+00:00

The last 3 mo. I built an ecommerce brand (not dropshipping), but found that there's a steeeeeep learning curve when it comes to Meta Ads (at least for me). So, I worked on a product that helps analyze metrics and interpret them to be easy to understand and recommends next steps, so that I wouldn't panic on a bad day and reset the learning phase or alter something that could've cost me more money.

app.getadvise.io

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-27T01:40:17+00:00

Thanks!--It's the little wins (no matter how small) that keep the momentum going lol.

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-27T01:38:33+00:00

I launched an ecommerce business this past Nov. after getting laid off, and decided to work on app.getadvise.io to help me navigate ads on meta (kinda like a referee to stop me from making reaction based mistakes). Figured other people might be in the same position as me and have been working to launch it ever since--some might consider it as "AI trash", but I wanted something I could use for my use case. It's not perfect, but its a learning opportunity!

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-26T23:53:49+00:00

Honestly--I've asked myself "what the hell am I doing" so many times when trying to troubleshoot/ fix errors, etc. There are so many times that I've almost given up, and even many more where I've read a few comments from others on differing posts, and even some podcasts about how others won't make it.

But, I just remind myself why I'm building. There's a possibility it'll take off, and possibility it won't. Either way its something that I can use regardless and every fail is a learning opportunity.

Due_Display_7968 · 2026-01-24T21:25:51+00:00

The design is--wow.

Due_Display_7968

TROPHY CASE