🏆 The Family App Challenge

Build Your Own App in 7 Days • No Experience Required

$200 Grand Prize

🚀 Welcome to the Revolution!

Breaking News: Google just launched their revolutionary vibe coding experience on October 26, 2025 - just ONE WEEK ago! You're literally learning the newest technology available!

By the end of this week, each of you will have created your own functioning app - all by chatting with AI in plain English! The winner will win a $200 cash prize.

How This Competition Works

👤

Your App, Your Vision

Everyone builds their own unique app individually.

🤝

Collaborative Spirit

We're a community of creators helping each other succeed!

🧠

No Experience Required

Vibe coding is using plain English to build apps instead of code.

💬

Daily Support System

Morning inspiration • 3pm problem-solving • 8pm victory lap!

25%
of Y Combinator startups use AI-generated code
5.8x
faster than traditional development
30 min
to build a complete app

The Three Magic Traits of Successful Vibe Coders

According to Matt Palmer from Replit:

Agency: Being able to figure out how to make things work yourself.

Curiosity: Willingness to learn from your vibe coding journey.

Courage: Willingness to fail and start over without giving up.

🤩 Inspiration: See What's Possible!

Before you learn the "how," see the "what." These videos show what real people are building with these tools *right now*.

💰 The $750/Day Success Story

Meet Billy Howell. He got a C+ in his only CS class but now makes $750/day building simple apps with Replit. This is the ultimate "vibe coding" success story.

▶
Billy Howell's $750/Day Replit Story

Click to watch on YouTube
"I just look for Airtable jobs on Upwork and ask: can I do this faster, cheaper, and better with my own app?" – Billy Howell

📚 Your "Vibe Coding" Bootcamp

These are the best-of-the-best tutorials to get you started. Start with the "START HERE" video, then check out Tina Huang's deep dive.

🔥 START HERE: The 10-Minute Spark

See exactly how easy it is to go from zero to a working app in just 10 minutes.

▶
I Built an App in 10 Minutes with AI

Click to watch on YouTube

🌟 Main Lesson: Tina Huang's Fundamentals

Ex-Meta data scientist Tina Huang gives a fun, fast-paced 33-min lesson that covers the fundamentals, pro-tips, and live demos on Replit and Windsurf.

▶
Vibe Coding Fundamentals in 33 Minutes (with Tina Huang)

Click to watch on YouTube

🎓 Go Deeper: Full Courses & Demos

🧰 Your Toolkit: The "Vibe Coding" Matrix

Here are the "official" tools for our challenge. Click the name to go to the tool's homepage and the button for the best beginner tutorial.

VibeCode (App)

Apple App Store | Google Play Store

Best For: Building native mobile apps (iOS/Android) directly on your phone.

Ideal User: The absolute beginner (12 or 80-year-old) who wants a *mobile app*.

Quick Intro (5 Mins) Beginner Tutorial (20 Mins)

FlutterFlow

(Web-based builder)

Best For: A visual drag-and-drop builder for high-fidelity native mobile and web apps.

Ideal User: The visual builder/designer who wants more control than a prompt-only tool.

Quick Intro (11 Mins) Beginner Tutorial (3.5 Hrs)

Lovable

(Web-based builder)

Best For: Creating **beautiful web apps** fast. Focuses on high-quality UI/UX from text prompts.

Ideal User: The **designer/founder** who wants a stunning web prototype without touching code.

Quick Intro (60 Sec) Project Tutorial (11 Mins)

Rork

(Web-based mobile builder)

Best For: Building AI-native mobile apps (iOS/Android) from a text prompt.

Ideal User: The prompt-first builder who wants the AI to do the heavy lifting for a mobile app.

Quick Intro (9 Mins) Beginner Tutorial

Windsurf

(Web-based builder)

Best For: An AI-native code editor for building and refactoring *entire projects* from a prompt.

Ideal User: The ambitious user who wants a *single tool* to build a full web app from scratch.

Quick Intro (8 Mins) Full Tutorial (Tina Huang)

Replit

(Web-based builder)

Best For: Building and hosting a full web app (frontend + backend) in one place.

Ideal User: The curious beginner who wants an all-in-one tool for a *web app*.

Quick Intro (Tina Huang) Full Course (DeepLearning.AI)

Cursor

(Desktop App)

Best For: Editing and refactoring an *existing* app. It's an AI-powered code editor.

Ideal User: The "power user" who is not afraid to *see* and *edit* the code (or fix a broken app).

Quick Intro (12 Mins) Project Tutorial

Claude Code

(Web-based tool / CLI)

Best For: Running large, autonomous coding tasks (like building a whole project at once).

Ideal User: The advanced user who wants to give the AI a complex mission and let it run.

Quick Intro (2 Mins) Project Tutorial (20 Mins)

Google AI Studio

(Web-based builder)

Best For: Prototyping web apps, especially using Google's Gemini AI and services.

Ideal User: The hobbyist who wants to experiment with the Gemini AI model for free.

Quick Intro (5 Mins) Beginner Tutorial (24 Mins)

💡 Vibe Coding Pro Tips: Your Cheat Sheet

🎯 Before You Start: The Planning Phase

🤔

Tip #1: Think Like a Product Manager First

Define the problem you're solving before typing a single prompt. Ask yourself: What features do I need? Who will use this? How will it be different?
Learn more: Search "Matt Palmer vibe coding tutorial" for his PM-first approach

🗺️

Tip #2: Spend 5-10 Minutes Planning Features

Planning prevents that frustrating "wait, I forgot a crucial feature" moment that hits at the 25-minute mark.
Learn more: ailearningguy.com/vibe-coding-tutorial

📝

Tip #3: Write a Mini PRD (Product Requirements Document)

A precise PRD saves time because it defines every feature before a single line of code is written. When your PRD is detailed, the AI produces more stable code.
Learn more: Search "Google AI Studio Vibe Coding PRD" on Medium

💬 Mastering Your Prompts: The New "Coding Language"

✨

Tip #4: Be Specific, Not Vague

Avoid open-ended prompts when guiding AI agents. Instead of "make a game," describe exactly what kind of game with specific features.
Learn more: blog.replit.com/what-is-vibe-coding

🖼️

Tip #5: Don't Just Give Text - Show Examples

Include screenshots, mockups, or reference existing apps. Visual context dramatically improves AI understanding.
Learn more: Creator Economy "Complete Vibe Coding Tutorial"

🗣️

Tip #6: Use This Power Prompt Structure

Example: "Create a habit tracker web app with puzzle-game elements. Users can add habits, mark them complete daily, see visual progress. Include: [list specific features]. Make it feel like Wordle but for daily habits—simple, engaging, rewarding."
Learn more: AI Learning Guy vibe coding tutorial

🔧 During Development: Working With AI

💪

Tip #7: Embrace the Three Core Traits

Agency (figure things out yourself), Curiosity (willingness to learn from the journey), and Courage (willingness to fail and start over).
Learn more: DeepLearning.AI "Vibe Coding 101 with Replit"

🐞

Tip #8: Debug Through Conversation, Not Code

When errors happen, use browser DevTools (Console and Network tabs) to find error messages, then simply paste them into your chat with the AI agent.
Learn more: docs.replit.com/tutorials/vibe-coding-101

💾

Tip #9: Create Checkpoints After Each Feature

AI agents can create Git commits so you can roll back if something goes wrong. Always checkpoint after getting something working!
Learn more: Replit official documentation

🏆 Competition-Specific Power Tips

🍽️

The Restaurant Mental Model

Think of your app like a restaurant: The frontend is what customers see (dining room), the backend is the kitchen where the work happens.

🖐️

The Five-Skill Framework

Master these five skills: Thinking (planning), Using frameworks (leveraging existing tools), Checkpoints (saving progress), Debugging (fixing issues), and Providing context (clear communication).

📱

Mobile Testing is Crucial

Always open your app on mobile to see how it performs. Buttons too small? Text hard to read? Tell the AI directly what needs fixing.

Final Pro Tip: Be comfortable with failure and focus on high-level goals, not code details. The AI handles implementation - you handle the vision!

🗓️ Competition Schedule

Day 1

Kickoff & Learning

Days 2-5

Building Time

Day 6

Final Touches

Day 7

Presentations!

Daily Activities

  • Morning (Optional)

    Share what you're working on in the group chat.

  • Problem-solving session

    Post any blockers you have.

  • Victory lap

    Share one win from today!

Judging Criteria (100 points)

  • 25 points
    Creativity & Innovation

    How original is the idea?

  • 20 points
    Functionality

    Does it actually work?

  • 20 points
    User Experience (UX)

    Is it easy to use?

  • 15 points
    Presentation

    How well did they explain it?

🔬 In-Depth Tool Analysis

Here's a more detailed breakdown of each tool to help you find the perfect one for your idea.

VibeCode (App)

Specializes in: Prompt-first Native Mobile App Building

Ideal User: The absolute beginner who is most comfortable on their phone and wants to create a simple, functional mobile app by just describing it.

Pros

  • The fastest tool to get from an idea to a *real* app on your phone.
  • Truly no-code; your only skill is prompting.
  • Excellent for simple, data-driven apps (lists, trackers, etc.).

Cons

  • Can be buggy and the AI can get stuck, requiring you to start over.
  • Customizing complex UI is very difficult.
  • Can get expensive if you use a lot of prompts.
Average Review: "Mixed. 4.1 stars. Users love the 'magic' of seeing an app appear from a prompt, but many get frustrated by bugs and limitations."

Example App Ideas:

  • A personal "Favorite Restaurants" journal with photos and ratings.
  • A simple "Family Chore" tracker.
  • A "Grocery List" app that saves your common items.

FlutterFlow

Specializes in: Professional-Grade Visual (Drag-and-Drop) App Building

Ideal User: The "visual builder" or "designer" (of any age) who wants total control over how their app looks and feels, and isn't afraid of a small learning curve.

Pros

  • Incredibly powerful. You can build a real, commercial-grade app.
  • Total visual control. What you see is what you get.
  • Great for connecting to databases (like Firebase).

Cons

  • Has a steeper learning curve than prompt-only tools.
  • Not "vibe coding." It's "visual coding," which requires more clicking and logic-building.
  • The 3.5-hour tutorial is recommended for a reason!
Average Review: "Overwhelmingly positive. 4.7 stars. Users call it a 'game-changer' for building serious apps without writing code. A favorite of entrepreneurs."

Example App Ideas:

  • A "Family Social Media" app for sharing photos.
  • A recipe app that pulls from a live database.
  • A high-fidelity prototype for a "real" app idea.

Lovable

Specializes in: Text-to-Web App with a Focus on Beautiful UI

Ideal User: Designers, founders, or anyone who wants a stunning, modern-looking web app prototype instantly from a text prompt.

Pros

  • Creates exceptionally beautiful, modern UIs right out of the box.
  • Very fast from prompt to working prototype.
  • Great for visual thinkers who want it to look good first.

Cons

  • Can be harder to add complex backend logic compared to full-stack tools.
  • Best for prototypes and MVPs, maybe less for heavy data apps initially.
Average Review: "Highly praised for design quality. Users love how 'professional' the initial output looks compared to other AI tools."

Example App Ideas:

  • A beautiful landing page for a "Family Reunion" event.
  • A modern-looking personal blog or portfolio.
  • A visually stunning dashboard for tracking a hobby.

Rork

Specializes in: AI-Native Mobile App Generation (Web-based)

Ideal User: The user who wants the *idea* of VibeCode (prompt-to-app) but in a more powerful, web-based tool that feels more like a developer's environment.

Pros

  • Its AI is focused on building real React Native components.
  • Great for generating the "boilerplate" code for an app instantly.
  • More powerful and less "buggy" than building on a phone.

Cons

  • Steeper learning curve than VibeCode.
  • Connecting to a database can be a sudden technical jump.
  • Still a very new tool, so features are changing.
Average Review: "Positive, but technical. 4.0 stars. Developers are impressed by its AI, but beginners might find it confusing when they hit a wall."

Example App Ideas:

  • A simple "AI Chatbot" app.
  • An inventory tracker for a small hobby.
  • A utility app, like a custom calculator or note-taker.

Windsurf

Specializes in: AI-Agent Web App Development

Ideal User: The ambitious participant who wants to build a full web app from scratch and is excited by the idea of "bossing around" an AI agent to do all the work.

Pros

  • The "Cascade" AI agent can plan, write, and fix its own code.
  • Very intuitive and clean UI for beginners.
  • Excellent free tier makes it perfect for this challenge.

Cons

  • The AI can "hallucinate" or get stuck in a loop, requiring you to start over.
  • Can be complex if your idea is *too* big for the AI to handle.
Average Review: "Very positive. 4.8 stars on Product Hunt. Users say it 'feels like the future' and is 'magical' when it works."

Example App Ideas:

  • A personal portfolio or "family blog" website.
  • A simple SaaS landing page for a fake product.
  • An internal tool, like a "Family Event Calendar."

Replit

Specializes in: All-in-One Online Coding & Hosting

Ideal User: The "curious tinkerer" who wants to see the real code the AI is writing and wants to deploy a live website URL to share with everyone.

Pros

  • An all-in-one environment: AI, code editor, and hosting.
  • The "Deploy" button is instant and free.
  • The DeepLearning.AI course is a world-class tutorial.

Cons

  • Seeing the code can be intimidating for true beginners.
  • AI "credits" can be confusing or burn quickly.
  • Can feel "locked-in" to Replit's environment.
Average Review: "Excellent. 4.5 stars. A long-time favorite of developers for its speed and convenience. The new AI features are a huge bonus."

Example App Ideas:

  • A web-based game (like Tic-Tac-Toe or a text adventure).
  • A simple Python bot (e.g., a Discord bot).
  • A "link in bio" personal website.

Cursor

Specializes in: AI-Powered Code *Editing* & Refactoring

Ideal User: The "power user" or "debugger" of the group. This isn't for starting from scratch, but it's the *best* tool for fixing a broken app from another tool.

Pros

  • Incredibly good at fixing bugs. Just paste the error!
  • AI is "codebase-aware," meaning it can understand your whole project.
  • Lets you use top models like GPT-4 and Claude.

Cons

  • It's a code editor. It will be the most intimidating tool for a non-coder.
  • Not for "building," it's for "editing."
  • Requires a desktop app download.
Average Review: "Massively popular. 4.7 stars. Developers say they 'can't code without it anymore.' It's the ultimate AI pair programmer."

Example App Ideas:

  • **Use Case:** Your Replit app is broken. Copy the code into Cursor and ask, "Find and fix the bug in this code."
  • **Use Case:** "Change the theme of my entire website to 'dark mode'."

Claude Code

Specializes in: Large-Scale Code Generation & Logic

Ideal User: The "big picture" thinker who wants to paste a *huge* prompt (like a full PRD) and get a *huge* block of high-quality code back.

Pros

  • Widely considered the "best-in-class" for code quality and logic.
  • Huge context window lets you paste enormous prompts.
  • Excellent at complex tasks and reasoning.

Cons

  • It's a chat interface, not a builder. You must copy/paste the code elsewhere.
  • Not visual. You can't see your app until you run the code.
  • Can have usage limits.
Average Review: "Top-tier. Tech influencers and coders consistently rank it as the #1 AI for code generation and complex problem-solving."

Example App Ideas:

  • "Write the complete HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for a To-Do list app."
  • "Translate this Python code into JavaScript."
  • "My code gives this error: [paste error]. Please fix the code."

Google AI Studio

Specializes in: Prototyping with the Gemini AI Model

Ideal User: The hobbyist or "Google fan" who wants a free, simple playground to test the Gemini AI and build apps that connect to Google services.

Pros

  • Generous free tier to access the powerful Gemini model.
  • The best tool if your idea involves Google Sheets, Docs, or Maps.
  • Simple interface for testing and refining prompts.

Cons

  • It's a "studio," not a full, all-in-one builder like Replit.
  • Fewer community tutorials than other tools.
  • You'll need to export your code to another tool to host it.
Average Review: "Great for prototyping. Users love it as a free way to access Gemini. Most see it as a starting point, not a final destination."

Example App Ideas:

  • A "chat with your data" app that reads from a Google Sheet.
  • A "Local Tour Guide" app that connects to Google Maps.
  • A web app that summarizes Google Docs.

🚀 Your Quick Start Guide

Ready to start? Here are your immediate next steps and key features of this guide.

Your Day 1 Checklist

  • Bookmark This Page: This is your home base for the whole week.
  • Watch the Videos: Start with the 'Inspiration' tab, then watch Tina Huang's video in the 'Videos' tab.
  • Pick Your Tool: Decide if you're building a Mobile App (use VibeCode) or a Web App (use Windsurf).
  • Create Accounts: Sign up for the free tiers of the tools you want to try.
  • Start Your First Prompt: Try building a simple "Hello, World!" or "To-Do List" app!

Key Features of This Guide

  • Smooth Navigation: Click any menu item (like "Tools" or "Pro Tips") to jump directly to that section.
  • Mobile-Responsive: This page works perfectly on all devices, from your phone to a desktop.
  • All-in-One Hub: All the best videos, tool links, and tutorials are gathered in one place for easy access.