Pauline built a simple MVP first — basic features, lower quality output — and then took it directly to real estate agents she found both online and through her personal network. She showed it to these agents and asked whether they'd buy it. When several said "that's awesome, I want to buy it now" and actually paid, she considered that validation and continued building. This was a hands-on, direct outreach approach rather than any passive channel. For broader early distribution she launched on Product Hunt (primarily for the SEO backlink value) and on Twitter, where she already had a large audience of developers and indie hackers. She also launched AI Crea on Facebook, targeting real estate agents by searching communities and groups on the platform — her reasoning being that real estate is a "human activity" and Facebook/physical events are where those clients naturally congregate.
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9 moves, in order
- Pre launch / ValidationDirect outreach personal network
Built a rough MVP in roughly one month and showed it directly to real estate agents found online and through personal network. Asked pointed questions about willingness to pay and collected actual payments as validation.
Multiple real estate agents paid — confirmed product-market fit - LaunchProduct Hunt launch
Launched on Product Hunt primarily to acquire a high-authority SEO backlink rather than for direct traffic, acknowledging that PH visibility has declined.
SEO backlink secured; visibility described as limited - LaunchTwitter existing audience
Announced the launch to her existing large Twitter following of developers and indie hackers. Continued sharing journey updates and product news on Twitter regularly.
Strong launch traction with existing audience; primary channel for her second product Nexts directory - Early GrowthFacebook communities
Searched Facebook for real estate agent groups and communities, then marketed AI Crea directly within those spaces. Identified Facebook as the best channel because real estate agents are relationship-driven and active there.
Facebook became the #1 marketing channel for AI Crea - Early GrowthPhysical events
Attended in-person real estate events to connect directly with target customers — cited alongside Facebook as one of the two best channels for the product.
Meaningful customer connections; cited as a top channel - Reducing Churn / Revenue OptimizationPricing strategy
Added a yearly plan option to the subscription. Pauline noted this drastically reduced churn because users who commit to an annual plan engage more deeply with the product.
Churn reduced drastically after introducing yearly plans - Reducing Churn / Revenue OptimizationProduct-led growth
Introduced a free trial so users could experience the product before subscribing. Removed friction from the cancel flow to build trust (easy cancellation button). Improved output image quality to near-photo level.
Higher conversion from trial to paid; improved retention - ScalingPaid ads
Ran ads (channel not fully specified, implied Facebook/social) as part of a broader marketing spend that sits within a ~€3–4k/month operating cost budget.
Part of ongoing growth mix; no specific outcome statedMRR $8.0k Users 8.0k users - ScalingNewsletter
Used Beehiiv to build and send a newsletter to her audience, used as an additional launch and retention channel alongside Twitter and LinkedIn.
Used for product announcements; scale not specified
Pauline had a large pre-existing Twitter audience composed primarily of developers and indie hackers. This gave her a built-in launch channel for her second product (Nexts directory) and reduced cold-start difficulty significantly. Without this audience, her Twitter launch playbook would not be replicable.
facebook_communities
Product Hunt visibility described as "less good than it used to be" — still used for SEO backlink value but not relied on for meaningful user acquisition. High churn was a persistent problem early on before introducing yearly plans and a free trial.
How I Built It: $10K/Month AI Image Generator
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