That’s how Textideo was born — an AI-powered video creation platform that turns text or images into videos in seconds.
I built it to scratch my own itch: I wanted a fast, no-hassle way to generate short-form videos for social media. But in the process, I also learned some tough — and valuable — lessons about launching AI SaaS without deep pockets.
Here are 5 of them 👇
1. 🤖 Build with off-the-shelf AI, but design for real users
There’s no shame in using APIs from OpenAI, ElevenLabs, or Stability. That’s the beauty of modern AI: you don’t need to train models from scratch.
But what matters is the UX layer — how smooth is the flow? Can a non-technical user figure it out without reading a doc?
For Textideo, I focused on removing every friction point:
- No login required to try
- Instant preview
- Clear input fields
- Auto voiceovers in different styles
Lesson: Don’t compete on AI. Compete on usability.
2. 🛠 MVP doesn’t mean "ugly prototype"
I’m a developer, and like many devs, I used to treat MVP as “just make it work.”
Big mistake.
The moment users land on your site, they judge it. If it looks clunky or too minimal, they bounce — even if the core tech is solid.
So for Textideo, I invested time in a clean UI:
- Animations that feel responsive
- A single-page design
- Auto-generated video previews that are fast and polished
Lesson: Good design builds trust, even in MVPs.
3. 💰 Server costs will punch you in the face (if you don’t optimize early)
AI = expensive. Especially video + voice + image generation.
In the first week of launch, I got a spike of usage from Reddit — exciting, until I got my GPU bill.
What saved me:
- Queuing and batching requests
- Offloading previews to a lightweight render engine
- Using low-cost object storage (Cloudflare R2 > S3)
Lesson: Think like an engineer and a CFO.
4. 📢 Reddit > Twitter (at least for indie AI tools)
I posted about Textideo on /r/SideProject and /r/AItools with simple titles like:
“I built a tool that turns text into voice + video in 30 seconds — feedback welcome!”
The result? Thousands of visitors, real feedback, and conversions.
Meanwhile, tweets with fancy graphics got 2 likes.
Lesson: Go where the hungry users are — not where the hype is.
5. 🧱 Simple beats smart — always
The temptation to overbuild is real. Especially with AI: should I add background removal? Fine-tuned model training? Live editing?
No.
What people actually wanted was:
- Click > Generate > Done
- Auto voice + subtitles
- No sign-up required
That’s it.
Lesson: The simpler you make it, the more people will use it.
🔗 Want to try it?
If you're curious how it works, check it out:
👉 https://textideo.com
No signup required. Just paste text or upload an image, click generate, and you'll get a video in seconds — with voiceover and background music, too.
💬 Your Turn
Have you launched (or are building) an AI tool? What lessons did you learn the hard way?
Drop a comment — I’d love to learn from your experience too.
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