🚀 TinyLaunch Is ‘Launched’: From Framer to Fully-Coded Product

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Update: TinyLaunch is now Launchling! Same idea, new name and better experience.

Back in my last post, I shared how I migrated TinyLaunch from Framer to React. At the time, it was just a cute prototype—a tiny idea for helping solo founders test startup ideas without overwhelm.

Now?

It’s a fully functional, production-ready app with GPT-4o integration, dynamic plan rendering, structured feedback collection, and a real user flow from input → plan → iteration.

Let me show you what’s changed, and how I built it.

🧱 From Prototype to Product: What TinyLaunch Looks Like Now

Here's what the file structure looks like today:

arduino
CopyEdit
tinylaunch-web/
├── api/                  // Serverless functions (Vercel)
├── src/                  // App code: pages, components, hooks, utils
├── public/               // Assets (incl. favicon & SVG logo)
├── prompts/              // GPT prompt templates
├── config/, types/, ...  // Env config, TypeScript types
└── ...

TinyLaunch now supports:

• A 5-step onboarding form with real-time validation
• GPT-4o plan generation + tool workflow explanations
• Airtable integration for plans + feedback
• Custom feedback scoring and bonus delivery
• Rate limiting, error boundaries, and loading states
• SEO meta tags and social previews
• Dark mode–ready theming with custom rocket branding 🚀

🤖 Using GPT-4o with a Two-Step Prompt Strategy

Early on I hit a quality wall—plans were okay, but not sharp. So I split the generation into two stages:

1. PlanText Prompt: Tailored startup guidance in plain English.
2. ToolStackFlow Prompt: Explains how recommended tools work together.

Each step is powered by a dedicated OpenAI call, and cleaned to avoid duplication. It’s working well.

🛠️ Tech Stack Decisions

• React + Vite + TypeScript: Fast local dev + type safety
• CSS Modules: Easier maintenance than Tailwind at this stage
• Airtable: Perfect no-code backend for fast iteration
• Vercel: Zero-config deploys with edge function support
• React Router: Dynamic routes for /plan/:planId
• react-helmet-async: SEO tags for sharable plans

🧪 Debugging with Cursor and ChatGPT

I’ve started using Cursor for the dev work—and while it’s excellent for in-code debugging, I’ve found the magic happens when I use ChatGPT and Cursor together.

Here’s the split that works best for me:

I usually get ChatGPT to give Cursor specific instructions (e.g. “refactor this into a reusable hook”, or “extract types from this JSON”)—and then let Cursor run with it.

Working this way has made me much faster than relying on either tool alone.

✨ UX and Branding Polish

• New TinyLaunch rocket SVG integrated as a favicon and logo
• Soft gradients and colours from the brand style guide
• Responsive layout with auto-expanding textareas
• ThanksScreen and error boundaries to keep the flow smooth

✅ What’s Next?

Now that the core engine works, I’m planning to:

• Add private plan pages (to save/share ideas)
• Track follow-through (who starts building?)
• Let users tweak + re-run their plans
• Explore lightweight authentication (maybe passkey-first)

🧠 Takeaways

• Cursor is incredible, but works even better with ChatGPT as your strategy layer
• Splitting your GPT prompts into “value logic” and “UI content” can give much better results
• Production-readiness doesn’t need a big stack—Airtable + Vercel + clean React is plenty for MVP
• If you’re building in public, ship something tiny and keep going. TinyLaunch started with just a Tally form and Zapier.

🪂 Try it now

Turn your idea into a tiny, tangible prototype — with a little help from Launchling.

👉 Try Launchling – no signup, no jargon, just a gentle push forward.