AI for Startups: How to Use AI to Launch and Grow Your Business
Practical strategies, tools, and real-world examples to help founders leverage AI for faster growth and smarter decisions.
AI is changing the way I think about entrepreneurship.
Starting a business can be pretty overwhelming. When I started mine as a solopreneur, I had to manage everything from marketing and sales to operations, all at the same time.
It was becoming impossible to even think of scaling my business.
Why? Because I used to think I needed a big team and long hours of work.
Not anymore.
AI now handles what once required entire departments. This helps entrepreneurs focus on scaling their startups fast. Now, small teams can compete with billion-dollar companies.
Like Lovable, an AI-powered software engineer, hit $10 million in revenue in just 60 days with a team of only 15.
The best founders today are working smarter. Now, before you say, “AI will replace entrepreneurs,” let me clarify this:
AI is giving entrepreneurs tools to scale faster and make better decisions. The result? Scaling businesses and generating more revenue.
AI is helping businesses grow in a way that would have seemed impossible a couple of years ago.
In this post, I’ll show you how AI can help you rethink the way you build and grow a business that generates recurring revenue.
Introducing Buildpad: Your AI-Powered Startup Companion
Buildpad is an AI-powered business companion that’s changing entrepreneurship. This tool helps you become more efficient and build something people actually want.
Buildpad’s interactive AI acts like a co-founder. It asks the right questions and helps you fine-tune your ideas.
You simply describe the problem you want to solve, and the AI does all the research. So, you no longer have to waste time on hit-and-trials or experiment endlessly. Instead, you get a clear, data-backed analysis that you can rely on.
Key features of Buildpad -
- Buildpad’s Deep Research in the first phase “Identify problem” can do initial market research to ensure real demand.
- Buildpad’s “Verify demand” phase gets you to test the proposed problem statements or business ideas by talking to potential users. Are these real pain points? Would they pay for a solution?
- Buildpad performs better than other LLMs (like ChatGPT and Claude) when it comes to idea exploration. It’s prompted to guide users through the brainstorming phase. It can use Deep Research to analyze market demand.
- Buildpad can generate copy better than other writing tools, so it can help you in the branding and marketing phase.
Now, let’s check out the different phases of Buildpad.
- Go to Buildpad.
- Sign up using your email or Google to get started.
Next, you’ll be asked some basic questions like your name, project name, how much time you can spend on your project, and more.
Step 1: Use AI to Find a Viable Business Idea
First, I’m going to use the “Identify Problem” tool. This involves chatting with AI to find out potential problems that your business can address.
I run multiple publications on Medium. Being the editor has always tempted me to build a business around the same.
One such publication is Books Are Our Superpower, which publishes book discussions, recommendations, summaries, rants , and more.
The aim of the publication is to build a community of book lovers sharing about the books that moved them the most.
I decided to use Buildpad to get a clear business idea around BAOS.
The AI did some thorough research before arriving at a conclusion:
I feel doing research is the most important aspect of starting a business. This is exactly where most founders struggle.
Accessing reliable sources and creating detailed research reports can take months. It’s amazing to have an AI tool to do all the extra work for you while you focus on other things.
I look at it this way — if you’re working a 9–5, you can use Buildpad to create a thorough, executable business plan before even quitting your job. Once you’re ready with a plan, it becomes way easier to start.
Here’s the result:
The list provided is super detailed. I can pick and choose any of the problems I feel might be relevant to my business.
Once I’ve picked some, I can ask the AI to delve deeper into them, generate a clear problem statement, and conduct deeper research.
The best part? The entire process is hassle-free. I literally don’t have to do anything. I can comfortably lie down on my bed, drink my coffee, while my detailed business plan gets ready.
One thing I like about this AI tool is that it encourages you to think, rather than relying blindly on it. Every suggestion is followed by a question, asking you to type down your thoughts. The AI then works around your suggestions and provides better options.
Pretty cool, right?
Step 2: Use AI to Design a Product People Will Pay For
Once you’re done identifying the problem, you can move on to the “Product Phase,” where the AI gives you plausible solutions to the problems you selected earlier.
The AI now pushes you to think and get serious. You’re supposed to focus on what you want from your business and how you can align your vision with the audience’s needs. It’s like talking to an experienced co-founder.
You can always fine-tune the results by letting the AI know your thoughts. Once you’re satisfied enough, the AI will generate a structured solution plan for your business.
You also have an option of creating a product page. Don’t worry, you simply need to sit and relax while the AI builds one for you. Here’s the result:
You can edit this as many times as you want. This tool won’t give you flashy visual elements. It’s just a concept, an idea you can hand over to your UI/UX designer.
Step 3: How AI Finds an Audience That Converts
I realised something super important when I started thinking about who my business was really for– numbers and data are useful, but they don’t tell the whole story.
You have to understand your audience as real people. We’re emotional beings. We have to use this fact to our advantage.
What do they need? What frustrates them? What excites them?
That’s where creating a user persona comes in. It sketches out a detailed profile of the exact kind of person who would love what I’m building.
And the more specific I get, the better I can serve them.
- What are their goals? What do they hope to achieve?
- What challenges are they facing that my product can solve?
- What doubts or hesitations might stop them from trying it?
- Where do they spend their time? Online and offline?
All I did was find answers to these questions. That’s it. I was able to build a clear picture of my ideal audience.
And with that understanding? I could create a business plan that resonates with them.
Trust me, doing this might feel hectic and frustrating at first, but this makes the entire process so much easier.
Once I had the answers ready, Buildpad generated a user persona for my BAOS book club:
I love how detailed this is! The user persona generated aligns exactly with the vision of my book club. The problems stated here are so relatable to an overwhelming majority of people all across the globe.
Step 4: Using AI to Test if There’s Real Demand for Your Idea
The next step is making sure there is real demand. It’s easy to assume people will love an idea, right? Living in delusion is satisfying but won’t pay the bills. The real test is getting out there and talking to potential users.
Buildpad helped me structure this phase. This tool guided me through some relevant questions:
- Which channels are best for reaching my audience?
- How much time can I dedicate each week to outreach?
- Do I have existing connections in reading communities I can leverage?
- What’s a reasonable number of responses to confirm demand?
Once I was done answering these questions, Buildpad created a 4-week action plan. I got five key priorities and exactly how much time I can spend on each.
Nothing feels better than hearing real people say, “Yes, I need this.”
Step 5: Develop a High-Impact Business Plan Using AI
This is where things start to take shape. The MVP phase.
So till now you’ve done the thinking, the researching, the talking-to-people bit. But now is the time to actually build something.
It need not be perfect, but just a rough draft. Just the simplest version that makes someone go, “Oh wow, this is for me.”
Buildpad helped me lay out a proper plan:
- What features are absolutely necessary?
- What can wait?
- What’s the timeline to get this thing live?
The answer to these questions seems pretty obvious. But I literally laughed when Buildpad specifically asked me for a launch date.
I laughed because I knew my answer would be “soon”, and Buildpad knew the answer wasn’t enough.
But honestly? Things start getting real when you commit to an actual date. You can no longer procrastinate and overthink endlessly. You have tasks to finish, deadlines to cater to.
The best part? Buildpad acts like a personal co-founder. More like a mentor you can turn to if you need help. I would say it has more clarity than a co-founder even.
Building a business doesn’t have to feel chaotic. All you need is the right structure.
I asked Buildpad to give me some marketing ideas. Here’s what I got:
Finally, I got a development plan:
Step 6: How to Use AI to Build & Launch Your Product Faster
Okay, the actual work begins here. You’re now supposed to build the actual product, piece by piece.
Having to do this all by yourself? That’s scary.
Buildpad made this so much easier for me.
Turning your business idea into something tangible is not easy. Things shift along the way Just make sure you focus on what your users actually need.
This phase takes time. It’s not exciting, nope.
But Buildpad makes sure you never feel stuck. This tool will help you whenever you need it. Also, you won’t be judged at all, so you can clear away even the silliest of doubts you have in your mind.
If you don’t have somebody to help you, this entire process would probably cost you years.
After hours of work, you’ll finally realise, “My business is ready to launch.”
And that feeling? It’s amazing.
Step 7: How AI Helps You Market Smarter and Grow Faster
Most people assume that marketing is the final step. That’s just an end to the beginning.
Marketing is like a test which proves whether your business is actually reaching the people you wanted to reach.
Luckily, you no longer have to do it alone.
Buildpad asks me the important questions:
- How much time can I realistically dedicate to marketing each week?
- How many paying members do I want to acquire in the first month?
- What’s my marketing budget for the launch?
- Which platforms do I already use or feel comfortable with?
These questions actually push me to think deeper about what I actually want.
Once I answer them, Buildpad creates a personalised strategy. This is based on my product, my audience, and my strengths as a founder.
It gives me clarity on what channels to focus on, what kind of content to create, and how to track progress.
Here’s an action plan generated by Buildpad:
Once you approve the action plan, Buildpad will detail the immediate next steps for week 1. It will list 3 priorities for the week, and go deeper depending on which step you need the most help.
It’s like having a mentor who not only tells you what to do, but shows you how to do it.
Let’s look at the pricing plans of Buildpad
The 6-month plan brings the cost down to $15/month. This does make sense if you’re committed to the process. The plans give you unlimited sprints and messages. This means you can work without restrictions.
Benefits of Using Buildpad for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
Starting a business no longer seems impossible.
You won’t have to spend months on end trying to figure out business ideas, experimenting what works, and lose sleep over trying to help the world through your business.
Buildpad will do most of the work for you. This tool will structure out your entire business plan within minutes.
The best part is, this tool won’t turn you into someone blindly relying on AI for everything.
Buildpad encourages you to think carefully and answer tough questions which you might have been ignoring all this while. Honestly? This tool will pull you out of the endless loop of procrastination.
Buildpad does the research, provides real data depending on market demand, and lists potential risks. So that way you can focus on the execution part rather than getting stuck at the planning phase.
Integrating Buildpad into Your Entrepreneurial Journey
Integrating Buildpad into my workflow has made launching and refining business ideas faster and more effective.
Combining Buildpad’s outputs with traditional market research:
Use tools like Crunchbase, Product Hunt, or even a basic Google search to find similar startups. Analyze what they’re doing well, where they’re lacking, and how your idea could stand out.
Leveraging Buildpad alongside other AI tools for startups:
- Combine with Notion AI or Craft for business planning: Draft pitch decks, business plans, or investor summaries quickly by feeding Buildpad’s idea into writing assistants.
- Build MVPs faster with no-code AI builders: Pair Buildpad with no-code tools and AI coding tools like Cursor to prototype your product quickly and test it with users.
Conclusion: The Future of AI in Startup Development
AI is no longer just a neighbourhood friend giving you generic tips about starting a business at a roadside tea stall.
AI is instead taking on the role of an essential co-founder, all the while maintaining essential boundaries. No, it’ll not replace humans, but it’ll replace those who don’t integrate it into their everyday lives.
- AI will take a more proactive role in decision-making, strategy, and execution.
- AI will analyze individual strengths, interests, and market trends to generate business ideas specific to you.
- AI-powered no-code tools will turn building and launching a Minimum viable product super fast.
- AI will continuously track trends, competitor moves, and consumer behavior so that businesses can adapt easily.
So, what are you waiting for? Get started with Buildpad today to work on your childhood dream of running your own business!
