I built an app with AI. Now how do I actually launch it?
Start the conversationA complimentary meeting to see if we're a good fit for each other.
No pitch. No pressure. Just cost-saving advice.
New Idea Machine is a Calgary custom software and AI automation agency serving small business owners worldwide.
Your prototype becomes the plan, your interface usually stays, and a senior developer builds the back end that makes it real: the database, the logins, the security, the part customers never see.
Why it matters: the prototype you built already did the hardest thing in software. It showed people exactly what you want. Everything from here is faster and cheaper because of it.
- Keep what works. The screens you and your customers touch can usually be used as they are.
- Get the part that was never there. A real back end, tested, with security built in from the first day.
- Own your build from day one. You're never stuck with one company, even us, and no publish button decides where your app lives.
AL Del Degan, our CTO, has built software for 33 years, including work with the Calgary Airport Authority, the City of Calgary, and Travel Alberta. He oversees every build.
Was building it in AI first a mistake?
No. It was the smart move. Most projects get stuck at the point where an owner tries to explain an idea to a developer in a document.
You skipped that. When your prototype lands on a developer's desk, they know exactly what you want, and you know exactly what your users need. That saves weeks of back and forth before a single line of code is written.
Our CTO built client screens with AI himself, then built the back end the way it should be built. That is the same path your project takes.
What gets kept, and what gets rebuilt?
The interface you see is not your application. It is a window into it. Your real application is the part behind the window: the logic, the database, the rules about who can see what.
Kept
In most cases the front end: the screens, the flow, the look you already approved.
Built
The database, the logins, and an API server that every screen talks through. Nothing touches the database directly.
Rate limits shut down anyone hammering it. AI tools can connect to it later without a rebuild.
Replaced
The AI tool's built-in back end and hosting, which tie you to how it's built and its publish button.
How does the build work?
Step 1: A Codebase Audit of what you built
Find out what stands, what needs work, and what it costs to finish: our CTO reviews your code. If it deserves saving, you'll hear it from us.
Step 2: The back end, built and tested
Every part of your app works together: we plan your information first, then build where it's stored, then connect every screen to it.
Step 3: Three review passes before launch
Launch with code that's easy to change, so you can swap a payment provider later. Before launch, your whole app gets a security review and a review of how it's put together.
Most builds finish in two months. Throughout: a demo every two weeks, access to your code from the start, stored in your own GitHub account, and updates on what was built, what's next, and what it costs.
What does it cost to turn an AI prototype into a real app?
Having the front end already built saves you about $10,000. The back end is still a new build, and new builds start at $20,000 CAD. A typical MVP in Canada runs $20,000 to $40,000.
What your prototype changes is what you get for the money: the design and planning work is done, and you are paying for the back end, the security, and the launch. Our App Development Cost Guide shows what moves the number.
The Codebase Audit starts at $900 CAD. We do not quote a number before the review. After it, you get a figure you can plan around, broken out by feature so you can decide what ships first and what waits for a second phase.
You pay only for the hours we actually work on your project, with a demo every two weeks, and you can leave at any time with everything you paid for. Canadian companies can often recover up to a third of the cost through government programs.
Is $20,000 a lot for something that already "works"? It works for you, on a demo.
It has not yet held a stranger's credit card, survived a hack attempt, or kept running when you got past your 100th customer. That is what the money buys.
Can I add the back end myself?
Sometimes. If your app is standard and holds nothing sensitive, the AI tools do a fine job and you should keep going.
If it takes payments, holds customer data, has logins, or will be sold to other businesses, the answer is no. Here is how to tell which side of that line you are on. A consultant who came to us with 150,000 lines of AI-built code put it best: "You have a lot of risk, especially if you're going to try to exchange that work for money." The moment money changes hands, security and updates stop being optional, and that is the part these tools do not do for you.
Questions business owners ask us about AI-built apps
Do I have to leave Lovable, v0 or the tool I built in?
You leave its hosting and its built-in back end, not your work. The screens you built get copied to your own GitHub account, and the build continues from there. The tool becomes something you used, not something you depend on.
My prototype is already earning. Will it go offline?
No. Nothing gets torn down. The existing version keeps running while the real one is built, and the switch happens when the new one is ready.
What do I need to bring to the review?
Access to the code, or an export from the tool, and the working prototype so AL can click through it. We sign a mutual NDA before we look at anything.
Will it work on phones and in the app store?
Most of what we build is a progressive web app: it runs in a browser and installs on a phone like an app, without app-store fees or approvals. If you need a native app-store app, we'll say so at the review, because it changes the cost.
Can I keep building on it myself afterwards?
Yes. You own your build, and you can add to it, hand it to another developer, or keep us on a small monthly retainer for updates. Nothing is locked.
Ready to launch what you built?
Start with a complimentary meeting to find out whether we are a good fit for each other. If we are, the next step is the Codebase Audit, and after that you will know exactly what it costs.
Start the conversationNo pitch. No pressure. Just cost-saving advice.
Not there yet?
- Haven't built anything yet? Learn to build a prototype with the guardrails from day one at the AI for Business Bootcamps.
- Already been told to throw yours away? Read The Vibe Coding Trap first.
- Not sure your app needs a security review? Five questions settle it.