BUILDTRAFFICFollow along

Behind the experiments

I learned how to build.
Now, the rest.

I’m Monte Summers—a business owner who uses AI to build software. Build to Traffic is where I document what happens after an idea becomes a working product.

Working software was only the beginning.

I’ve built multiple apps and programs with AI. Watcher was one of the most ambitious: a home-media platform that grew across macOS, Apple TV, live TV, DVR, and search.

It taught me how much I could build. It also taught me that technical progress doesn’t prove demand. I spent too long on the product before asking why someone would choose it.

That lesson is the starting point for Build to Traffic: a public lab for validating ideas, building focused products, and testing how to get people to use them.

What you can expect here.

Practical experiments. Clear goals. Costs and results when they’re measured. Failures with enough detail to be useful. Corrections when the evidence changes.

I’m documenting the work as it happens. The next project may succeed or fail; either way, the record should help us make a better next decision.

Start with the Watcher story

The process

Six steps. No skipping the first.

AI helps us build faster.
This helps us make better bets.

  1. 01
    VALIDATE

    Talk to a specific audience. Study what they already use. Test why they would switch before committing to a large build.

    Find a problem worth solving.

  2. 02
    BUILD

    Use AI to build a focused product. Record the time, tools, costs, and tradeoffs along the way.

    Make the smallest useful thing.

  3. 03
    LAUNCH

    Ship a usable version with measurement in place. A public URL is the starting line.

    Put it in front of people.

  4. 04
    TRAFFIC

    Try a small number of distribution channels. Measure sources and useful visits instead of guessing.

    Test how people find it.

  5. 05
    USERS

    Look for repeat use, conversations, and real problems solved. A visitor is not automatically a user.

    See who comes back.

  6. 06
    REVENUE

    Publish revenue alongside costs. Treat willingness to pay as a hypothesis to test early, then measure actual results.

    Test whether value gets paid for.

A learning loop, not a promise of revenue. Test willingness to pay before you build, too.