Fastshot

What do they actually do

Fastshot is an AI-driven no-/low-code platform for building mobile apps. Users describe an idea in a chat, and the system generates UI and backend scaffolds with built-in primitives like auth, payments, and storage. The product is live with signup and free/paid plans, and it advertises an end-to-end flow from ideation to App Store deployment, plus a code editor, private projects, one‑click deployment, and source‑code export (fastshot.ai, pricing, YC page).

A typical workflow is: prompt the idea, get a working prototype, iterate via chat and the built-in editor, then deploy to app stores or export the code if you want to take it elsewhere. Plans are tiered by monthly message quotas (e.g., Free, Starter, Beginner, Pro) and include deployment and export even on the free tier (pricing).

Who are their target customer(s)

• Non-technical founders / solo builders: They need to turn an idea into a working app quickly without hiring engineers or writing code; Fastshot’s chat-to-scaffold and deployment flow targets this path from idea to prototype/launch (fastshot.ai, YC page).
• Agencies and freelance app builders: They face tight budgets and deadlines and need faster scaffolds with clean handoff. Source-code export and one-click deployment reduce the time and risk of transferring projects to engineering teams or app stores (fastshot.ai).
• Small businesses and local shops: They lack in-house developers but need basic app capabilities (login, payments, storage) without heavy integrations or custom backend work; Fastshot provides these primitives out of the box (YC page).
• Indie makers / hobbyist builders: They want to validate ideas fast with usable prototypes rather than wiring UI and backend from scratch. Chat-driven scaffolding and quick iteration fit rapid experimentation (fastshot.ai).
• Early-stage startup teams / product managers: They need an MVP quickly but worry about brittle generated apps and scaling. Fastshot’s roadmap emphasizes stronger multi-agent generation, robustness, and team/enterprise controls to move toward production use (YC page).

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Directly recruit early adopters (founder network, YC contacts, Discord community) with invite-only access, free Pro credits, and 1:1 onboarding through to an App Store submission to capture feedback and case studies (fastshot.ai, YC page).
• First 50: Target agencies, freelancers, and solo builders via vertical templates, short build-along workshops, and a small reseller/agency discount; use shipped customer apps and testimonials for social proof and add simple referral credits.
• First 100: Scale inbound with case-study content, videos, Product Hunt, and lightweight paid; add integrations/partnerships (auth/payments) and an agency/onboarding package to close clients who want fast delivery with export/deployment flexibility (fastshot.ai).

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Fastshot sits within the low-code/no-code development market, which Gartner estimated at about $26.9B in 2023 and projected toward ~$32B in 2024; mobile/multi-experience platforms are a notable subcategory (Gartner).

Bottom-up calculation:

If Fastshot converts 0.5% of an estimated ~358M global SMEs, that’s ~1.79M customers; at $29/mo (Beginner plan) this implies ~1.79M × $29 × 12 ≈ $623M ARR (Statista, pricing).

Assumptions:

• A small share of SMEs both need a mobile app and are willing to use/pay for an AI-driven builder.
• Average ARPU approximates the $29/mo plan; mix may shift up/down with Pro or enterprise features.
• Adoption hurdles (trust, app store steps, compliance) are solvable enough to reach low single-digit penetration.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Draftbit: Visual builder for native mobile apps with full source-code export and app store publishing; targets designers/developers who want a visual IDE and clean React Native code rather than an AI chat workflow.
• Bravo Studio: Converts Figma designs into iOS/Android apps with data connections; strong when teams have design systems and want pixel-accurate builds, but it assumes design files instead of AI-generated scaffolds.
• Glide: No-code platform that turns Google Sheets and other data sources into mobile/web apps; excels for data-driven internal tools and SMB apps, differing from Fastshot’s idea-to-production chat flow.
• Thunkable: Drag-and-drop mobile app builder with block logic and direct publishing; popular with hobbyists and educators, overlapping on quick MVPs but using visual blocks instead of AI-generated scaffolding.
• Bubble: Web-first no-code platform with powerful backend/workflows that can be wrapped for mobile; competes for fast non-engineering builds, but its starting point is web rather than native mobile.