No funding. No team. No ads. Just speed, AI, and building in public.
Most founders take months—sometimes years—to launch a product. Rexan did it in three hours.
Most startups burn cash on ads just to get their first users. His startup hit 300,000+ users with zero marketing spend.
And the wildest part? He’s still in high school.
This isn’t just a lucky break—it’s a sign of where indie founders are headed. With AI-assisted development, smart distribution, and building in public, anyone can launch and scale without a big team or venture funding.
So how did he do it? Let’s get into it.
From a High School Coding Class to a Viral Startup
Most startup stories start with an Ivy League degree or a Silicon Valley incubator. Rexan’s started with a high school class he didn’t even mean to take.
“I just took the class because my friends were in it,” he says. “But after a semester, I was hooked.”
That random class turned into an obsession. He spent hours every day watching six-hour YouTube tutorials, teaching himself to code. What started as an elective soon became his primary focus outside of school. He wasn’t just learning to code—he was applying it, experimenting with new ideas, and constantly challenging himself.
By 2023, he was competing in hackathons—including an Apple-sponsored competition, where he placed in the top 300 out of 10,000 participants.
Winning a global competition gave him the confidence to take things to the next level. Rather than waiting for the “right time” to start building, he jumped right in.
🚀 Launch fast, iterate later
🚀 Build in public, get feedback early
🚀 Use AI to work smarter, not harder
The 3-Hour Startup That Took Off
The idea for Text Behind Image came from something simple: frustration.
Rexan kept seeing text-behind-image effects in YouTube videos. When he tried to do it himself, it was way harder than expected. Photoshop and Canva were way too complicated for such a simple effect.
Instead of settling for a clunky workaround, he built his own tool.
How He Built It in Just 3 Hours
🔹 Problem: Making text-behind-image designs was more complicated than it needed to be.
🔹 Solution: A simple web tool that automates the effect.
🔹 Tech Stack: Next.js, React, TypeScript, Supabase.
🔹 AI-Powered Development: Used Cursor AI to automate repetitive coding tasks.
“I used Cursor AI to handle the boring stuff so I could focus on shipping fast,” he says. “It made a huge difference.”
Most founders overthink and delay launching. Rexan launched in hours.
And within months, 300,000+ users had signed up.
Zero Ad Spend, 300K Users: How He Did It
Most startups throw money at ads. Rexan took a different approach—he let his users do the marketing for him.
Here’s exactly how he pulled it off:
1. Build in Public (Twitter/X Strategy)
Most people build in silence, hoping customers will show up. Rexan built in the open.
✅ Posted daily updates about his progress.
✅ Shared his wins, struggles, and lessons learned.
✅ Engaged with other builders and startup founders.
His transparency paid off. He grew his Twitter following to 15,000+, creating a built-in launch audience for every new product.
“It wasn’t just about promoting my products,” he explains. “It was about sharing my journey, what I learned, and the things that went wrong. People appreciate that honesty.”
2. Product Hunt: The Power of Early Adopters
If you want your product to take off, you need to put it where early adopters hang out. For Rexan, that meant launching on Product Hunt.
📢 Text Behind Image launched and ranked #5 of the day.
📈 Thousands of users signed up within days.
🚀 Momentum kept building.
Product Hunt was a game-changer because it put his tool in front of the exact people who love trying out new products and sharing them.
“It wasn’t just about the initial spike in traffic,” Rexan says. “The visibility on Product Hunt helped my product get picked up in different circles, which brought even more users.”
What’s Next? Scaling Bullet Pen AI
After Text Behind Image, Rexan built another product: Bullet Pen AI—a tool that turns spoken thoughts into structured, polished content.
📢 Launched on Product Hunt (#5 of the day).
📈 1,000+ users and growing.
💰 10+ paying customers, all organic.
His next challenge? Scaling through TikTok & Instagram Reels, tapping into short-form content virality to drive even more users.
“Content is king,” he says. “You can build the best product in the world, but if no one knows about it, it doesn’t matter. I’m focusing on getting it in front of the right audience.”
Key Takeaways for Indie Founders
✅ Find a real problem. If you have the problem, others do too.
✅ AI is a cheat code. Tools like Cursor AI help you build faster and smarter.
✅ Your audience is your launchpad. Building in public gives you a built-in user base.
✅ You don’t need VC funding. Rexan scaled to 300K users with zero ad spend. Bootstrapping works.
“You don’t need a million-dollar budget to build something great,” he says. “You just need to solve a problem and get it in front of people who care.”
Follow Rexan
📢 Twitter/X: [@rexan_wong]
🌐 Website: [rexanwong.xyz]
Stay connected and follow his journey as he continues to build, launch, and scale innovative products. 🚀
