How two founders turned failure into a $10M ARR startup in 60 days

You’ve got a killer startup idea–it’s innovative, bold, and could shake up the market.

But there’s just one thing…

You’re not a tech founder. So you hire someone to build it. They join and start the dev, and then they quit. You rehire. They ghost. You try again. You burn money, and your dream gets delayed.

Sound familiar?

That’s the exact problem Anton Osika and Fabian Hedin saw over and over again.

They weren’t outsiders looking for a flashy AI project. They were in the trenches, watching non-tech founders get stuck, overpay, and fail before even launching.

So, they built an AI platform named Lovable

A new AI-powered app builder that just raised $15 million to help people like us turn their tech startup ideas into reality.

What is Lovable AI?

Lovable AI, founded in November 2023 by Swedish entrepreneurs Anton Osika and Fabian Hedin, has rapidly emerged as a transformative force in software development.

Their mission: to democratize software creation, enabling individuals without coding expertise to build full-stack web applications effortlessly.

Leveraging advanced AI technology, Lovable translates natural language prompts into functional software, effectively bridging the gap between complex coding processes and user-friendly application development.

Founders’ backgrounds and vision

Anton Osika’s passion for technology ignited at the age of 12 when he began coding. His academic journey led him to the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, where he earned a Master’s in Engineering Physics and Applied Mathematics. Professionally, Osika contributed to CERN and Sana Labs before co-founding Depict.ai, a startup specializing in machine learning solutions for e-commerce. This venture, which secured over $20 million in funding from notable investors like Initialized Capital and EQT Ventures, provided Osika with invaluable insights into the startup ecosystem.

Fabian Hedin exhibited entrepreneurial flair early on, founding and exiting a prop-tech startup during high school. His notable achievements include developing the computer interface used by physicist Stephen Hawking and collaborating with former SpaceX engineers on advanced wheelchair technology. Hedin’s diverse experiences have been instrumental in shaping Lovable’s innovative approach to software development.

Anton Osika (left) and Fabian Hedin (right)

Product evolution and market impact

The inception of Lovable can be traced back to Osika’s creation of GPT Engineer, an open-source project designed to enhance coding productivity. This initiative gained significant traction, amassing over 50,000 stars on GitHub and fostering a vibrant developer community. Recognizing the broader potential, Osika and Hedin expanded this concept into Lovable, aiming to empower a wider audience beyond seasoned developers.

Lovable’s platform allows users to describe their application ideas in natural language, which the AI then transforms into fully functional, aesthetically pleasing software. This approach has resonated with a diverse user base, including entrepreneurs, designers, and product managers, facilitating rapid prototyping and iteration. Within just three months of its launch, Lovable achieved remarkable milestones:

User Engagement: 500,000 users building over 25,000 new applications daily.
Financial Growth: Reached $17 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) with 30,000 paying customers.

Early challenges

In the early days of Lovable, one of the biggest challenges was scaling infrastructure to match the intense demand. After the viral success of GPT Engineer, the team had to quickly transition from a single open-source project to a robust platform capable of serving thousands of users in real time.

Anton and Fabian also faced the classic cold start problem: how to go from enthusiastic early adopters to a broader user base who might not have technical backgrounds.

Another major challenge was building trust. Since Lovable lets users generate code and deploy apps using natural language, any failure in output accuracy, UI design, or backend logic could severely hurt credibility. The team had to iterate quickly and continuously improve the quality and reliability of outputs to avoid “AI hallucination” and bad UX.

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Early growth strategies

Lovable AI’s meteoric rise can be attributed to several key strategies:

Community Engagement and Open Source FoundationsOriginating as an open-source project named GPT Engineer, Lovable cultivated a robust developer community. This grassroots engagement provided invaluable feedback and fostered a dedicated user base, laying the groundwork for rapid adoption upon transitioning to a commercial product.
Product-Led Growth with a Freemium ModelBy offering a freemium model, Lovable allowed users to experience its AI-driven app-building capabilities firsthand. This approach facilitated organic growth, as satisfied users naturally upgraded to paid plans to access advanced features and higher usage limits.
Strategic Integrations and PartnershipsLovable differentiated itself by integrating with popular tools like Supabase for backend services and Figma for design workflows. These integrations streamlined the development process, attracting users seeking seamless, full-stack solutions.
Leveraging Social Proof and User-Generated ContentEncouraging users to share their creations on platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube amplified Lovable’s visibility. Hackathons, feature releases, and showcasing user projects further fueled community engagement and organic growth.
Effective Use of Product Hunt LaunchA strategic launch on Product Hunt garnered significant attention, positioning Lovable prominently within the tech community and attracting early adopters eager to explore its innovative capabilities.
Iterative Development and User FeedbackEmphasizing rapid iteration based on user feedback, Lovable continuously refined its platform to meet evolving user needs. This responsiveness enhanced user satisfaction and loyalty, contributing to sustained growth.

These strategies collectively propelled Lovable AI to achieve remarkable milestones, including reaching $10 million in annual recurring revenue within just two months of launch.

Monetization and revenue

Lovable’s monetization approach was impressively straightforward and effective. They offered a freemium model that let users explore the product, then converted them into paying customers by introducing tiered pricing for advanced features and higher usage limits. Their early traction came from solo founders, indie hackers, and small product teams looking to shortcut the time between idea and MVP.

What really stood out was how fast they scaled revenue: hitting $10M ARR in just 60 days, and reaching $17M ARR by February 2025, with over 30,000 paying customers. They proved that if you solve a painful enough problem (like building apps without coding), customers are willing to pay — even early in your product journey.

How did Lovable differentiate itself from other AI coding platforms

While many AI coding tools focused on helping developers write code faster, Lovable took a radically different approach: eliminate the need to write code at all. Instead of just being a Copilot, it became a “co-founder in the loop” turning prompts like “Build me a job board for freelancers” into fully deployed, styled web apps.

Their focus on end-to-end product creation from frontend UI to backend integrations with Supabase or Stripe set them apart. Lovable also emphasized design quality, making sure the apps it generated actually looked polished, not just functional. Plus, they leaned heavily into community and feedback loops, quickly incorporating user needs into the product.

Funding and future prospects

In February 2025, Lovable secured a $15 million pre-Series A funding round led by Creandum, with participation from prominent angel investors such as Charlie Songhurst (Meta board member), Adam D’Angelo (Quora CEO), and Thomas Wolf (co-founder of Hugging Face). This infusion of capital is earmarked for expanding integrations with services like Supabase for databases and GitHub for code storage, further enhancing the platform’s capabilities.

Lessons for early-stage startup founders

Build in public. Lovable grew out of GPT Engineer, which was open-source and community-driven. This gave them product feedback, evangelism, and early trust at no cost.
Speed matters. They launched fast, iterated aggressively, and didn’t wait for perfection. Getting something useful out early helped them learn what users really wanted.
Focus on a narrow, painful problem. Instead of trying to “AI everything,” they zoomed in on app creation from idea to deployment—something painful for many, especially non-devs.
Leverage founder unfair advantages. Anton’s technical depth and open-source presence, combined with Fabian’s product instincts, created a complementary founder combo.
Monetize early. Lovable didn’t wait to charge. By focusing on real value and clear pricing tiers, they avoided the trap of endless free users.

Final thoughts

Lovable AI is at the forefront of a paradigm shift in software development—where building apps no longer requires writing code, just describing what you want.

By harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, founders Anton Osika and Fabian Hedin have made application creation radically more accessible. They’ve streamlined the development process and cultivated a community where innovation thrives—no coding expertise required.

But their story isn’t just about an AI startup.

It’s proof that your first launch isn’t your final one. Anton and Fabian didn’t wait for a “perfect” product. They built, they failed, they adapted. And now they’re reshaping how software gets made.

So if you’re sitting on an idea, the question is:
Are you waiting for perfection or are you launching, learning, and iterating?

Because the only way to win is to start.

So let’s build, let’s dream, and let’s ship.