Over 800,000!

That’s how many times our Consistent Character GPT has been used since its launch on the ChatGPT App Store.

The GPT has gotten over 10,000 reviews. It grew our newsletter to 11,000+ engaged subscribers. And it laid the foundation for Consistent Character AI and Neolemon Academy, which collectively make over $18k per month (and growing).

I would love to tell you that it was all planned, that Diana and I knew what we were doing. But I would be lying. Even today, the numbers feel surreal.

Yet, we didn’t passively watch as events unfolded. We kept responding to them and tweaking our strategies. That, in turn, led to seven important lessons on product launch.

If I had to launch a new product today, here are seven things I would do (and you can do if you are planning to launch your own product).

1. Find the Frustration Pattern

The most powerful aspect of a successful product is people want it.

You notice this when they express the same frustration over and over again. On social media, in forums, or during interactions with you. The more people request for a feature or an outcome, the more the chances are that by addressing it, you could solve a genuine problem.

In our AI-for-visuals training programs, for instance, creative professionals kept asking: How can we generate AI characters consistently? Our students complained that they would describe a character to AI tools and get an outcome. But when they repeated the prompt, the outcome was different.

The result? They couldn’t tell stories in book illustrations, films, or even marketing campaigns. To tell a story, you need consistent characters.

Takeaway: Look for recurring pain points that people express consistently. The stronger and more frequent the frustration, the greater the opportunity to create something valuable.

2. Speed Beats Perfection

The second hallmark of a successful product (and company) is its speed of shipping.

For instance, Lovable’s philosophy is “just launch.” They try a lot of things—most of which they will not try again—and ship them out the door as quickly as they can. Launching quickly can give you the first mover advantage AND feedback from users to refine your product.

I launched Consistent Character GPT within hours of Sam Altman announcing the ChatGPT App Store on 10th January, 2024. I had been experimenting over the previous few months and had figured out how to generate consistent AI characters.

So I built, tested, and published Consistent Character GPT on the App Store within the next three hours. Then, I went to sleep, unaware that my life would change over the next few weeks.

Takeaway: Perfection is your enemy, so ship fast. Being early to market can give you both visibility and the critical user insights needed to refine your product into something exceptional.

3. Visibility Creates Opportunity

Many first-time founders or designers refrain from talking about their work.

They believe that people will discover their work if it’s good enough. But in reality, they are probably afraid of negative feedback. In all this, they go in the opposite direction of what I shared above: neither do people know about their work nor do they get useful feedback.

After publishing the GPT, I posted on LinkedIn about it before going to sleep.

Overnight, the GPT got used 1,200 times, and the feedback was good. A positive sign! So I decided to build on it by posting a video on YouTube and sharing its link in our newsletter.

It turned out to be the most popular video on our channel so far, and drove more users to the GPT.

Takeaway: Overcome the fear of judgment and actively share your work. Create awareness and gather the feedback you need to improve.

4. Turn Users Into Advocates

A common mistake among creators is to not engage with the first users of their product or commenters of their content.

In effect, they try to imitate big brands, hoping that such behavior will create a perception of them being big and busy. This is a mistake. The reason why people engage with you is because you can be personable. Use it to your advantage by inducing your uniqueness and increasing engagement (especially in the AI era).

In the first few weeks of our GPT’s launch, we engaged with everyone who commented. (A practice we have continued until date. Diana personally replies to every single customer email.)

We also personally thanked the creators who posted about our GPT on YouTube (and there were quite a few).

The more we engaged, the more people talked about us, and the more people used our GPT. All this drove more new users to the GPT.

Takeaway: Authentic engagement with early users will create advocates who will spread the word about your product. Use personal and responsive behavior as a competitive advantage.

5. Simplicity Drives Retention

Here is the most underrated aspect of a successful product: simplicity.

This means a product has low-to-no friction (the cognitive load for users while engaging with your product). Think of how simple the iPhone was (is) to use. Or WhatsApp, ChatGPT, and Instagram. Successful products handle complexity on the backend while presenting users with an interface so intuitive it feels almost invisible.

This was what I ensured Consistent Character GPT did as well. People didn’t need to write complex prompts or have expertise in Photoshop or photography to create images. The GPT would simply ask them questions and generate images based on the images generated.

The result was that more people returned to use it, which meant the GPT kept trending on the App Store.

Takeaway: Obsess over eliminating friction from your user experience. People will return to it and recommend it to others, creating a powerful growth loop.

6. Failure Fuels Discovery

Many creators are afraid of experimenting with anything that could lead to failure.

But in failure lie plenty of gems for learning, which you can use to create one product that really clicks. Every product you love, all the comfort you enjoy, has come on the back of plenty of failures and learnings.

We had experimented with plenty of ideas before launching Consistent Character GPT. [Add a few thoughts here]. All of these led to learnings on how to build, sell, listen to customers, and so on. I can with full confidence that our success is a result of our experiments, not our textbooks.

Takeaway: Be willing to try new features, approaches, and messaging based on user behavior. You can discover valuable innovations only when you're willing to test and learn.

7. Convert Attention to Revenue

Once you have attention, leverage it rather than simply enjoying it. The window of opportunity created by initial success doesn't stay open forever.

When our GPT started gaining traction, we realized we had a winning formula on our hands. We created Consistent Character AI, a premium version with advanced features that addressed the limitations in the free GPT. We also got new opportunities to expand our offering, including partnering with Microsoft to deliver specialized training programs.

These initiatives transformed fleeting attention into sustainable revenue streams. The free GPT continues to serve as our acquisition channel, while our paid offerings deliver deeper value to committed users and generate over $18k monthly revenue.

Takeaway: When your product gains traction, immediately think about how to convert that attention into long-term value—through premium offerings, strategic partnerships, or expanding your ecosystem.

Summary

In a nutshell, this is how our life changed. How a free GPT took us from broke to bootstrapped. And how we learned that Master Oogway was right: There are no accidents.

Opportunity knocks on all doors. It's the prepared people who can answer the door and enjoy the benefits that the guest bestows.

Make these 7 strategies a part of your launch toolkit, and you'll build a growth loop that accelerates with each rotation. What begins as a simple product can quickly evolve into a business that generates consistent revenue and opens unexpected doors.

What are your favorite lessons when it comes to product launches? I'd love to hear what's worked for you.

Weekly Workflow: Character Design Revolution

After sharing our journey with Consistent Character GPT, I wanted to show you a practical workflow.

I've been using this to combine our tools with the latest AI capabilities. This process is genuinely transformative for creative work!

Consistent Character AI + ChatGPT 4o: A Mind-Blowing Combination 💥

TOOLS I USED:

1. Consistent Character AI: for character concept + consistency
2. ChatGPT-4o + Image Gen: for creative interpolation
3. Wireframe sketch: to guide the AI tool

This powerful workflow creates:

• Mascots for your brand
• Storybook-ready characters
• Consistent avatars for explainer videos
• Game concept art or animation references

All this with one seamless flow that mirrors the simplicity principle I mentioned earlier.

STEP 1: Conceptualize the Character (with AI Help)

I used the Character Turbo in ConsistentCharacter.ai to bring the idea to life.

• 📝 Gave it a short description: "Cute girl in red polka dot dress, cherry blossom background"
• 💡 Used Prompt Easy to enhance it automatically — no complex prompting required!

STEP 2: Generate a Consistent Base Image

On the platform, I generated a few variations to pick the best one as my front-view base.

✅ Clean
✅ On-style
✅ Expressive
✅ Consistent

This step exemplifies how eliminating friction from your creative process leads to better results.

STEP 3: Sketch a Simple Wireframe

To guide the character sheet, I quickly drew a basic layout: [ FRONT | BACK ] [ SIDE | ¾ VIEW ]

🖊️ Nothing fancy. Just boxes and labels to keep the structure clear.

Sometimes the simplest experiments yield the biggest breakthroughs.

STEP 4: Upload to ChatGPT-4o (Image Gen)

I uploaded the front-view character + the wireframe template and prompted GPT-4o to "fill in the missing views" in the same style.

🚀 Result? A full 4-view character sheet that's ready to use:

• Consistent lighting
• Matching outfit & proportions
• Stylized, expressive, polished

It's not Pixar-level perfect yet, but for concept art, MVPs, pitch decks? Game-changing.

This workflow is an example of lesson #7: how we built on the momentum of our GPT's success, creating additional value by combining tools in innovative ways.

Give it a try and post your results on LinkedIn. And don't hesitate to tag me when you do. We're rooting for you 😊

Talk soon,

Sachin and Diana.

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