Bolt tutorial for beginners with the Bolt CEO Eric Simons

In this episode, I am joined by Eric Simons, the CEO of StackBlitz, he shares a great Bolt tutorial for beginners. Eric shares his process and demonstrates how to use Bolt to build and deploy apps. Learn how to launch your next startup without needing to know how to code!

Episode Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
04:33 Building Directory
23:35 Deploying Directory
26:47 Comparing Bolt and Cursor
30:24 Building a Chat Feature
32:02 Integrating Firebase
44:27 Testing Chat Feature
46:59 Success Stories with Bolt

1) Bolt is INSANELY fast for prototyping web apps. In minutes, Eric Simons built a directory site for indie hackers, complete with upvoting and chat functionality.

2) The power of Bolt lies in its simplicity:
• No need to clone repos or install dependencies
• Just describe what you want in plain English
• AI generates the code and UI for you

3) Bolt isn't just for mockups - it's for REAL products:
• Built-in deployment to Netlify
• Easy integration with Firebase for backend functionality
• People are launching ACTUAL businesses with Bolt-built apps

4) Pro tip: When building with AI, start simple and add features incrementally. This helps manage complexity and troubleshoot issues more easily.

5) Bolt is democratizing web development:
• Non-devs are building full-stack apps
• Dramatically reduces time and cost compared to traditional development
• Enables rapid prototyping and iteration

6) The future of coding? It's about becoming an expert AI prompter:
• Understanding how to "drive" LLMs effectively
• Translating ideas into clear instructions
• Iterating on AI-generated code

7) Real-world example: A PM built a viral TikTok hooks app in 2 weeks for $50/month with Bolt. Traditional dev quote? $3-5k and months of work. That's 100x cost savings and 5-10x faster!

8) Even YC startups are using Bolt to build landing pages, freeing up dev time for core product work. It's not just for side projects - it's changing how REAL businesses operate.

9) Want to try Bolt? Here's how:
• Type your idea in the input box
• Hit enter and watch the magic happen!

Want more free ideas? I collect the best ideas from the pod and give them to you for free in a database. Most of them cost $0 to start (my fav)

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[GregIsenberg]

NEW CHARACTER UNLOCKED ERIC CEO OF STACKBLITZ MAKERS OF BOLT. LIKE/COMMENT/SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE OF THIS IN YOUR FEED (and to show love)

[marcusedvalson]

I’ve played with Bolt quite a bit, here are my tips for working with it successfully;
1. Make your initial prompt as detailed as possible. It saves on credits, but also saves reworking things. It is easier to be detailed up front, rather than trying to get it to fix things. Think of it like writing a spec for a developer.
2. I will type out a bullet list of exact features I want it to have and describe them in great detail. I try to think of these bullet lists in a linear fashion so that I am spec’ing out the app piece by piece.
3. It works really well to have a UI layout ahead of time. It not only makes the UI look good, but it also helps orient the AI with the detailed prompting I mentioned above. Just drop in images if the design right in to the prompt window.
4. Be clear about where you want to deploy the app (ie web, native mobile, etc). And even better, you can specify the tech stack you want it to use (ie. HTML, css, vanilla JavaScript). If you don’t, it will choose whatever it thinks is best.
4. If you are building a responsive app, mention that ahead of time. Then when you are refining, you can mention specific breakpoints if you want layout revisions or whatever.

[aliabidi]

Damn dude you got the stackblitz CEO on your pod. That’s super impressive! You sure know your audience

[matthewsojm]

"I'm not a developer, but I managed to build a complete maintenance app that lets me log all my work and generate the reports I need—super proud of how it turned out!"

[SydGeraghty]

Absolutely brilliant Eric … this demo was inspirational for an 80 year old who has spent a lifetime developing computational knowledge tools at some amazing companies around the world who now wants to get to use my toys in an intuitive automated real-time interactive mode that enables accelerated computational knowledge research and creation! Getting Bolt right now … Cheers ... Syd Geraghty

[juancampos]

This is so amazing, I’m a 54 yr old person with no code or app experience and you made me feel like I can really do this! Can’t wait to join….. thanks

[futuristicstoic]

This was AMAZING, thanks so much guys. I started using Bolt daily a month ago and I’m seeing my ideas come to life almost for free and super fast. What a time to be alive. ⚡️💯

[xygyqgs]

I've been a dev for 10+ years, I have always had ideas but finding the time to build them out was always the hard part. Bolt is going to be life changing for me I think, finally I feel like I can build by idea, within 1/10 of the time and cost. Thank you for this video, making a major impact to my life!

[milanvukstankovic]

I watched this channel for a long time and literally never seen anything useful...and never heard a really good startup idea...but somehow I continued following and watching...
Today, for the first time, it payed off, it's a first time I heard of Bolt and I love it instantly, tried it, and became a user right away
I knew that if I continue following Greg will eventually lead to something useful 🥰

[nareshmeetei]

Wowww that output design is really incredible. I'm a designer and 90% of designers won't be able to achieve this level. Mic drop!

Thanks Eric and your team for building Bolt. Thanks for putting this video up! Love this. Can't wait to start building.

[DaboEtela]

Greg Isenberg is officially my best YouTube channel and podcast. The guy gives real value without hype. After watching this episode, I imagined a million things I could build.

[ZeroToOneWithAI]

This is a truly expiring video! I am so stoked that I can use Bolt to build apps. For decades I had ideas but because of time and cost I could not realize my ideas. THIS IS A GAME CHANGER!

[CashCatz]

Pro tip: Don't use firebase (unstructured proprietary garbage with $$$ vendor lock-in), use supabase (rock solid open source platform on top of postgres).

[clifclark]

Thanks Eric for taking the time to showcase your product for everyone

[jamalej]

I woke up in the middle of the night to watch this, let's go! Must say it was worth it...🎉

[GrahamKinsella]

This pod and in particular demos by CEO’s are a game changer. I’ve gone through a decade of no ideas to my mind firing off and technically I’m learning, super ❤

[jabthill]

This is life changing… I will finally be able to release this app idea I’ve had for years, but did not have the funds to build it… Now I finally can make it happen… WILD

[ryanangel]

This was amazing, Bolt is going to change countless lives. Thank you Eric!!! 👏

[MaybeSteveJobs]

Greg is collecting CEO’s like they are Pokémon cards.

[JuniperLeezz]

That is simply put : AMAZING, - during the interview I had the rough frame of an app running that I have thought of for a while, and I am no App Developer.... And Greg, keep'em coming - love your channel.