Case study · @kai.builds
How @kai.builds made a launch Reel that hit 400K views — with zero marketing budget
Kai used VIBE to generate the launch video for his SaaS product. He spent zero dollars on marketing.
Kai Mendez — Indie maker and founder of a small SaaS product.
Instagram Reel views
412,000
Marketing budget
$0
Generation time
~6 minutes
Kai Mendez (@kai.builds) launched his SaaS product on Product Hunt and Instagram on the same day. He had no marketing budget. He had a phone and VIBE.
The launch Reel
Kai wrote one prompt for the launch Reel: 'Close-up macro shot of a laptop keyboard with code reflecting in the screen. Slow camera push-in. Soft warm office lighting. Cinematic.' He ran it on Veo 3.1.
The first generation wasn't quite right — the code looked fake. He rewrote the prompt to specify 'real-looking syntax highlighting' and re-generated. The second take landed.
The 412K views
He posted the clip to Instagram Reels with a one-line caption about his launch. By the end of week one, it had 412,000 views. The product had its best signup day ever.
What worked
'The clip looked expensive. People assumed I'd hired an agency. I didn't tell them otherwise — but I also didn't have to lie. The reel was AI-generated. It just happened to look real enough that people scrolled to the caption.'
What Kai recommends
'If you're an indie founder launching anything, generate a launch Reel before you write the launch post. The visual carries more than the words. VIBE lets you make the visual in under ten minutes.'
Models used
Make videos like this
VIBE — 19 AI video models including Sora 2 and Veo 3.1.
