In a recent LinkedIn post, Victor Cruz discusses how AI tools have changed the time and cost involved in building software, describing a platform he created for festival attendees. This article reports on Cruz’s post and examines the example he shared; it is not written by Cruz.
“A few years ago, I was quoted a six-figure sum by a software house to build an application.”
From a costly proposal to a working platform
Cruz contrasts that earlier estimate with a project he says he recently built himself using Claude, GitHub, Vercel and prompts. He says he had no coding experience or development team, and that the work took about 20 minutes. The platform lets attendees of the FTT Fintech Festival and Future Identity Festival create personalized social media cards.
“No coding experience, no software development team, just an idea, a problem to address and 20 minutes to spare.”
According to Cruz, the project illustrates how accessible software creation may be becoming. His account offers a concrete example of AI-assisted building, though it reflects his experience with this particular platform rather than a general measure of development time or cost.
What Cruz says the example demonstrates
Cruz argues that barriers to building software are falling. He points to the contrast between the six-figure quote he received years ago and a festival tool he says he assembled with readily available services. The comparison highlights a potential shift: people with an idea may be able to prototype useful applications without first hiring a software house.
“What once required significant investment, specialist developers and months of work can now be achieved in a fraction of the time and cost.”
That claim is central to Cruz’s post, but it should be read in the context he provides. He describes building a specific attendee-facing feature, not a full assessment of the long-term costs of maintaining, securing or expanding a production application. Cruz himself mentions maintenance and updates when recalling the original quote.
A practical invitation to festival attendees
Rather than dwell on his own development process, Cruz invites people attending the London festivals to try the platform and create a card. He says the image attached to his post was made with it and asks users to share feedback.
From experiment to user feedback
The invitation makes the post both a technology observation and a product test. Cruz is presenting an early example of what he believes AI-enabled tools can make possible, while giving festival attendees a chance to use the result. Whether the tool proves useful to them will depend on their experience, but Cruz’s account shows how quickly a focused idea can be turned into something people can try.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Victor Cruz on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on November 3, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →