MONEY DATABASE
The 7 shapes of AI money: what 196 sourced receipts show about what to build
Includes the full spreadsheet of every receipt, updated nightly.
The report turns the rows into seven practical shapes, 21 product ideas and a short plan for choosing what to test next.
$29 one-time, includes nightly updates
Instant download after payment. Questions or problems: support@madewithmodels.com
The report is the product
Seven repeatable shapes show where the money appears and what a small, checkable test could look like.
- 1. One-job phone appsPick one painful job. Put one input and one useful output behind a paywall.
- 2. Voice-to-text productsSpeech is messy input. Clean text is a clear, repeatable output.
- 3. Get-me-customers B2B toolsBuyers pay when the product is close to leads, sales, ads, search visibility, or published content.
- 4. Faceless AI contentThe product can be a repeatable content pipeline and a channel, not an app.
- 5. Services are fastest cashSell a result while people still need setup, judgment, and delivery.
- 6. Speed is normal nowSpeed reduces the cost of testing. It does not remove the need for distribution.
- 7. Small AI tools sellA small tool can be an asset if it has a clear job, a buyer, and evidence of use.
Read Shape 1: One-job phone apps free and see how the receipts become a product test.
Who it's for
Deciding what to build next
Find narrow jobs, real amounts and build times before you commit weeks to an idea.
Writing about the AI economy
Start with sourced examples instead of recycled claims about what AI can do.
Pitching AI work to clients
Bring evidence about tools, teams, delivery speed and commercial outcomes to the conversation.
What's inside
196 receipts, with the maker, product, amount, evidence, effort, tools and source links for every row.
- receipts.csv for sorting, filtering and analysis.
- receipts.json with the same rows for code and automation.
- report.pdf - The 7 shapes of AI money.
- Nightly rebuilds, so your link keeps serving the current files.
What you can do with it
Use the raw rows to test a question, then follow the source links behind the number.
Sort by amount
Base44: $80M
The largest stated amount after approximate currency conversion is easy to find and inspect.
Search build time
5 weekend builds
These receipts explicitly mention a weekend in the build-time field.
Filter by amount
167 above $10k
Approximate USD conversion makes a first pass across currencies possible.
Audit evidence
17 processor-verified
Compare them with 35 public-record receipts and the maker claims.
63 receipts state a build time. Every claim keeps its evidence label and source.
A free preview
Eight of the biggest receipts by approximate US-dollar value. The next four show the shape of the full database.
| Product | Maker | Kind | Amount | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base44 | Maor Shlomo | Sold | $80M | public-record |
| Turbo AI | Rudy Arora and Sarthak Dhawan | Earned | $10M+ | maker-claim |
| Chatbase | Yasser Elsaid | Earned | $8M | maker-claim |
| Xania Monet | Telisha Jones | Earned | $3M | maker-claim |
| DreamStories.ai | Ricardo Vice Santos | Earned | $3M+ | maker-claim |
| The Gifted | Jeff Synthesized | Won | $2.5M | public-record |
| ghost-niche faceless YouTube channels | Romayroh | Earned | $2M+ | maker-claim |
| Vectal | David Ondrej | Sold | $1.8M | maker-claim |
| Living Architecture: Casa Batlló | Refik Anadol | Sold | $1.38M | public-record |
| AI Publisher Pro | Joseph Popelas | Earned | $1M | maker-claim |
| IDX Advisors in-house legal and software automation | Ben McMillan | Saved | $1M | maker-claim |
| Aitana Lopez | Ruben Cruz | Earned | $800k–$1M | maker-claim |
Built with
How many receipts name each major tool or model.
Report preview
The 7 shapes of AI money turns the receipt rows into patterns you can test.
Summary on one page
| Shape | Best example | Numbers to remember | Practical lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. One-job phone apps | Stella by Sarah Pearl | $300,000 reported monthly recurring revenue; MVP in about two days; two to three months for the full build | Pick one painful job. Put one input and one useful output behind a paywall. |
| 2. Voice-to-text products | Letterly by Anton | $250,000 reported monthly revenue | Speech is messy input. Clean text is a clear, repeatable output. |
| 3. Get-me-customers B2B tools | Postiz by Nevo David | $239,848 Stripe-verified MRR | Buyers pay when the product is close to leads, sales, ads, search visibility, or published content. |
| 4. Faceless AI content | Boring History and the faceless channel network by Adavia Davis | $40,000-$60,000 reported monthly revenue; dashboard and payout records reviewed by the source | The product can be a repeatable content pipeline and a channel, not an app. |
| 5. Services are fastest cash | 1SecondCopy by Nick Saraev | $90,000 reported monthly turnover; fewer than three operators | Sell a result while people still need setup, judgment, and delivery. |
| 6. Speed is normal now | GeoSports by Frank Michael Smith | Built in eight hours over a weekend; $40,000 reported monthly revenue | Speed reduces the cost of testing. It does not remove the need for distribution. |
| 7. Small AI tools sell | NameSnag by Josh Pigford | About 12 hours to build; $15,000 reported acquisition price | A small tool can be an asset if it has a clear job, a buyer, and evidence of use. |
What the stronger examples have in common
The products have a short path from action to payoff. Take a photo. Record a voice note. Scan a chart. Watch a wrestling clip. Set an alarm. The product then returns a result that feels personal enough to justify repeat use.
The pricing is not visible in every receipt, so do not invent a subscription price from the revenue. The important pricing fact is the use of a paid app or recurring revenue model. Distribution includes the App Store, niche communities, paid TikTok advertising, and founder-led promotion. ChartDetector AI reports $56,000 monthly revenue while also reporting about $18,000 a month in TikTok ad spend. Revenue without acquisition cost is not profit.
Build time is often measured in weeks. CalBuddy reports two weeks to a working version. Erly reports 19 days to the App Store. STOPPR reports about one month. Stella separates a two-day MVP from a two-to-three-month full build. That separation is important: a testable product and a finished product are not the same thing.
Seven useful shapes
1. One-job phone apps $300,000 reported monthly recurring revenue; MVP in about two days; two to three months for the full build
2. Voice-to-text products $250,000 reported monthly revenue
Patterns behind the numbers
3. Get-me-customers B2B tools Buyers pay when the product is close to leads, sales, ads, search visibility, or published content.
4. Faceless AI content The product can be a repeatable content pipeline and a channel, not an app.
What to test
The products have a short path from action to payoff. Take a photo. Record a voice note. Scan a chart. Watch a wrestling clip. Set an alarm. The product then returns a result that feels personal enough to justify repeat use.
The pricing is not visible in every receipt, so do not invent a subscription price from the revenue. The important pricing fact is the use of a paid app or recurring revenue model. Distribution includes the App Store, niche communities, paid TikTok advertising, and founder-led promotion. ChartDetector AI reports $56,000 monthly revenue while also reporting about $18,000 a month in TikTok ad spend. Revenue without acquisition cost is not profit.
Questions
Where does the data come from?
Each row links to its source, such as a maker document, public record, payment-processor verification or public interview.
How reliable are the numbers?
Every row has an evidence label. Most are maker-reported, so treat them as sourced leads, not audited accounts.
What formats do I get?
You get CSV, JSON and the PDF report. The CSV opens in Excel and Google Sheets.
Do I get updates?
Yes. The same download link serves the nightly rebuild.
What is the refund policy?
Email support@madewithmodels.com within 14 days and we'll refund you.
Is there a subscription?
No. It is a one-time $29 payment.
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