Vibe Coding a $42 Billion App: Canva Clone (Part 1)
(Watch me battle with GPT-5 to create a working Canva clone – complete with drag, drop, rotate, and the occasional disappearing yoga flyer)
Canva paid teams of developers millions of dollars. I built it in a few minutes for pennies.
Okay, not all of it. But enough to make you question everything you know about app development.
The million-dollar question: Can AI really build complex apps like Canva? Not just a simple landing page or todo list – but a real, drag-and-drop design editor with templates, text editing, and all the features that make Canva worth $42 billion?
In the video above, I put this to the test. No coding bootcamp. No developer team. Just me, an AI assistant, and the absolute chaos that ensues when you ask GPT-5 to build something it definitely wasn't designed for.
The Experiment: From Zero to Yoga Flyer
Here's what I set out to prove: AI can generate not just apps, but the content that goes in them.
Think about it. Canva's real value isn't just the editor – it's the thousands of professional templates. What if AI could generate those on demand? Custom templates for every user, every business, every occasion?
So I started simple. "Create a yoga studio flyer. 8.5 by 11. Use Google Fonts, Lucid icons, and Unsplash images."
The first attempt? An absolute disaster. Text bleeding off the page. Images missing. Layout that would make any designer cry.
But here's where it gets interesting.
AI Learns From Its Mistakes (Sometimes)
I showed the AI its broken creation. Pointed out the problems with arrows and screenshots.
The second attempt was dramatically better. Clean layout. Properly sized images. Professional-looking typography.
Quick Win: When working with AI, visual feedback is 10x more effective than text descriptions. Screenshot the problems, circle them, and watch the AI fix issues it couldn't understand from words alone.
After three rounds of feedback, we had a legitimate yoga studio flyer. Not perfect, but good enough that a real business could use it.
And that's when things got ambitious.
Building the Actual Editor
Templates are one thing. But could AI build the complex editor interface that makes Canva... well, Canva?
This is where I discovered Movable.js – a library that handles drag, resize, and rotate functionality. Instead of reinventing the wheel, I asked the AI to integrate it.
The result? GPT-5 went completely rogue.
It wrote 1,000 lines of code. Scrapped everything. Started over. Created what it called a "whole ass editor" (its words, not mine).
When AI Bites Off More Than It Can Chew
GPT-5 has this fascinating tendency. It tries to impress you by doing way more than you asked.
Sometimes this creates magic. Sometimes it creates a disaster.
My "Canva clone" could move elements around... but they'd disappear behind other elements. You could resize text... but it would jump to random positions. You could rotate images... but they'd distort into abstract art.
After multiple attempts to fix it, I did something counterintuitive. I turned the AI's reasoning level to "low."
The Power of Doing Less
Setting GPT-5 to low reasoning sounds like sabotage. But it's actually brilliant.
High reasoning = AI overthinking and overengineering Low reasoning = AI following instructions without getting fancy
The simplified version worked better. Elements moved smoothly. Text stayed editable. The layout (mostly) held together.
Was it perfect? No. Was it Canva? Not quite. Was it built in minutes for basically free? Absolutely.
The Reality Check Nobody Talks About
Here's what the gurus won't tell you: Vibe coding isn't magic. It's collaboration.
You're not replacing developers. You're becoming a different kind of developer. One who guides AI, debugs its attempts, and knows when to simplify versus when to push harder.
During this build, I went back and forth with the AI probably 15 times. Some things worked immediately. Others required multiple attempts. The z-index issue (elements hiding behind each other) took five tries to partially fix.
This is the actual process. Not the highlight reel.
What This Means for Software Development
Canva raised $200 million at a $40 billion valuation. They employ hundreds of developers.
I built a functional prototype in one afternoon.
No, my version doesn't have templates galleries, team collaboration, or cloud storage. But the core editor – the thing that makes Canva special – is there. And it works.
The implications are staggering.
If one person with AI can build 60% of a billion-dollar app in minutes, what happens to:
- Software development costs?
- Startup barriers to entry?
- The entire SaaS industry?
The Competitive Advantage You're Missing
While everyone debates whether AI will replace programmers, smart entrepreneurs are using it to build actual products.
They're not waiting for AI to be perfect. They're shipping with what works today.
That yoga studio flyer? A real business could use it. That janky editor? With a few more hours of refinement, it could be a real product. Those disappearing elements? They'll be fixed in version 2.
The point isn't perfection. It's possibility.
Building Complex Apps: The Series Continues
This is just part one. The proof of concept. The "can we even do this?" moment.
In the upcoming parts, I'll show you how to:
- Add template galleries and categories
- Implement user accounts and saving
- Deploy it as a real SaaS product
- Connect payment processing
- Scale it to handle real users
Because here's the truth: The technical barriers to building apps have collapsed.
The only question is whether you'll take advantage of it.
Your Next Move
Right now, someone is manually creating graphics in Canva. Someone else is paying $30/month for features they barely use. And someone else has an idea for "Canva but for [specific niche]" that they think requires $100k to build.
They're all wrong.
You could build a specialized design tool for yoga studios. Or real estate agents. Or restaurant menus. Or wedding invitations.
Pick a niche Canva ignores. Build a simpler, more focused tool. Charge half the price.
The market is massive. The tools are ready. The only thing missing is you.
Start Building Today
You don't need a CS degree. You don't need venture capital. You don't need to hire developers.
You need Aidolons, an idea, and the willingness to go back and forth with AI until it works.
With our platform, you can:
- Build apps like this Canva clone
- Deploy them to your WordPress site
- Connect your own payment processor
- Keep 100% of your revenue
- Scale without writing code
Yes, I want to build my own apps »
P.S. This entire Canva clone – templates, editor, and all – cost less than $1 in AI credits to build. Meanwhile, Canva burns through $200 million in funding. The revolution isn't coming. It's here.
P.P.S. Part 2 drops next week where I'll add user accounts and cloud saving. Follow along as we build a complete Canva competitor, one vibe at a time.
