How Do I Keep My AI MVP Costs Down?
Cut the surprise bills, or build a cheaper Manual MVP instead.
In February, Matt ran How to Build Your MVP for $10K (Not $150K): how to think lean, not bloated, before you build. Catch part 1 here.
This is part 2, about what happens after you start building.
Your AI MVP was meant to cost US$25 a month. Then the credits ran out, the hosting bill arrived, and the AI started charging you to fix its own bugs.
You're not alone. After Replit launched its new agent, one user told The Register it charged them US$1,000 in a week, up from US$180 to US$200 a month. And a three-person startup that usually spent US$180 a month on Google Cloud got a US$82,314 bill in 48 hours after someone stole their API key.
This 90-minute live workshop is for non-technical founders building with Lovable, Bolt, Replit, Cursor or a developer. You'll map every cost in your MVP, switch on the limits that stop surprise bills, and set a price that makes customers pay for your AI instead of you.
What we'll cover
The five places your AI MVP leaks money: build credits, hosting, AI usage, developer fixes and your time
Your live cost map: list every tool and switch on caps and alerts together
How to stop the credit spiral: plan before you prompt, the three-strikes rule, and when to switch tools
What a developer fix should really cost, and how to tell if a quote is fair
AI costs in plain English: which model to use, and how to track cost per customer
Price it right: work out what each customer costs you and set a price floor
The Manual MVP: let AI do the heavy lifting and deliver it yourself for about A$45 a month, until customers pay
You'll leave with
Your personal cost map, with caps and alerts switched on
A one-page build budget and prompting rules
The free cost calculator, to work out your minimum price afterwards
A paid pilot offer to test with a buyer this week
Free homework: download the AI MVP Cost Calculator (a spreadsheet, no sign-up). We won't spend session time on it, so fill it in before or after. Questions afterwards? Email hello@theleancpto.com and Matt or Daniel will answer them.
Missed part 1? Watch How to Build Your MVP for $10K (Not $150K) on YouTube before the session. It's not required, but you'll get more out of part 2.
Who it's for: non-technical founders building or about to build an MVP with AI tools or a developer. No coding needed.
From our webinars
"Thank you so much for last night's session. It was super helpful for me, who is in early stages... But you and Kale were great and certainly motivating! Thank you!"
Australian founder
"Thank you, this was great."
Australian founder
Your host
Matt Ainsworth is the founder of The Lean CPTO, which helps non-technical founders make product and tech decisions the way a Chief Product and Technology Officer would, while selling to real buyers at the same time.
He has spent 20+ years across product, technology, sales and marketing in Australia and Japan. He has run three of his own ventures, built communities and sales functions from scratch, and mentored founders for more than 10 years.
The Lean CPTO: https://theleancpto.com
Connect with Matt on LinkedIn: matt-ainsworth-35a53522b
Can't make it live? You'll get the replay and the cost calculator.
Coming to all three? They're all free. See them all at https://theleancpto.com/workshops/