# Build Your First App This Holiday Season

*POP-IT is a free way to turn a real problem into something you can actually build*

By [Hard Mode First](https://hardmodefirst.xyz) · 2025-12-18

---

Last year, between Christmas and New Year’s, I [built my first real app](https://hardmodefirst.xyz/15-years-in-tech-and-1-weekend-to-finally-build-an-app), which turned photos from museums into kid-friendly audio stories.

No roadmap. No permission. Just one problem I couldn’t stop thinking about and a little bit of quiet time.

Since then, I’ve learned how to use AI to augment nearly every part of my personal and professional workflow. It’s reshaped how I work, and I’ve helped 1,000+ people learn how to do the same through hands-on trainings and workshops with [Build First](https://buildfirst.ai/).

**Now it’s your turn.**

If you’ve been telling yourself **_“I should build something with AI”_** but (still) not doing it, I made something to help you start. You can try it out at [buildfirst.app](https://buildfirst.app/).

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/1d6dd4e826b6f8de1dca4e044263273c684c5a35705c64077e79d65dee564b48.jpg)

Try out the [POP-IT app builder](http://buildfirst.app)

How it Works
------------

**POP-IT** is a design framework to help you build apps with AI by guiding you through the following workflow:

*   **Problem:** What is the problem you are trying to solve?
    
*   **Output:** What do you want to see from the AI when you’re done?
    
*   **Prompt:** What instructions does the AI need to accomplish the task?
    
*   **Input:** What context or documentation can you share with the AI?
    
*   **Test:** How will you know it’s working?
    

Whether you’re starting off by building your first custom chatbot with ChatGPT or Gemini, or off to the races with AI no-code tools like Replit, Lovable, or Claude Code, POP-IT offers a way to help you structure your problems into real prompts to get you started.

So, if you’ve got a little space this holiday season, [build something small](https://buildfirst.app/). Start messy. See what happens. You never know where it might lead…

**Happy building!**

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/c301b41e34d8e02157d49ccc9e02e581355ef3932336508aa6ed7ec2a3a06fca.jpg)

Build your own version of my museum app for kids with [this starter prompt](https://buildfirst.app/library/9607bf29-4670-479e-92d5-71a0825c9db7)

_The POP-IT framework was developed in partnership with_ [_Decoded Futures_](https://www.decodedfutures.nyc/) _in 2024._

---

*Originally published on [Hard Mode First](https://hardmodefirst.xyz/build-your-first-app-this-holiday-season)*