Christopher Rizzo

Always building.

Currently building:

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

Anybody can make an app these days. Making it compelling enough that someone actually wants to use it is a whole different skill.

You can have a working prototype in a few hours, spend weeks getting it ready for your first customer, and launch it only to find that nobody's particularly interested.

I think a lot of us are figuring that part out right now.

We're in this pretty incredible moment where we can finally build things we've wanted to exist for years. But when you're deep in getting everything to work, it's easy to lose sight of what it's going to feel like for someone opening it for the first time.

I was thinking about this with an app I was building. It was a pretty technical tool, and I wanted to make it feel more friendly and approachable. Something you could open and feel comfortable exploring, even if you weren't a power user.

So I started experimenting with animated characters. And as they came together, I remember thinking... wow, I don't think most people know this is possible yet.

What got me excited was how well it fit the problem I was trying to solve. A character could give the app some personality. Make it feel a little more welcoming. Give someone something to connect with while they were learning their way around.

And with so many people building software now, I could see a lot of other people wanting to do the same thing.

The part I kept coming back to was how much easier this should be. If you've already got a character you love, you should be able to bring it to life without figuring out an entire animation workflow.

I was working through all of that for my own app. I knew the frustrating parts, I knew what I wanted out of it, and I was starting to see a reason to turn it into something other people could use.

That became Bring Them to Life. You bring a character, create animations for it, and use them to give your app or website a little more personality.

It's ready to try now. If you're building something and this is a part of the experience you've been wanting to work on, I'd love to see what you make with it.

https://t.co/ilqf2IWmNi

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

@pvncher Right now its best at checking calendar and email and using pretty good judgement on when to alert you of valuable things/issues proactively.

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

@thsottiaux @zwb44 Do you really think the way openai names stuff that would be out of the question? 😂

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

@thsottiaux Visbility into and ability to edit its agents.md

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

@bidurunnya Congrats on reaching #8 in Puzzle on launch weekend and earning your first $25. I saw your Escape the Dungeon update and gave BrainHot a little brain adventurer to trace the route out. Independent concept. The animation files are yours free. DM me if you’d like them!

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

Food tracking feels a little easier when your past meals are still there 🍎

Made an apple welcome concept for @devjainik’s QuitJunk, inspired by the new food history and calendar.

See QuitJunk: https://t.co/lg2pe5Aj8M

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

FINALLY!!! Someone with zero reason to cheer for me, pulled out their credit card and paid to try what I built.

Something that sounds so simple…

In reality, its extremely difficult.

They had to understand the product, see the value in how simple and easy it was to use, and decide it was worth their hard-earned money.

What made that hit even harder was everything that came before it.

I’d spent weeks building and polishing this thing. I believed there was something there. I thought the product looked good, the experience made sense, and the final result was worth paying for.

But believing that yourself and getting someone else to prove it are two different things.

@ProductHunt sent a bunch more people to the site, and for a while, none of them bought. That gets in your head.

Maybe I was wrong about the value.
Maybe there was too much friction.
Maybe it just wasn’t something people actually wanted enough to pay for.

And then somebody did. Then 2 more on Saturday. And today a fourth.

And when you’re building something on your own, those decisions feel like validation of the whole chain.

The idea, the product, the experience, the way you explained it.

All of it had to come together well enough for someone who owed you nothing to say, yeah, this is worth paying for.

It feels good man.

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

@joujouvin @ProductHunt Thanks Julia! So glad to see @ProductHunt and @OpenAIDevs team up on this challenge!

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

Bring Them to Life is officially scheduled to launch on @ProductHunt tomorrow as part of the GPT-6 Astra Challenge!

Quick background: I started building it because I wanted the apps I was making to feel more welcoming. A character waving hello or celebrating a small win can go a long way.

Bring your own character or create a mascot, pick from 12 reactions, and get animations you can use across your website or app in minutes.

The awesome part is Astra helped me build and refine the animation pipeline that makes it all possible (and saved me a ton of money!)

Thanks @OpenAI and @OpenAIDevs for putting this challenge together.

Please support if you have the time: https://t.co/l6HWci7NcF

Thanks and best of luck to all participants!

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

We’re live and currently ranked #16 out of over 800 submissions. 🤯

[Product Hunt 😸 @ProductHunt]

The GPT-6 Astra Challenge is live on Product Hunt! Over 800 products are competing for the leaderboard and prizes from @OpenAIDevs.

Go check out the launches and vote for your favorites!
https://t.co/B07EfjiByv

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

@cristiandarie @ProductHunt Thanks Cristian! Visit https://t.co/BgDXUDsfKG to give it a spin.

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

@thsottiaux What is internet, anyway?

https://t.co/EQhq73UGRX

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

See where you’ve vacuumed 🟩

Sweep by @mustafaergisi maps floor coverage in AR. For LiDAR iPhones and stick vacuums: https://t.co/VYx7hByGI5

I made this little welcome concept. Mustafa, the animation files are yours free. DM me if you’d like them!

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

@mustafaergisi Those first 10 downloads deserve a little welcome 🙂 I made Sweep a green vacuum buddy to say hello before the first clean. It’s an independent concept, and the animation files are yours free. DM me if you’d like them!

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

Home, gym, or wherever you find a little time.

BDYCTRL by @BoboZivkovic puts workouts and its AI coach Bolt in one app: https://t.co/I478hFxwSc

I gave Bolt a friendly welcome concept. Bobo, the animation files are yours free. DM me if you’d like them!

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

@RIMSHADPCS @RevenueCat @Claude Love to see it! Looks great!

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

RT @RIMSHADPCS: While waiting on bug fix update approval from appstore for @revenuecat #shipaton @claude and I decided to rework on my othe…

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

Day 9: Posting every day until 1,000 satisfied customers.

Well unfortunately today got a bit away from me but it’s all good. We march on tomorrow and will drive more traffic and interest.

If you would like to give it a try for free, comment below and I will dm you a promo code. 👇 https://t.co/reNWVk2ZZ1

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

Day 8: Posting every day until 1,000 satisfied customers.

Wasn't able to spend as much time on x today but were starting to build some momentum. Tomorrow we hit x hard and ramp up our exposure.

If you would like to give it a try for free, comment below and I will dm you a promo code. 👇 https://t.co/reNWVk2ZZ1

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

Day 7: Posting every day until 1,000 satisfied customers.

More of a infrastructure day then a marketing day. Lots of good stuff coming down the pike.

Get ready!

If you would like to give it a try for free, comment below and I will dm you a promo code. 👇

https://t.co/reNWVk2ZZ1

[Christopher Rizzo @rizzodev_]

@MSiekmoeller So cool! What a time to be alive and working.