My AI powered experiment in building a project profitable calculator

I have a confession to make. I’ve never liked coding.

In fact, among my peers, I’m known as the only non-tech guy in my organization. While my team thrives on APIs, frameworks, and debugging sessions, I’ve always been more interested in strategy, execution, and making projects profitable.

But then, AI came along. And let me tell you, it has changed the game for people like me

The Problem That Sparked an Idea

It all started with a simple thought:

Freelancers and small business owners struggle to figure out how much to quote for their services while ensuring profitability.

I knew Excel could handle it, but let’s be honest, who enjoys wrestling with formulas when a sleek, easy-to-use app could do the job?

Since our mission at Astravue is to help professional services companies make their projects profitable, this calculator felt like the perfect fit.

But there was one problem, my development team was swamped with core tasks, and I didn’t want to pull them away.

That’s when I turned to AI.

My First Attempt? A Glorious Failure.

Fueled by optimism (and maybe a little overconfidence), I built the first version last week. It looked promising. Clean UI. Seemed functional.

Until it wasn’t.

A fundamental miscalculation made the entire thing useless. It was one of those facepalm moments. I could have given up. Instead, I did what every entrepreneur does—I started over.

The Night It All Came Together

Yesterday(Mar 27,2025), at exactly 7:00 PM, I sat down with one mission: Build a fully functional Project Profitability Calculator without writing a single line of code myself.

I prompted. I fine-tuned. I debugged. I learned.

By 11:45 PM, after hours of trial and error, the calculator was ready. And this time, it worked.

It’s a simple yet powerful tool designed to help project managers, business owners, and freelancers quote smarter, ensuring they never undervalue their work and always keep project profitability in focus.

AI: The Ultimate Enabler, Not a Replacement

Here’s my biggest takeaway from this experience:

AI is not here to replace us. it’s here to “Empower” us.

It’s not about whether businesses should integrate AI; it’s about how they should. Used wisely, AI can automate the tedious, accelerate innovation, and help non-tech people (like me!) turn ideas into reality.

So, if you’re still skeptical, here’s my advice: Don’t resist it. Embrace it. Experiment with it. See where it takes you.

And in the meantime, feel free to challenge the math, test the tool, or suggest improvements. Feedback is always welcome. After all, project profitability isn’t a one-time effort—it’s a continuous process.

Let’s build smarter. 🚀

Check this prototype calculator. And, watch for more updates in the upcoming weeks.

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