The Growth Podcast

I put the 5 best AI prototyping tools to the test with Magic Patterns CEO Alex Danilowicz


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Today’s Episode

Every PM needs to master AI prototyping in 2025.

But which tool should you use? And how do you actually prototype effectively?

Alex Danilowicz built Magic Patterns to $1M in revenue in 6 months. Today, we’re putting his tool against the competition live.

We built the same prototype in 5 different tools and graded each one. Then Alex shared the exact workflow his customers use.

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Check out the conversation on Apple, Spotify and YouTube.

Brought to you by:

Vanta: Leading AI compliance platform

Testkube: Leading test orchestration platform

Kameleoon: Leading AI experimentation platform

Jira Product Discovery: Plan with purpose, ship with confidence

The AI PM Certificate: Get $550 off with ‘AAKASH550C7’

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Key Takeaways

1. Different tools for different jobs - Magic Patterns excels at visual prototyping, user research, and design system integration. V0/Replit/Bolt excel at full-stack functionality, real APIs, and backend. We tested 5 tools live—V0 won (3.7 GPA), Magic Patterns second (3.6 GPA).2. Define your end goal before opening any tool - Sharing with customers = need design system. Internal validation = skip brand context. Alex's mistake in our face-off? He jumped into building without setting up his preset and wasted time retrofitting ChatGPT's Agent Kit styling later.3. Set up your design system in 5 minutes - Magic Patterns Chrome extension grabs components from Storybook, production sites, or Figma. Click "Convert to Component" and it's available in every prompt. Converts HTML to Tailwind automatically. 5 minutes upfront saves hours later.4. Gather context before prompting - Don't start with blank prompts. Common sources: Jira tickets, PRDs, competitor screenshots, customer feedback. Power users use ChatGPT/Claude to write their Magic Patterns prompts first.5. Use select mode for iterations - Vague prompts waste time. Bad: "Make it better." Good: "Move toast to top-left and make it green." Always click the exact element you want to change. The AI can't read your mind.6. The new product development workflow - Old: Write PRD → Align stakeholders → Build → Pray. New: Build prototype (30 min) → Share link → Test with customers → Iterate → Write PRD with learnings → Build validated solution. Cuts 15+ meetings down to 1.7. AI prototyping cuts failure rates in half - 80% of features don't hit their metrics. You're building blind. With prototypes, you validate: usability, viability, value, drop-offs, corner cases. Before: only test biggest features. Now: test every feature.8. Break out of doom loops - Pattern to avoid: "Doesn't work" repeated 10 times. Repeating the same prompt makes it worse. Use Magic Patterns' /debug command or restart with clearer prompt. Read the AI's output—it's having a conversation.9. Master the 4-step workflow - Step 0: Define end goal. Step 1: Set up design system (if needed). Step 2: Gather context (PRDs, screenshots). Step 3: Iterate specifically with select mode. This workflow helped Magic Patterns hit $1M revenue in 6 months.10. Know when to use each tool - Magic Patterns finished first in speed with best iteration quality. Replit prompted for OpenAI key (more functionality). Use Magic Patterns for: user validation, testing interactions. Use V0/Replit for: backend, real APIs, deployable prototypes.

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Where to Find Alex Danilowicz

* LinkedIn

* Twitter/X

* Website

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Related Content

Podcasts:

* Cursor Tutorial

* Windsurf Tutorial

* AI Prototyping Tutorial

Newsletters:

* AI Agents: The Ultimate Guide for PMs

* Ultimate Guide to AI Prototyping Tools

* How to Land a $300K+ AI Product Manager Job

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P.S. More than 85% of you aren’t subscribed yet. If you can subscribe on YouTube, follow on Apple & Spotify, my commitment to you is that we’ll continue making this content better.

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If you want to advertise, email productgrowthppp at gmail.



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The Growth PodcastBy Aakash Gupta

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