Roy Lee's product before Cluely: screenshot the question, AI solves it instantly, invisible on a screen share. He blew it up with a controversy script — filming himself cheating his way to an Amazon offer, getting expelled from Columbia, and live-tweeting every step — which converted straight into a $5M round on 200-300M views.
Fewer bars = easier, cheaper, or faster for an AI-assisted solo builder. Editorial judgments based on the case details.
Interview Coder was Roy Lee's product before Cluely (with co-founder Neil, two guys in a dorm): screenshot a technical interview question → AI solves it → the code is fed to you, wrapped in a desktop shell that's invisible on a screen share, purpose-built to help software engineers cheat on LeetCode-style interviews. The paid version launched February 1 and “blew up,” with 200-300M views across the internet (no MRR disclosed); roughly 99% of it was written with AI. Roy freely admits similar LeetCode solvers already existed with rougher UX — “you don't need a genius, you need someone willing to market it.”
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Create free accountEmail code only. No password.Data credibility: Founder Roy Lee's own account: the paid version launched February 1 and “blew up” after 200-300M views across the internet, but he never gave a concrete revenue number; the heat converted directly into a $5M round. Both revenue and view counts are self-reported and unverified ⚠️. All revenue figures are founder-reported or estimated by the video creator — unaudited.