I launched a screenshot editor and gave away $3K in AI credits

I recently launched https://www.picbolt.co, a minimal, fast screenshot editor with built-in AI tools (e.g. captioning, cleanup, annotations).

To kickstart usage, I ran an experiment: I connected my own API key with ~$3,000 of AI credits (normally gated for paid users), so early visitors could try the AI tools without api key.

Results in the first 24 hours:

~1500 visitors (boosted by a mention in the Superhuman AI newsletter)

10+ paying users

70+ free users

Also launched on Product Hunt to test how it performs with zero ads

A few takeaways:

Removing friction (no login/paywall) drastically increased usage

Offering real value first made upselling easier

API-based AI credit pooling can be a useful early growth lever (though risky)

Niche tools with excellent UX still resonate if they solve a boring problem well

Stack: React, Tailwind, Vercel, OpenAI API Would love feedback or thoughts. You can try the tool here: https://www.picbolt.co