Hey everyone — long time no see

The Big Idea

I thought the website would be simple. Turns out… not so much.

The First Roadblock

Eventually I found a local dev, paid a deposit, and we got started. He completed the home page — then told me the project was way too big for him to handle alone. That was the first big hit.

Trying to Find a Dev Team
So I spent two weeks researching dev teams. I emailed four different companies. After four weeks, only one replied.

We had a web meeting, they seemed good, and then they quoted me $100k+ to build the platform. They said they’d send me info about using an AI website builder so I could get a head start and then they’d help after that.

They never emailed me again.

Trying to Build It Myself

Since then, I tried using an AI website builder — but I don’t have the funds to pay for it. The free version only lets you do 2–3 actions per day for 7 days, then you have to wait until the next month.

After the first week I didn’t want to lose momentum, so I exported the code into my own code editor (even though I can’t code at all) and tried to continue using AI. That… didn’t go well either.

Where I’m At Now

Do I give up

Do I try to find more funds and take what I’ve built back to my local dev

Or do I aim higher and somehow find the $100k to get a full team to build it properly

I’m honestly stuck between all three options.

****Any Ideas?****
If you’ve got thoughts, advice, or even a different angle I haven’t considered, I’d really appreciate it. I’m not giving up on the idea — I just need to figure out the smartest next step.

Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for any feedback.