Fountain 51
Testing AI Tools So You Don’t Have To
There is a lot of noise about AI tools, there are endless new headlines that makes it hard to know where to start. We wanted to test some practical businesses uses for some of the most intriguing AI tools we’ve come across.
This is a fun one. Over the past few weeks, we tested a handful of tools inside The Fountain to show you:
How we used them
The cost of each
What actually saves time
What worked
What isn’t there yet (in our opinion)
⏳️ Estimated Read Time: 6 minutes
Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.
Business Development
1. Gamma
Use case: Create Presentations, documents, and more through AI.
Budget: $10 USD per month
Gamma has a lot of hype around it. “It’s an AI-powered content platform that rapidly turns text prompts or imported content into interactive presentations, documents, and webpages, functioning as a modern, flexible alternative to tools like PowerPoint.”
Essentially it helps you make slide decks.
We used it to create a pitch deck for The Fountain for guest writers and sponsors.
Create a complete pitch deck in Gamma for The Fountain, a weekly newsletter written by Trent Kitsch and Ria Kitsch with support from guest writers, designed specifically to attract thoughtful sponsors and experienced guest contributors. The deck should be values-led, human, and confident with low ego, written in the same direct, honest voice as the Fountain welcome email (Inserted welcome email), with no hype, no marketing jargon, and no em dashes. It should clearly explain why The Fountain exists, the meaning behind the name, what readers can expect each week, who the audience is using real survey data consolidated into a single slide, and why sponsors and guest writers choose to be involved.
Include sections outlining recent interviews with Joe from Joe Fresh, Max Nicholson of Blossom Social, and Shannon Christensen of Mamas for Mamas, as well as sponsorship opportunities, pricing approach, guest writer criteria, how AI and tools are used thoughtfully, and clear logistics around cadence and collaboration. The overall feel should be calm, intentional, and trust-driven, with clean design, generous white space, simple charts, and the sense that this is an invitation into a meaningful platform rather than a sales presentation.
Assets we provided:
Welcome email
Logo
Links to recent issues
Result: View full presentation here:
Verdict: It worked okay. It took a while to really get the hang of it. I don’t think it’s good enough to just prompt once and never edit it, but it gives a good foundation for ideas.
2. Gemini
Use case: Research and writing
Budget: Free (we used the standard version)
We use Gemini to help expand and counter our ideas. Whether it’s asking it for a business model template, to look at ours, talk about my trading strategy or specific positions, Gemini is a very helpful tool. Much like Chat GPT and Claude.
Verdict: It’s quickly become our go-to LLM.
3. Lovable
Use case: Website creation. “Create Web Apps With AI — Lovable turns your idea into a full web app in Minutes with our no‑code AI builder.”
We wanted to test how easy and cheap it would be to build a baked out website.
Budget: Free trial. Full build would be about $50 - $100 USD.
I need to create a website for Trent and Ria Kitsch called the Fountain.
Reference their newsletter: https://readthefountain.com/. I want it to be closely related to Jesse Itzler's site: https://jesseitzler.com/. I want to highlight speaking (have an intake form), connect to my newsletter so people can see the blogs, I want to have a section for our courses, our dream cards and events. I've attached our logos and colors please use throughout. I also want a timeline “about page.” Here are some testimonials for the speaking series.
“Trent is a fabulous speaker, inspiring people of all ages, from all walks of life.” Jean Bird Director, Restore
“His storytelling was both authentic and compelling.” Aly Armstrong Executive Director, EO
“Trent’s warmth and energy were palpable, creating an immediate and genuine connection.” Aly Armstrong Executive Director, EO
Result:
Verdict:
This is really powerful. Something we would do a full build with it the future. The cost is reasonable.
It took a while to get a hang of how it responds to different prompts and verbiage. It didn’t get our branding, but something that could be fixed easily through more effort and time with the platform. First impressions are really good.
4. Replit
Use case: Internal operating system
Budget: $100
We wanted one place where context lived, instead of scattered tools and tabs. Something that can track and house:
Marketing
Content calendar
Accounting
Meeting trascripts
Notes
Process
What we built with a few prompts:
We connected our email software, creative software, meeting transcriber and more. with a few prompts. Very user friendly and exceptionally powerful.
I could see a lot of startups using this to build custom internal tools that can grow and adapt with their needs. Very fun experiment to play around with for a low cost.
5. Fireflies
Use case: Meeting summaries and transcripts
Budget: $40 per month
This one is simple. You sign up and fireflies joins every meeting on your calendar and takes descriptive notes, and then lets us ask questions afterward like:
It records, transcribes, summarizes, and lets us ask questions afterward like:
“What decisions did we make?”
“What were the action items?”
Most businesses have this now, and if you don’t we’d recommend it. A tool we use every week and is incredibly helpful. We use Fireflies for every internal meeting.
6. AI Agents (via n8n)
Use case: Automation
Budget: Free Trial
We built a simple automation that automatically labels emails based on rules we defined. Nothing flashy. The best part is they gave us that suggested, created the prompt, and then it created the automation. All we had to do was log into our google account. Took a total of 15 minutes and works well.
This was a fun experiment, it didn’t take long to understand and their templates were comprehensive. Got a ton of value from their free trial. I could see the potential for this tool while using it for simple automations.
A quick video on how to use N8N:
7. ChatGPT
Use case: Sketch images you see in Fountain issues
Budget: $20 per month
We use ChatGPT to generate the sketch-style images that accompany certain sections of the newsletter.
Prompt:
Create a horizontal, black-and-white, comic book–style sketch (no text) that captures the spirit of a founder’s journey. The scene shows {Insert COPY of the story}
Result:
8. Headshots with Nano Banana
Use case: Professional photos
Budget: Free
We tested AI-generated headshots.
Prompt:
A professional, high-resolution, profile photo, maintaining the exact facial structure, identity, and key features of the person in the input image. The subject is framed from the chest up, with ample headroom and negative space above their head, ensuring the top of their head is not cropped. The person looks directly at the camera, and the subject's body is also directly facing the camera. They are styled for a professional photo studio shoot, wearing a smart casual blazer. The background is a solid '# 141414' neutral studio. Shot from a high angle with bright and airy soft, diffused studio lighting, gently illuminating the face and creating a subtle catchlight in the eyes, conveying a sense of clarity. Captured on an 85mm f/1.8 lens with a shallow depth of field, exquisite focus on the eyes, and beautiful, soft bokeh. Observe crisp detail on the fabric texture of the blazer, individual strands of hair, and natural, realistic skin texture. The atmosphere exudes confidence, professionalism, and approachability. Clean and bright cinematic color grading with subtle warmth and balanced tones, ensuring a polished and contemporary feel
Result:
Verdict: Surprised with how good this headshot turned out. We got this prompt from instagram and decided to try it. Looks real, looks clean.
Most of what we tested is already “good enough” for the internet.
The difference is whether you know what you’re trying to build, and whether you can communicate it clearly.
Gamma helped us package a story without being a master in Power Point
Lovable showed how fast a decent front door can come together.
Replit allowed us to create a powerful internal OS under $100
Fireflies keeps us honest about what we said we’d do.
n8n open our eyes to how easy automation can be
ChatGPT helped us illustrate ideas that words alone can’t carry.
Nano Banana proved you don’t need a studio to look professional anymore.
None of these replace good judgment. But the right stack can buy you time, save you money, and give you momentum.
What tools are we missing? Reply to this email and let us know!
Happy Holidays from us - Trent, Ria & The Fountain Team - It has been an incredible year and creating something from nothing. Thanks for Jack for being a great producer and editor and coming up to me in the building at Ivey a year ago.
We wish everyone an incredible year and all your dreams coming true.
