How This Ex-Trader Built a $15K/Month App Portfolio Using Cursor AI

TL;DR: Key Takeaways

David Attias spent 7 years designing algorithmic trading systems for banks. In 2025, he watched three teenagers build a $200K/month app (QUITTR) that was objectively terrible — and thought, "If they can do it, I can do better." One year later, he's earning $15,000/month from a portfolio of mobile apps, built almost entirely with Cursor AI and spending just $200/month on AI tools.

Core takeaway: In 2026, the bottleneck isn't building — it's distribution. David's genius wasn't in code (he used Cursor to vibe code everything). It was in his influencer equity model: give big creators a stake in your app instead of paying per post, and suddenly they have skin in the game.

Who Is David Attias?

David graduated from a computer science school in Paris 13 years ago. He started his career at Criteo as a technical account manager, working across London, Barcelona, and New York. But his real education came from the next seven years: designing trading algorithms for banks and professional traders.

Algorithmic trading teaches you one thing: precision matters, but speed matters more. A strategy that's 80% right today beats one that's 100% right next month. David carried this mindset into indie hacking.