Rork, a mobile app builder that enables users with limited technical backgrounds to create apps with a simple text prompt, has secured a $2.8 million seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz's new Speedrun program. This remarkable feat is a testament to the power of social media, as the founders, Levan Kvirkvelia and Daniel Dhawan, went from being broke and in debt to achieving this milestone in just five days, all thanks to a viral tweet.

The journey of Rork's founders is a rags-to-riches story. Kvirkvelia and Dhawan, both in their mid-20s, had spent their life savings and accumulated $15,000 in debt on credit cards each. Dhawan was even sleeping on a mattress at a friend's apartment. However, their fortunes changed when they launched Rork with a tweet on February 12. Although the initial response was lukewarm, it wasn't until February 24, when a competing product from Bolt was tweeted about, that Rork's fate took a dramatic turn.

Matt Shumer, the co-founder and CEO of OthersideAI, tweeted about Rork, stating that it was better than Bolt. His post, which included a video of Rork, went viral, with over 1 million views. This sudden surge in interest led to a massive influx of users, but the founders were struggling to keep up, having spent their own money to fund the app's development. Shumer's tweet, however, caught the attention of investors, including Austen Allred, who invested $100,000 within 15 minutes of the post.

By the end of the day, Founder's Inc. and Hustle Fund's Elizabeth Yin had also committed to investing, with warm intros to other investors and angels pouring in. This rapid influx of capital totaled $350,000, a staggering amount considering the founders' initial struggles. The tweet's impact was so significant that it led to a meeting with Andrew Chen, the general partner running Andreessen Horowitz's Speedrun program, which ultimately resulted in the $2.8 million seed round.

Rork's success is not just a result of the viral tweet; it's also a testament to the founders' perseverance and adaptability. Kvirkvelia and Dhawan had previously developed hit mobile apps as teenagers and had worked on a predecessor to Rork, a Cursor-like vibe coder geared toward non-technical users. However, they had to pivot when a competitor, Lovable, launched and went viral. The founders then decided to focus on building a mobile app builder, recognizing the complexity of native mobile app development.

The Speedrun program, which Rork will be a part of, is a 12-week mentorship program for early-stage startups. It includes $5 million worth of credits from partners like AWS, Google Cloud, OpenAI, Microsoft, Nvidia, Stripe, Deel, and others, as well as an investment of up to $1 million. Andrew Chen, the general partner running the program, praised the Rork founders, stating that they are "highly technical polymaths who deeply understand mobile development and distribution, which has allowed them to build a fantastic platform quickly."

Today, Rork has achieved $550,000 in annual recurring revenue (ARR) just two months after Shumer's viral tweet. The founders have gone from living on the edge of financial disaster to securing a significant seed round and building a successful startup. Their story serves as a reminder of the power of social media, perseverance, and innovation in the tech industry.