Claude Code for Founders

Ship an AI product without waiting to become an engineer.

This repo is a practical course for non-technical founders who want to move from idea to working AI product using AI coding tools, plain-language specs, lightweight evals, and founder-sized operating systems. It is not a coding textbook. It is a field guide for getting useful software live fast without losing quality or control.

Who this is for

• Non-technical founders building their first AI product
• Solo operators and very small teams
• Product-minded builders who can define user problems clearly but need help turning that into shipped software

Start here

1. Read module-01-founder-build-os.md and set up your operating system before you touch scope.
2. Use module-02-idea-to-mvp.md to cut the product to the smallest believable wedge.
3. Do not skip module-03-quality-evals-safety.md. AI products fail on trust before they fail on features.
4. Use module-04-production-hardening.md when you have pilot users or live traffic.
5. Use module-05-growth-and-economics.md once usage is real and pricing, margin, or hiring questions start showing up.

Repo structure

• README.md — orientation, order of modules, and usage notes
• module-01-founder-build-os.md — tool stack, brief, and operating rhythm
• module-02-idea-to-mvp.md — scoping, flow design, and five-day sprint
• module-03-quality-evals-safety.md — golden datasets, rubrics, and release gates
• module-04-production-hardening.md — telemetry, flags, rollback, incident response
• module-05-growth-and-economics.md — pricing, unit economics, growth loops, and scale decisions

How to use this repo

• Read one module at a time and create the listed artifacts before moving on.
• Keep every artifact in your real product workspace. Do not treat the exercises like homework.
• Use AI tools as collaborators, not replacements for product judgment.
• Update your docs after every real user session, bug, or launch decision.

Contributing guidelines

• Open issues only for gaps found through real founder usage.
• Prefer concrete additions: templates, checklists, examples, or clearer founder language.
• Keep advice tool-agnostic where possible and explain jargon in plain English.
• Do not add advanced engineering patterns unless a first-time founder can apply them directly.

What makes this different

• It assumes you are shipping with AI coding tools right now, not studying for a future moment.
• It treats evals, safety, and incident readiness as founder responsibilities, not enterprise extras.
• It ties product advice to margin, pricing, and team decisions so the repo stays grounded in business reality.

Suggested publishing path

Publish Module 1 first and gather founder feedback on the setup steps. Then release one module per week with a short build log, one real example, and one mistake you learned from. The repo gets stronger when it is clearly connected to real products, not abstract advice.