You have an idea and you know how to prompt an AI coding tool to build things. But where do you start? If you try to build everything at once, you end up with a tangled mess that breaks every time you change something. If you start with the wrong piece, you paint yourself into a corner three features from now.

This session teaches you how to decompose your product idea into buildable pieces and sequence them in the right order. You will learn to identify the core of your product, the one thing it has to do before anything else matters, and build outward from there.

By the end of two hours, you will have a sequenced build plan for your own project that you can execute one step at a time.

 

What You Will Learn

•      How to break down a product idea into individual features and components without overcomplicating it.

•      Which piece to build first. How to identify the core of your product and why starting there saves you from rebuilding later.

•      Dependency mapping. How to figure out which pieces depend on other pieces so you build in the right order.

•      Writing a build plan. How to turn your decomposition into a step-by-step plan you can hand to an AI coding tool one prompt at a time.

•      Scoping for reality. How to draw the line between “must have for v1” and “nice to have for later” so you actually ship something.

 

What You Will Walk Away With

•      A written build plan for your project, broken into sequenced steps.

•      A clear understanding of what to build first and why.

•      A framework for decomposing any future feature or product.

 

Prerequisites

This session assumes you have some experience building with AI coding tools. You will get the most out of it if:

•      You have attended the intro vibe coding workshop or have basic experience prompting an AI coding tool.

•      You have a project idea in mind, even a rough one.

 

What to Bring

•      A laptop with a browser (all tools we use are web-based)

•      A project you are working on or want to start

•      An idea for what you want to build (a rough description is fine)

 

Part of the From Prototype to Product Series

This is Session 1 of 10 in the Vibe Coding: From Prototype to Product workshop series. Each session stands alone, but the full series is designed as a progression from first build to finished product.

Full series ticket holders get access to all 10 sessions, weekly lab sessions for live troubleshooting, recordings of every session, and Founder Guide community access. Full series: $480 (10 sessions for the price of 8). Visit the series page for details.

Already have a series ticket? Enter your promo code at checkout to register for free.

About the Facilitator

Todd Bashor is the founder of Founder Guide and has 25 years of experience building and scaling software products at ServiceNow, FICO, and Intuit. He co-founded NewRocket in 2017 and led it through hypergrowth to acquisition in 2022. He now works with early-stage founders on product validation, traction, and go-to-market strategy.

Todd has been coding with AI for over two years and has mentored multiple non-technical founders through building their first MVPs with vibe coding tools.