Step 0
Before you start
A short welcome video, so you arrive knowing how the steps run and what to bring.
The plan at a glance
Three ways through the same ten steps.
Paper Day covers steps 1 to 5. The Build cohort picks up at step 6. Self-paced covers all ten, at your own speed.
1Define
2Paper
3Test
4Build
Step 0Before you start
Step 1Outcome first
Step 2Mind dump
Step 3Build it in paper
Step 4Break it, twice
Step 5Fix the paper
Step 6Write the plan
Step 7Pick your stack
Step 8Build one part at a time
Step 9Take money
Paper DayOne morning · in person or at home
Build cohortLive · bring your laptop
Self-pacedOnline · at your pace
Stage 1 · Steps 0 to 2
Define
Your idea in one sentence, what done looks like, and everything it could do, sorted on one page.
Paper Day · steps 1 and 2Self-paced
You leave with: the whole app on one page
Step 1
Outcome first
Write what done looks like in one line: someone can do one specific thing, without asking you how. Everything after this gets easier.
In the recipe example: done when someone can pick tonight's dinner from what's in the house in under two minutes.
Step 2
Mind dump
Get everything your app could do out of your head and onto paper. Then sort it, star what matters, and circle the one part you build first.
In the recipe example: pantry, recipes, a shopping list and the household who shares them, sorted on one page.
Stage 2 · Step 3
Paper
Every part of your app on paper, one sheet per part, starting where your users start.
Paper DaySelf-paced
You leave with: the product, before spending a dollar
Step 3
Build it in paper
Sketch every part of the app, one sheet per part, starting where your users start. Paper is fast, cheap and easy to throw away, which is the point.
In the recipe example: one sheet each for home, the pantry, a recipe and the shopping list.
Stage 3 · Steps 4 and 5
Test
Hand it to people who have never seen it, watch where they get lost, and fix the paper.
Paper DaySelf-paced
You leave with: a tested design, in photos
Step 4
Break it, twice
Two people who have never seen your app each try one task per part while you stay quiet and watch. The paper goes back to the start before every task.
In the recipe example: a tester tries to find something to cook with what's in the pantry.
Step 5
Fix the paper
Change what broke, after the tester leaves, then photograph the new version. Finding this on paper costs minutes, not weeks.
In the recipe example: if a tester can't find the pantry, the pantry moves.
Stage 4 · Steps 6 to 9
Build
Turn the paper into a plan an AI can follow, build it one part at a time, and set up how it takes money.
Build cohortSelf-paced
You leave with: a first version of your app, live
Step 6
Write the plan
Make a Project in Claude or ChatGPT and write four short documents in it: vision, rules, backlog and parking lot. This is what the AI builds from.
In the recipe example: the four documents for the recipe app, in one Project.
Step 7
Pick your stack
One page on what your app runs on, written in the same Project, so the AI and you agree on the tools before anything gets built.
Step 8
Build one part at a time
Build one part per loop, and end every loop by checking it against the "done when" line from your backlog. Home and your first part go live at a web address you can share.
In the recipe example: home and the pantry, built, checked and live.
Step 9
Take money (optional)
If your app will charge, set up how it takes money, with the questions to ask an accountant or attorney before you do.
Pick your way in
No payment yet. Pick one, leave your email, and you'll get the date, the place and your seat link before anyone else.
Two questions people ask here
Do I need to know how to code?
No. The course is built for people who don't. You think on paper, test with real people, and then give an AI tool a plan clear enough to build from.
Will my whole app be finished?
Not every part, and that's on purpose. Your whole app will be designed on paper, tested with real people and planned. Then you build a first working version with an AI tool: real software, live at a web address anyone can open on their phone, with the home screen and your first part working. You leave knowing how to build every other part the same way.