Module 1, Lesson 1: What You'll Need

Where We Are in the Course

This is the very beginning — Module 1, Lesson 1. Welcome. Glad you're here.

There are no prerequisites to reference yet. We're starting from scratch. But before we dive into building anything, I want to get us on the same page about who this course is for, what you should already know, and what tools you're going to need. Getting this stuff sorted now saves a lot of frustration later.

Before We Start

There's nothing from a previous lesson to have under your belt — this is lesson one. But there is assumed knowledge coming in, and I want to be upfront about that.

Tools / setup you'll need for this lesson:

• No tools required yet — this lesson is orientation. Tool setup starts here and gets used from Lesson 2 onward.

By the end of this lesson, you'll:

• Know exactly who this course is (and isn't) for
• Understand what background knowledge I'm assuming you already have
• Have a clear list of tools to install before we move forward
• Have a mental map of the entire process we're going to follow together

About This Lesson

Duration: ~8 minutes video
Skill Level: Beginner
What You'll Build: Nothing yet — this is setup and orientation

This is the "before we start" lesson. I'm laying out who I built this for, what I expect you to know coming in, and what tools you need on your machine before the real work begins. If you skip this and jump ahead, that's your call — but don't say I didn't warn you when something doesn't make sense later.

Watch the Lesson

What We're Covering

Here's what I'm walking you through in this lesson:

• Who this course is for — I'm making assumptions about you, and I'd rather be honest about them upfront
• What you should already know — the baseline knowledge I need you to have so we can skip the basics
• The tools you need — exactly what to install and why
• The process we're going to follow — a bird's-eye view of everything from idea to shipped product

1. Let's Set the Scene (~0:00)

This course is over-the-shoulder style. That means I'm going to be building a real product throughout, and you're going to be right there with me. You can follow along and build the same thing I'm building, or bring your own idea and use my process to build that. Either works. Honestly, bringing your own problem to solve is probably the best way to get real value from this.

But before we get anywhere near code, I want to make some things clear about what kind of course this is — and what it isn't.

2. Who Is This For?

2.1 The Person I'm Building This For

I'm imagining you're probably a solo founder. Maybe you're technical, maybe you're a technical co-founder working alongside someone non-technical. Maybe you're just someone with a side project you want to turn into something real. This is for you.

What I'm not imagining is that you're completely new to this. This isn't a "I've never written a line of code in my life" course. It's also not a "just throw prompts at AI and watch a product appear" course. There are plenty of those out there. This one is different — we're going to go through some fundamentals that most people skip, and those fundamentals are what actually get you to something you can sell.

2.2 What I'm Assuming You Already Know

Here's what I need you to have coming in:

Basic coding fundamentals. You can read and write some HTML, some CSS, and at least a little JavaScript. You don't need to be a former software engineer. But "I don't know what coding is" is too far back for where we're starting.

Git and GitHub flow. You've used Git before. You know roughly how commits, pushes, and repos work. We're going to be using it heavily throughout this course, so if you're rusty, spend a couple of hours getting the basics back before we go further.

Prompting with an AI assistant. You've used Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, or something similar. You know how to write a prompt. You don't need to be an expert — just not a complete beginner.

Basic understanding of the software development cycle. When I say "sprint," you know what that means. You understand that some things are front-end and some things are back-end. You have a rough sense of what an API is and how apps are generally structured. Again, not deep expertise — just enough to follow along without getting lost on the terminology.

3. The Tools You'll Need (~4:41)

Here's exactly what you need to have installed and ready before we go any further.

Claude Pro — Desktop App

Get the desktop version, not the web version. We're going to be using Claude heavily for research, documentation, and user journey mapping. The desktop app is what makes the MCP integrations work — and MCP is how Claude talks to your other tools.

If you're not on Pro, I'd say spend the money. We're going to be using it a lot throughout this course and it's worth it.

Figma — Desktop App

The free version is fine. We're going to be using Figma for user flow diagrams — not full UI design. The reason I need the desktop version (not the browser version) is that the Figma MCP only works with the local desktop install. More on that when we get there.

YouTrack — Free Tier

This is our project management tool. I chose YouTrack because the free tier is genuinely generous and it supports MCP, which is how we'll be automating issue creation later in the course. If you want to use Linear instead, that also supports MCP and the principles are the same — but I'll be demonstrating everything in YouTrack, so if you want to follow along exactly, use that.

Code Editor — WebStorm or VS Code

I use WebStorm from JetBrains. I love it — it's my tool of choice and I'll be running Claude Code inside the WebStorm terminal throughout the build phase. That said, if you're already comfortable in VS Code, stick with it. A lot of what I show will transfer over. Where it doesn't, I'll try to flag it.

GitHub

You need a GitHub account. It's free. This is our central hub — where all our code lives and where Claude will be pushing work as we go. If you don't have one, go set it up now.

4. The Process We're Going to Follow (~6:51)

Here's the big picture — the full process we're going to work through together. I want you to see this now so nothing feels like it comes out of nowhere later.

1. Market Research — Start with an idea and validate it properly before touching a single line of code
2. Documentation — Turn the research into foundational product documents (PRD, GTM, and more)
3. User Journey Mapping — Design the full onboarding flow visually before writing specs
4. Feature Requirements — Write structured, testable requirements that live inside your codebase
5. Project Planning — Translate the specs into dev-ready issues on your YouTrack board
6. Build — Finally, actually write the code — issue by issue, with Claude Code doing the heavy lifting
7. Sales & Marketing — How to actually get people to use what you've built

Most people skip straight to step 6. Some skip to step 4. I've seen people waste weeks going down dead ends because they started coding before they knew if anyone wanted the thing. We're not doing that.

5. Try It Yourself

Before Moving On: Install Your Tools

What to do: Go through the tools list above and install everything that isn't already on your machine.

• Claude Pro — Desktop app downloaded and signed in
• Figma — Desktop app installed (free tier is fine)
• YouTrack — Account created, free tier set up
• Code editor — WebStorm or VS Code installed and ready
• GitHub — Account created, Git installed locally

How you'll know it's working: You can open all five tools without hitting a paywall or setup screen.

6. You Should Be Able to Answer These Now

• I know what background knowledge this course assumes I have
• I have all five tools installed and ready
• I can describe the 7-step process we're going to follow
• I understand why this course starts with research instead of code

The Short Version

Here's what I want you to walk away with:

• This isn't a vibe coding course. We're going to do this properly — research first, code last.
• You need some basics coming in. HTML/CSS/JS fundamentals, Git, prompting, and a rough understanding of how software gets built.
• Five tools to install: Claude Pro (desktop), Figma (desktop), YouTrack, WebStorm or VS Code, and GitHub.
• Seven steps, in order. Research → Docs → User journey → Specs → Planning → Build → Market. We follow the chain.

Quick Reference

Tools List

The 7-Step Process

1. Market Research
2. Documentation (PRD, GTM, etc.)
3. User Journey Mapping
4. Feature Requirements + RICE Scoring
5. Project Planning in YouTrack
6. Build (issue by issue with Claude Code)
7. Sales & Marketing

Resources

Catch Up on the Basics

• Git Handbook — GitHub's own intro, takes about an hour
• Anthropic Prompt Engineering Guide — Good foundation for prompting Claude effectively
• MDN Web Docs — Getting Started with the Web — HTML/CSS/JS basics if you need a refresher

Tools

• Claude — Get Claude Pro, then download the desktop app
• Figma Desktop — Make sure you download the desktop version, not just use the browser
• YouTrack — Free tier available
• WebStorm — Free tier available
• GitHub — Free

Questions I Get Asked

Q: Do I really need WebStorm, or can I use VS Code?

VS Code works. I use WebStorm because it's what I know and love. The JetBrains MCP integration is tighter in my workflow, and some things I show during the build phase are specific to WebStorm. If you want to follow along exactly, use WebStorm. If you're already deep in VS Code, you'll be able to adapt most of it.

Q: Can I use a different project management tool instead of YouTrack?

Yes, as long as it supports MCP. Linear is a good alternative. The concepts are the same — Epics, Stories, acceptance criteria, the lot. I'll be demoing in YouTrack, so the UI will look different, but the principles transfer.

Q: I'm not very strong on JavaScript — am I going to struggle?

Honestly, as long as you can read it and have a rough sense of what's happening, you'll be okay. Claude Code will be writing most of the code. What I need from you is the ability to look at what Claude produces and have a gut feeling for whether something looks wrong. You don't need to be able to write it from scratch.

Q: How do I know I'm ready for the next lesson?

Your tools are installed and your checklist is ticked. That's it. Let's move.

💬 Stuck? Come Talk to Us

Glossary

MCP (Model Context Protocol): The protocol that lets Claude talk to external tools — Figma, YouTrack, your code editor, and more. We'll cover this properly when we get to it. For now, just know it's why the desktop version of Claude matters. (we go deeper on this starting in Module 2)

PRD (Product Requirements Document): A document that defines what the product is, who it's for, and what it needs to do. One of the foundational docs we'll generate in Module 2. (first built in Module 2, Lesson 2)

GTM (Go-to-Market Document): A document that defines how the product will be positioned and launched. Also generated in Module 2. (first built in Module 2, Lesson 2)

RICE Scoring: A prioritisation framework — Reach, Impact, Confidence, Effort. We use it to rank features objectively rather than going with gut feel. (covered in Module 3)

Sprint: A fixed time period (usually 1–2 weeks) during which a specific set of work gets done. Standard Agile terminology. (used throughout Module 3 and Module 4)