The Non-Technical Builder's Playbook

Key Takeaways

1. 1Using AI means re-explaining what you want every time and losing the work when you close the tab. Building with AI means creating tools that persist, produce consistent results, and other people can use, and the cost to start is $0.
2. 2You do not need to learn to code. You need to learn to describe your work as a workflow: what goes in, what comes out, what are the rules, and who else will use it. Plain English is the only language required.
3. 3Two tools cover everything: Claude Code (inside VS Code) for tools that process data and run automatically, and Google AI Studio for visual apps you can build and share in under an hour, with zero installation.
4. 4Six profession-specific builder stories show exactly what to build: a physiotherapist's clinical note generator, a lawyer's contract reviewer, an HR onboarding engine, an artist's client brief system, an admin's meeting intelligence tool, and a sales leader's weekly report automation.
5. 5The 30-Day Builder Sprint takes you from setup to shipping: Week 1 install and observe, Week 2 build your first personal tool, Week 3 share and automate, Week 4 multiply and teach someone else.
6. 6Start read-only (tools that read data and produce reports), keep scope tight (one tool, one job), test with sample data first, and never paste passwords or secrets into AI. These are safety guardrails that let non-technical builders move fast without breaking things.