Design and prototype with AI
Go from idea to a clickable prototype without a designer.
3 steps to get you moving, each with a resource worth your time and more waiting underneath
Think of this as a friendly starting line, not the last word. Each step gives you the gist, then a resource worth your time from founders who've actually done it. There's always more underneath, more questions and more resources, whenever you feel like digging in.
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1
Design & PrototypingWhy prototype with AI before hiring a designer?
The gist Because a working prototype beats a pitch deck and a job posting: in an afternoon you can put a clickable version of your idea in front of real users, sharpen your spec, and find out what is worth building before spending a rupee on salaries. A quarter of recent YC batches ship codebases that are mostly AI-generated, and product leaders now treat prompt-built prototypes as the new PRD. A designer is still worth hiring, but later, when you have signal and need craft and consistency, not to produce your first draft.
Microsoft CPO: If you aren't prototyping with AI, you're doing it wrong (Aparna Chennapragada) Lenny's Podcast Microsoft's product chief makes the sharpest case yet that prompt-built prototypes have replaced specs. -
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Vibe CodingWhy can non-technical founders now build software with AI?
The gist Coding models crossed a quality threshold in late 2024, and a wave of tools (Lovable, Replit, Bolt, Cursor) now turn plain-English descriptions into working apps. Andrej Karpathy named the shift 'vibe coding' in February 2025, and it became Collins Dictionary's Word of the Year within nine months. The practical upshot: describing what you want is now enough to get a real, testable product, which is why most users of platforms like Replit and Emergent have never written a line of code.
Karpathy's original 'vibe coding' post Andrej Karpathy The founding document of the whole movement, in his own words. -
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AI in Your ProductShould my startup add AI features, and which ones actually matter to users?
The gist Users do not care that a feature uses AI; they care whether it removes a slow, painful, judgment-heavy step from their day. Start from a specific friction point in your existing workflow, not from the technology, and be honest about whether AI is a checkbox for investors or a real 10x on time saved. The strongest AI features sell the finished work (a resolved ticket, a drafted document), not a fancier tool.
"Should we add AI?" Here is how to decide Vasil (Founder Prompts) A clear decision framework for the exact moment every founder faces: bolt on AI, ignore it, or rethink the product.
