As promised yesterday, the second one of the week.
Yesterday I told you about SIMPLE and asked what's sitting in your drawer. The fair question back is: "OK, but how would I even start?" That's what this email is about. Attached is a detailed guide you can keep; below is the short version.
So you want to build something. Where do you start?
Not with tools, and not with code. You start by defining the shape of the thing you want. Once you know the shape, every decision after it gets easier, and Claude can do most of the heavy lifting.
And to find the shape, you first answer a few questions about what you want. The same ones a software studio would ask you before building anything:
1. What problem does it solve, and for whom?
2. What goes in? Files, photos, things you type, data from another service.
3. Does it need to remember anything between uses?
4. Who uses it besides you?
5. Where will you use it: desk, phone, or both?
6. Does it work while your computer is off?
7. Does it connect to tools you already use?
8. How bad is it if it breaks or leaks?
9. What can it cost per month?
10. Does it have to look good, or just work?
Answer them in plain words, in a note. You can do it with Claude's help. That note becomes your brief.
Your answers point to one of five shapes
Almost anything you'd build is mostly one of these. Sometimes it's a combination of two, but one will dominate:
1 · Local tool. Runs on your own computer, works on your own files. No internet, no login, no monthly bill. Renaming 500 photos, turning a folder of invoices into one spreadsheet.
2 · Web app. Opens from a link, on any device, for the people you choose. A shared tracker, a client portal, a booking page. The right answer most of the time.
3 · Phone app. The App Store kind, and the most work. You only need it when the phone itself is the point: buzzing your pocket, Bluetooth, background location.
4 · Background service. No screen at all. It wakes up on a schedule, does one job, and reports to your inbox. A morning summary, a watcher that emails you when something changes.
5 · Hardware. Software that touches the physical world through a small computer, like a sensor that texts you or a screen in the kitchen. For when the information isn't online.
When two shapes fit, take the simpler one.
One last habit that protects you
Before Claude makes any choice that touches cost, privacy, or your data, have it explain the options to you in plain English and recommend one. And have it explain your own decision back to you, so you're sure you chose what you think you chose. The guide includes the exact instruction to paste in, so this happens on its own.
The guide, for when you sit down to build
The attached cheat sheet is the version you keep: the ten questions with examples, each shape in detail with the exact phrase to open the conversation in Claude Code, the eight words your AI will use explained simply, and the three small files that keep you in charge of the project. Print it or keep it open the first time you sit down to build.
And if you'd rather look at your idea with me first, book a call and we'll scope it together: cal.com/santiago-restrepo/15min.
Santiago