Leading Product When You’re Not Technical: Turning AI Ideas Into MVPs
AI makes it easier than ever to build features.
But most early startups don’t fail because they couldn’t build.
They fail because they built too much of the wrong thing.
For non-technical founders, the real challenge isn’t writing code.
It’s leading product decisions: deciding what to build, what to delay, and what to kill.
This session is designed for founders who have an AI prototype, concept, or early demo and want to turn it into a focused MVP without over-engineering the product.
If you’re a non-technical founder who has been:
experimenting with AI tools or prototypes
unsure what should actually go into the MVP
overwhelmed by feature ideas and scope creep
struggling to prioritise features and workflows
worried about building the wrong thing first
…this session will give you practical product frameworks to stay lean and focused.
What You’ll Learn:
In this 60-minute session you’ll learn how to lead product decisions for an AI startup, even if you’re not technical.
We’ll cover:
how to turn a prototype or AI demo into a focused MVP
the One Workflow Rule most early products should follow
how to prioritise features without letting scope creep explode
how to install shipping rules so your product actually launches
how to define kill rules to remove features that don’t matter
which metrics actually matter at the MVP stage
By the end of the session, you’ll walk away with clear product principles you can apply immediately to keep your MVP lean, focused, and moving forward.
Who This Is For:
This session is designed for:
non-technical founders building AI, software, or automation products
founders with a prototype or early concept moving toward MVP
founders who want to lead product decisions without becoming engineers
Hosted by - Matt Ainsworth
Product, marketing and communication specialist.
For over 10 years across the startup ecosystems of Japan and Australia, Matt has worked closely with founders navigating across a range of growth stages.
With a background in product, marketing, sales and communications - he focuses on helping non-technical founders move from feeling dependent on technical partners to confidently leading their build with structure and clarity.
Joined by - Josh Easten
Tech Product Specialist
Josh Easten is a senior tech Product Manager with 10+ years’ experience building and scaling digital products across SaaS and online platforms in finance, EdTech, streaming entertainment, and logistics.
Currently based in Australia, with experience across Japan and China, he has led product vision and growth strategy, helped scale platforms to 1M+ monthly active users, and driven improvements in monetisation and user experience while leading cross-functional agile teams.
Josh brings a practical operator’s lens to judging, with a focus on product-market fit, customer insight, and scalable execution.
What to Expect:
60-minute practical session
clear product frameworks you can apply immediately
live Q&A with founders building right now
Downloadable worksheet to help you take action immediately
This is a practical working session designed to help founders make better product decisions before spending serious development money.
AI can generate features. Product leadership decides which ones matter.
If you missed our last 2 sessions you can catch up here:
How to Build Your MVP for $10k (Not $150k)
Do You Still Need a Developer to Build Your MVP?
Here's what people had to say about our last sessions:
"I enjoyed it 😀 Especially, because I got to know what the right MVP looks like (I even got some screenshots). I figured everyone has similar questions and that was nice to know too ..."
"thank you so much for last nights session.. It was super helpful for me, who is in early stages... But you and Kale were great and certainly motivating! Thank you!"
"Great session yesterday with Kale on building MVPs with AI and managing the process of getting devs on board."
Join us and learn how to turn your AI idea into a focused MVP.