How to create a clickable prototype without a backend

This episode is for complete beginners. I walk you through how to build your very first coding project using AI tools—even if you’ve never written a line of code. Together, we’ll create a personal project hub that automatically generates documentation and lets you build interactive prototypes. I’ll show you the process step by step—from setting up a repository, to creating AI agents that help with specific tasks, to deploying a functional web app locally.

What you’ll learn:

1. How to set up a simple Next.js application from scratch using Cursor’s AI agent capabilities

2. My workflow for creating AI agents that generate consistent documentation (like PRDs in Markdown format)

3. How to build and display clickable prototypes without worrying about complex backend functionality

4. The basics of using GitHub to track changes and manage your code repository as a non-technical person

5. Why starting with a personal project hub is the best way to ease into AI-assisted coding

6. My favorite practical tips for iterating on designs and functionality using AI tools—without needing deep technical expertise

—

Brought to you by:

ChatPRD—An AI copilot for PMs and their teams

—

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Introduction

(05:11) Starting with a requirements document in ChatPRD

(08:22) Attempting to use v0 for initial prototyping

(15:02) Pivoting to Cursor for initial prototyping

(20:20) Running the app locally and reviewing the initial version

(24:07) Setting up GitHub for version control

(27:09) Creating an AI agent for writing PRDs

(31:04) Using the agent to create a sample PRD

(35:00) Building a prototype based on the PRD

(37:00) Testing and improving the prototype

(40:00) Adding documentation and improving the design

(43:20) Recap of the complete workflow

—

Tools referenced:

• Cursor: https://cursor.com/

• ChatPRD: https://www.chatprd.ai/

• v0: https://v0.dev/

• GitHub Desktop: https://desktop.github.com/

• Next.js: https://nextjs.org/

• Tailwind CSS: https://tailwindcss.com/

—

Other references:

• Lovable: https://lovable.ai/

• Bolt: https://bolt.new/

• Claude Code: https://www.claude.com/product/claude-code

• Markdown: https://www.markdownguide.org/

• GitHub: https://github.com/

—

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email jordan@penname.co.