Navigating the Shift to Independent Consulting

Ever had a killer product idea… but no clue how to actually build it? You’re not alone.

But here’s the good news: You don’t need to know how to code.

Andy Carroll, a 15-year PM veteran (and vibe coding wizard), shows you exactly how.

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Timestamps:Preview – 00:00:00

What Is Vibe Coding? – 00:01:57

Vibe Coding Tutorial Begins – 00:05:18

Ad – 00:10:32

Ad – 00:11:20

Building a Full-Stack Mobile App – 00:12:16

Creating the AI Sports Reporter – 00:18:12

Developing AI Tools Live – 00:21:22

Ad – 00:30:33

AI Sports Reporter (Part 2) – 00:31:25

Reviewing the Learning Page – 00:34:18

Using Prompts to Generate a Brand Logo – 00:42:04

Designing an Infographic – 00:46:49

Why Prompt Quality Is Everything – 00:50:21 Recap of the Live Build Session – 00:53:59

How PMs Should Use These Tools – 00:58:34

The Future of Vibe Coding for PMs – 01:00:15

What Is Aisle Partners? – 01:04:08

Should PMs Consult, Stay Full-Time, or Build Their Own Product? – 01:07:24

Closing Notes – 01:11:20

Key Takeaways

Vibe coding puts product creation in non-technical hands. Even after 15 years as a PM, Andy can't write code from scratch. But AI tools like Windsurf and Lovable made it possible for him to collaborate with AI to build real products without coding skills.

Front-load your planning to avoid rebuilding everything. He painfully learned that diving straight into coding creates expensive headaches. So, it’s best to use AI to draft strategy documents and architecture plans first, preventing the frustration of multiple false starts.

Set up a simple deployment pipeline immediately. GitHub for code, Netlify for deployment, and Superbase for databases is his recommended stack. Deploy frequently and early as waiting too long means facing hundreds of errors at once instead of fixing small issues.

Create PM deliverables in hours, not weeks. He built a detailed product roadmap and strategy documents in a single afternoon. These become living references in GitHub that team members can access anytime, eliminating version control nightmares.

Watch out for AI's eagerness to change your code. Windsurf has two modes: safe "chat" and powerful "write." Only toggle to write mode when you want changes made, otherwise, AI might drastically refactor your entire page when you just want a font color change.

Switch AI models when you hit roadblocks. Different models have different strengths. He uses Claude 3.7 for brainstorming, DeepSeek for specific tasks, and switches to GPT-4 when stuck. A fresh model may solve problems that the first one couldn't.

Validate ideas faster than ever before. Skip weeks of perfecting logos, brands, and pixel-perfect designs. Build something "good enough" quickly, get real feedback, and iterate based on actual user responses rather than internal debates.

Target your creativity where it matters most. AI tools eliminate 90% of implementation busy work. Use templates for standard elements like landing pages, then focus your team's energy exclusively on the features that truly differentiate your product.

Automate status reports and presentations. He generates comprehensive project updates directly from his roadmap progress, feeding them into presentation tools like Gamma. This eliminates hours spent creating the same PowerPoint slides teams have made for decades.

People are launching profitable side hustles with vibe coding. Entrepreneurs like Peter Levels and John Rush build and monetize micro-SaaS products through vibe coding. The approach allows testing ideas quickly and pivoting without emotion when something doesn't work.

Check it out on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.

Where to Find Andy:

LinkedIn: Andy Carroll

His AI implementation company: Aisle Partners

Related Podcasts:

Pawel Huryn: How to Actually Become an AI PM, Complete Course

Tutorial of Top 5 AI Prototyping Tools

Bolt Tutorial from the CEO: We Live Build a Remote Job board

We Built an AI Agent to Automate PM in 73 mins (ZERO CODING)

Up Next

I hope you enjoyed the last episode with Matt (where we discussed how to build a $100M AI company). Up next, we have episodes with:

Roger Martin - Author, Playing to Win

Jeremy Epling - CPO, Vanta

Bret @DesignJoy - Running Solo $1.9M/yr Design Agency

Finally, check out my latest deep dive if you haven’t yet: The European Tech Market Map: Biggest Players, Startups, and Job Opportunities

If you want to advertise, email productgrowthppp at gmail.

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