The Claude Code Tutorial for AI PMs: Why You Need to Use It + How

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Oct 4, 2025

In this engaging discussion, Carl Vellotti, a seasoned product manager and creator of a popular product-management Instagram account, explores the transformative power of Claude Code. He emphasizes how non-technical PMs can leverage it for file-driven workflows and context engineering. With tips on building a knowledge base and using Claude for research, project planning, and generating technical PRDs, Carl also shares insights on crafting reusable commands and defining custom agents. His success in automating tasks via AI adds a dynamic layer to product management.

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ADVICE

Work In A Foldered Terminal, Not Chat

Use Claude Code to move beyond chat windows and work directly in a terminal-backed file system for richer workflows.
Put project files in a folder and launch Claude Code there so it can read and act on full folder context.

INSIGHT

Persist Rules In The CLAUDE File

Use the CLAUDE file to store persistent rules and project memory that Claude references every session.
This is more reliable than ephemeral prompts because the CLAUDE file stays in memory across interactions.

ADVICE

Create A Project Knowledge Base First

Build a small knowledge base in your project: business-info.md, writing-styles/, examples/, meeting-transcripts/ to feed Claude useful context.
Reference those files in prompts so Claude produces outputs aligned to your product and voice.

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Today’s Episode

Claude Code hit $500 million ARR in four months.

Two product managers. Zero marketing dollars. Just pure viral growth.

While some PMs are still copying and pasting into ChatGPT, others are orchestrating multiple AI agents that work in parallel, automatically reading files, researching competitors, and building prototypes.

Carl Vellotti runs the world’s largest PM Instagram account (55K followers) and has mastered Claude Code better than almost anyone. He’s built his own meme generation system, automated his content workflow, and uses Claude Code for everything from research to prototyping.

Today’s tutorial takes you from beginner to Claude Code hero.

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Check out the conversation on Apple, Spotify and YouTube.

Brought to you by:

* Linear: Plan and build products like the best

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Key Takeaways

1/ Stop Working in Chat Windows

Traditional chat requires manually dragging files one at a time. Claude Code lives in your terminal and automatically reads entire folder structures. The interface was the bottleneck all along.

2/ Build Your Knowledge Base First

Create four folders: business-info.md for product context, writing-styles/ for different voices, examples/ for past PRDs, meeting-transcripts/ for automatic uploads. One prompt pulls from everything.

3/ Use the CLAUDE File for Memory

Add rules once, they persist forever. "Never commit without asking." "Always use technical writing." Unlike prompts that get lost in context windows, this stays active every session.

4/ Save Your Best Prompts as Commands

Create /meeting-notes, /competitive-research, /prd-review. Save once, reuse forever. No more hunting through old Twitter bookmarks for that perfect prompt.

5/ Let Claude Plan Before Executing

Press Shift+Tab for Plan Mode. Claude creates full execution plan without touching files. You review, catch mistakes, then approve. This one habit prevents 80% of AI disasters.

6/ Parallelize Everything You Can

Need to analyze 3 customer interviews? Claude spins up 3 UXR agents working simultaneously. Week of manual work becomes 1 hour with parallel agents.

7/ Build Custom Agent Personalities

Designer agent focuses on UX. Engineer agent checks technical constraints. Executive agent evaluates business impact. All three review your PRD simultaneously with specialized perspectives.

8/ Use the $37/Month Combo

Claude Pro ($17) handles research and writing perfectly. Add Cursor ($20) for heavy coding. You get best models for $37 instead of $200/month Claude Max.

9/ Only See Token Usage Here

Claude Code shows real-time token consumption and cost. Finally understand what API pricing actually means. No other interface gives you this visibility.

10/ Start Simple Then Scale

Begin with one research task using file analysis. Add a custom command. Try parallel agents once. You'll never go back to chat interfaces.

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Where to Find Carl Vellotti

* Linkedin

* X (Twitter)

* Instagram

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