Who it is for, and why they would switch
A problem only matters if a reachable group of people has it badly enough to change what they do today.
What you will leave with tonight
- Choose a narrow first segment using five early-adopter criteria
- Describe the job to be done and today’s alternatives, including doing nothing
- Write a value proposition in five parts: for, who, our product, unlike, because
- Define a product personality: traits, voice, behaviours and what it never does
- Build a one-screen concept as a Claude Artifact and show it to two people
OUTPUT · Opportunity Brief v1 + concept screen + evidence log started
Homework debrief: what people said vs what they did
“Every tutor I spoke to said they’d love a booking app.”
Two of three tutors showed me last week’s WhatsApp: one missed enquiry each, found days later. The third keeps a paper diary and says she has never lost a booking.
Ask
- What did someone say, and what did they actually do?
- Which of your notes reach observed behaviour or higher?
- What surprised you, and does it change your problem statement?
- Who did you fail to reach, and why?
Early adopters: who to serve first
- HAS THE PROBLEMIt happens to them often, not once a year
- KNOWS ITThey can describe it without you explaining it first
- IS LOOKINGThey have tried a workaround or searched for a fix
- CAN ACTThey can decide and pay without asking a committee
- REACHABLEYou can find twenty of them this month, by name or place
Start where all five are true. A narrow group you can reach beats a big market you can’t.
The job to be done
- FUNCTIONALThe practical task: “confirm next week’s lessons without chasing messages”
- EMOTIONALHow they want to feel: “in control, not worried I’ve missed someone”
- SOCIALHow they want to be seen: “a professional that parents can rely on”
People hire a product to make progress in a situation. Name all three jobs, not only the first.
Your competitors are alternatives, not only products
What you think you compete with
- Other booking apps with a similar feature list
- Large companies with bigger budgets than yours
What tutors actually use today
- WhatsApp, email and a paper diary
- A shared spreadsheet or a calendar invite
- A partner or parent who handles the messages
- Doing nothing, and living with the odd lost learner
Doing nothing is free and familiar. Beat it by a clear margin, or people will not switch.
Value proposition in five parts
- FORThe segment: solo tutors with 10–30 regular learners
- WHOThe struggle: lose new enquiries across WhatsApp and email
- OUR PRODUCTWhat it is and what it promises: one booking page for every request
- UNLIKEThe main alternative: chasing messages by hand
- BECAUSEThe reason to believe: each request waits in one place until you confirm it
If you can’t fill “unlike” and “because”, you have a description, not a value proposition.
TutorDesk value proposition, weak to strong
“TutorDesk is a smart, all-in-one platform that makes tutoring easier for everyone.”
For solo tutors losing lesson enquiries in WhatsApp and email, TutorDesk is one booking page for every request. Unlike chasing messages, each request waits until you confirm it.
Ask
- Which words in the weak version could describe any product?
- Who does the strong version leave out, and is that good?
- Which claim in the strong version still needs evidence?
Products have personalities: generic vs distinctive
Generic
- “Error 403. Request failed.”
- The same tone for a new booking and a cancellation
- Agrees to everything and sounds like everyone else
Distinctive
- “That slot was just taken. Here are the next two free times.”
- Calm and brief when something goes wrong
- Has a point of view: what it does, and what it will not do
Personality is how a product behaves when it matters, not its logo or its colours.
Claude: a product with a designed character
A generic assistant: agrees with you, sounds equally sure about everything, and pads every answer.
Anthropic publishes how it wants Claude to behave: honest about its limits, curious, direct and helpful. The character is a product decision, written down so it can be checked.
Ask
- When have you seen Claude say it was unsure or disagree?
- When is “direct” more helpful than “agreeable”?
- Which trait would your users notice in their first week?
- What would your product do that a generic one would not?
Personality charter
- TRAITSThree adjectives, each with a reason from your user: calm, reliable, warm
- VOICEHow it sounds: short sentences, plain words, first names, no jargon
- BEHAVIOURSWhat it does: confirms clearly, admits delays, always offers a next step
- NEVERWhat it never does: blames the user, guilt-trips, hides a cancellation
Write the charter now. It becomes part of your brief to Claude when you design and build.
Claude Studio: a one-screen concept as an Artifact
I’m exploring [MY PRODUCT] for [MY SEGMENT], who struggle to [THE STRUGGLE]. I want a one-screen concept I can show two people this week, so that they react to something concrete rather than an idea in my head. <brief>[PASTE VALUE PROPOSITION AND PERSONALITY CHARTER]</brief> Please make it as an Artifact: one static screen showing the moment my user gets value, written in the voice of my charter, with realistic but clearly sample content. Keep it to that single moment, without sign-up, menus or settings. If the brief leaves something unclear, choose the simplest option and list your guesses under the screen. It’s done when someone could understand it on a phone in 30 seconds.
Check the response
- One screen shows one moment of value
- Copy uses the charter’s voice
- Claude’s guesses are listed for you to check
Claude Studio: research alternatives with web search
I’m researching what [MY SEGMENT] use today instead of [MY PRODUCT], because I need to know what my product has to beat, including doing nothing. Please search the web and list up to eight alternatives: products, manual methods, people they rely on, and the do-nothing option. Use a table with the name, what it does in one line, the published price if there is one, and a link to your source. If you can’t find a source for something, write “unknown” rather than estimating; I’ll check every claim before it goes into my brief. Finish with the two alternatives you think are hardest to beat; if you’re unsure, say so and tell me what would settle it.
Check the response
- Every product row has a source link
- Unknowns are marked, not estimated
- Doing nothing appears as an alternative
Workshop: Opportunity Brief v1 + concept screen
Bring tonight’s pieces together on one page, make the idea tangible, and put it in front of two people before you leave.
- Choose your first segment and score it against the five early-adopter criteria
- Write the job (functional, emotional, social) and today’s alternatives, including doing nothing
- Write your value proposition in five parts and a three-trait personality charter
- Build your concept screen as an Artifact from your value proposition and charter
- Show it to two people; log what they did and said, kept apart, in your evidence log
Opportunity Brief v1 in product/01-discovery.md; log in product/evidence/
Gate: Opportunity Brief v1
- Names a first segment that meets at least four of the five early-adopter criteria
- Describes the job in functional, emotional and social terms
- Lists at least three alternatives, including doing nothing, with sources for products
- Value proposition fills all five parts, with a “because” that is not a feature list
- Concept screen shows one moment of value, written in the charter’s voice
- Evidence log has an entry per viewer, with what they did kept apart from what they said
HOMEWORK · Three real conversations with your segment, each logged with its evidence level, before Week 2
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