Vibe Coding Tutorial in 72 mins, No Technical Background Needed (Windsurf)

Product Growth Podcast

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Vibe Coding Tutorial in 72 mins, No Technical Background Needed (Windsurf)

What if you could launch a product next week without writing a single line of code? Today, it's possible. Andy Carroll (16 year PM) is showing you exactly how to rock Windsurf.

Aakash Gupta

May 16, 2025

Transcript

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Today’s Episode

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.

In this episode, he builds an AI Sports Reporter landing page live using Windsurf and walks you through:

How to design interactive features + auto-generate logos in minutes
How to whip up product strategy docs + roadmaps instantly
His full setup for GitHub, Netlify, and smooth deployment
The classic mistakes most beginners make (to avoid them)
Real people making real money with no-code tools

If you’ve ever wanted to learn vibe coding but didn’t know where to start… this is your crash course.

Check It Out

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Key Takeaways

Here were my favorite 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.