The companion to our AI workshops
plAIground
Try real AI tools. Learn to build your own. No coding required.
We built these demos while learning to build with AI. Now we're sharing what we learned.
What is Vibecoding?
You describe what you want. AI builds it.
The Bigger Picture: Can vs. Should
AI makes it possible to build a custom CRM, dashboard, or workflow tool in a weekend. For smaller teams with clean data, this might be exactly right.
But be aware of what comes next: growth, complexity, integrations. That side project becomes business-critical infrastructure—and only one person knows how it works.
We saw this in early software days. Yes, you saved money early. But the cost in speed, agility, and painful migrations often exceeded what you saved.
The strategic question: Is this a prototype to learn and validate—or infrastructure? Those require very different approaches.
Business Use Cases
Tools You Could Build
Real business use cases with honest assessments of when they make sense—and when they might create more problems than they solve.
Great for
- •Personal notes from multiple sources (calls, 1:1s, brainstorms)
- •Smaller teams without enterprise meeting tools
- •Consolidating notes from external meetings (client calls, vendor demos)
- •When you want a specific output format your tools don't provide
Be careful when
- •Your org already has AI summaries (Zoom, Teams, Otter) — avoid duplicate workflows
- •Confidential meetings — understand where the data goes
- •High-stakes decisions — AI summaries can miss nuance; always review
Strategic insight: While many enterprise tools now have AI summaries built in, they don't consolidate across platforms. A custom tool shines when you're pulling together notes from different sources into your preferred format.
Great for
- •Fast-growing teams adding people quickly
- •Remote-first companies where context isn't absorbed naturally
- •Supplement (not replace) human onboarding
- •When you want consistent baseline experience across hires
Be careful when
- •Don't let it replace human connection — onboarding is relationship-building
- •Needs regular updates as your company evolves
- •Cultural nuances AI might miss or oversimplify
Strategic insight: Works best as a supplement that handles the 'what to read' and 'who to meet' logistics, freeing up managers for the human elements AI can't provide.
Great for
- •Smaller companies with straightforward data
- •Isolated teams with dedicated datasets (marketing campaign reports, sales team updates)
- •Early-stage startups before investing in BI tools
- •Personal productivity tracking
Be careful when
- •Multiple data sources need a single source of truth — custom tools can create conflicting reports
- •Different users may apply different filters/definitions, causing confusion
- •Complex organizations where data governance matters
- •When you need audit trails for compliance
Strategic insight: Great for getting started fast. But when data complexity increases and you need organizational alignment on definitions, invest in proper BI infrastructure. A prototype can help you understand requirements before that investment.
Great for
- •Capture ideas while walking, driving, or away from keyboard
- •Convert brainstorm recordings into organized formats
- •Field notes (site visits, interviews) → structured reports
- •Personal productivity for people who think out loud
Be careful when
- •Many phones/apps have this built in now — check what you already have
- •Audio quality matters; noisy environments cause issues
- •Doesn't replace the thinking; just captures it faster
Strategic insight: Most modern AI tools now have voice input built in. The value is in building a workflow that outputs in your specific format — meeting notes to action items, rambling ideas to structured outlines.
Great for
- •Quick analysis of survey responses or reviews
- •Startup founders processing early customer interviews
- •Product managers triaging feature requests
- •Ad-hoc analysis before investing in proper tools
Be careful when
- •High-volume continuous feedback — need proper systems that integrate with your workflow
- •When you need to track trends over time (one-off analyses don't compound)
- •Regulated industries where feedback classification has compliance implications
Strategic insight: Perfect for ad-hoc analysis and understanding what categories matter before investing in tools like Productboard or Zendesk. The prototype teaches you what taxonomy works for your business.
Great for
- •Small sales teams without enterprise tools
- •Monitoring specific trigger events (funding announcements, job postings, news)
- •Niche markets where off-the-shelf tools lack coverage
- •Testing a prospecting hypothesis before buying expensive tools
Be careful when
- •Legal considerations — web scraping may violate terms of service
- •Data privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA) if collecting personal information
- •Data freshness — custom tools need maintenance to stay current
- •Scale — manual or semi-automated processes break down at volume
Strategic insight: Can be valuable for testing whether certain signals actually predict buying intent. Treat it as an experiment, not infrastructure. If it works, invest in compliant tools like ZoomInfo or Apollo.
Be aware of legal and ethical considerations when building prospecting tools. Always ensure compliance with applicable regulations and respect terms of service.
Want to build one of these? Learn at your own pace or join a live session.
Learn to Build
The Free Vibecoding Guide
Everything you need to build your first AI tool—no coding required.
What you'll learn
- The 5 Questions every prompt needs
- Where to enter your prompts (step-by-step)
- Full example prompts you can copy
- From idea to shareable tool
Why build when ChatGPT exists?
ChatGPT gives you an answer. A custom tool gives you a system—consistent results, built-in guardrails, shareable with anyone.
Try Before You Build
Interactive Demos
Experience what AI tools can do—both for business and personal use. Each demo shows a different capability.
Meeting Note Summarizer
Level 1Paste messy notes. Get structured action items.
Turn scattered meeting notes into organized summaries with clear action items and owners. Perfect for teams without enterprise meeting tools.
Weekly Report Generator
Level 1Input your metrics. Get an executive summary.
Transform raw metrics into polished weekly reports. Ideal for small teams who need consistent reporting without complex BI tools.
Customer Feedback Analyzer
Level 2Paste feedback. See themes and sentiment.
Quickly analyze customer feedback to identify patterns and sentiment. Great for product teams processing survey responses or reviews.
Onboarding Assistant
Level 2New hire details. Personalized 30-day plan.
Generate customized onboarding plans for new team members based on their role and department. A supplement to human onboarding, not a replacement.
Fridge to Feast
Level 1Stop wasting food. Get recipes from what you already have.
We've all stared into the fridge wondering what to make. This demo turns whatever ingredients you have into actual recipes—no more food waste or last-minute grocery runs.
Meal Prep Master
Level 1Save hours every week with AI-planned meals.
Meal planning is tedious but saves time and money. This demo generates a complete week of meals with shopping lists and prep schedules—so you can batch cook efficiently.
Shared Wishlist
Level 2One link for the whole family. No more gift duplicates.
Gift giving should be joyful, not stressful. Share one link with everyone—each person adds their wishes, and no one buys duplicates. Perfect for holidays, birthdays, and group gifts.
Wine Cellar
Level 3Track your collection. Know what to drink with dinner.
Ever forget what's in your wine collection or what pairs with tonight's dinner? This demo tracks your bottles visually and suggests food pairings—so you always make the right choice.
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