The one-person startup A.I. stack.

The 10-minute setup

Do this once. Every job below reuses it.

You only need one A.I. assistant: Claude or ChatGPT. The paid plan is worth it if you'll use this daily, because it gives you longer chats, file uploads and web search.

1. Open your assistant and create a Project (both Claude and ChatGPT have one). Name it after your company.
2. Fill in the company brief below and paste it into the Project's instructions.
3. Upload 2–3 things you've written that you like, such as a good email, your website copy or a pitch. These teach it your voice.

Now every chat inside that Project already knows who you are, so you stop re-explaining your business.

Company brief template

COMPANY BRIEF
Company: [name], based in Singapore.
What we sell: [one sentence].
Who it's for: [specific customer, e.g. "F&B owners with 1–3 outlets"].
The problem we fix: [their pain, in their words].
Price: [range].
Competitors: [2–3 names].
How we sound: [e.g. plain, direct, friendly. No jargon. Short sentences.]
Never: [e.g. use emojis, promise results, mention pricing in first emails].

When I ask for help, use this brief. If something is missing, ask me before guessing.

Know your market in an afternoon

Replaces: hours of tab-hopping. Needs: web search turned on.

1. Turn on web search in your assistant.
2. Give it real names: your competitors, their review pages, or the forum threads where your customers complain.
3. Ask for a table, not an essay. Tables are faster to check.
4. Open 3 of its sources and check them yourself. A.I. can misread a page.

Prompt · competitor gaps

Here are my competitors: [list of names or URLs].
Read their websites and public reviews (Google, Reddit, HardwareZone, app stores).
Make a table: competitor | what they promise | top 3 customer complaints | price.
Then list the 3 complaints that come up most across all of them.
Link a source for every complaint.

Prompt · customer language

Find 20 real posts or reviews where [my customer] talks about [the problem].
Quote the exact words they use. Group them into 4–5 themes.
I'll use these phrases on my website, so keep their wording, don't polish it.

It types. You edit.

Replaces: the blank page. Needs: your company brief and voice samples.

1. Always write inside your Project, so it uses your brief and your voice.
2. Give it the goal, the reader and a word limit. Vague asks get long, bland drafts.
3. Edit the draft yourself, then paste your edited version back and say "learn from my changes."

Prompt · follow-up to a quiet lead

Draft a follow-up email to a lead who went quiet.
Context: [what you discussed, when, what they were interested in].
Goal: get a yes or no, not another "let me think".
Under 80 words. One question at the end. No "just checking in".

Prompt · one idea, three formats

Here's something I learned this week: [2–3 sentences].
Turn it into:
1. A LinkedIn post (under 150 words, first line is a hook that challenges a belief).
2. A 5-slide Instagram carousel outline (one idea per slide).
3. A 30-second Reel script (hook in the first 3 seconds).

A clickable demo before any real code

Replaces: weeks of building before you know anyone wants it.

You can show customers something real in an afternoon. Use the preview pane in Claude or ChatGPT, or an app builder like Lovable or v0 if you want a live link to share.

1. Describe one screen, not the whole product.
2. Ask for fake sample data so it looks real.
3. Show it to 5 potential customers. Watch where they click and what they ask.
4. Only build the real thing once people ask how to pay for it.

Prompt · landing page with a waitlist

Build a one-screen landing page for my offer (use my company brief).
Sections: headline in the customer's words, 3 benefits, how it works in 3 steps, price, waitlist form (name + email).
Mobile-first. Dark background, one accent colour.
Make it a single HTML file I can preview right here.

Prompt · clickable app demo

Build a clickable prototype of the main screen of my app: [describe what the user does].
Use realistic fake data for a Singapore business.
Buttons should work and move between 2–3 screens. No login, no backend.

Notes, follow-ups and the boring stuff

Replaces: the hour after every meeting.

1. Record or transcribe your meetings (with permission). Most video-call apps and phone recorders have this built in.
2. Paste the transcript into your assistant with the prompt below.
3. Keep a running "admin" chat in your Project for invoices, reminders and supplier emails.

Prompt · meeting notes to action items

Here are my meeting notes / transcript: [paste].
Give me:
1. 3–5 action items, each with an owner and a deadline.
2. Decisions we made.
3. Open questions nobody answered.
4. A short follow-up email to the attendees with the action items.

Prompt · polite invoice reminder

Write a payment reminder for invoice [number], [amount] SGD, due [date], now [X] days late.
Client: [name], we want to keep working with them.
Firm but friendly. Under 70 words. Include how to pay: [PayNow UEN / bank transfer].

Do it by hand first. Then hand it over.