Framework
Build Backwards from Business Requirements
Woz's core development philosophy: architecture decisions, security guardrails, and compliance requirements are defined at the start from a CTO lens — not added iteratively after prototyping proves the concept.
How it works
- 1The tech-forward mistake: most AI builders start from 'here's what LLMs can do' and find the lowest-risk application. That logic produces prototypes. Business requirements produce products.
- 2CTO-lens defaults: before any code generates, Woz makes architectural decisions on the founder's behalf — the same decisions a senior engineering lead would make on day one of a serious project.
- 3Removing the scissors: security vulnerabilities often enter through options that shouldn't be available. Woz removes those options by default, so founders can't accidentally expose PII or create auth holes.
- 4AI wants to please: given any task, AI finds solutions — including corner-cutting ones. A system that builds backwards from requirements constrains AI's solution space before it starts.
- 5The production gap: a prototype and a production app can look identical. The difference is whether security, scalability, compliance, and user trust requirements were treated as inputs or afterthoughts.
Hear it on the podcast
AI That Turns Ideas Into Real CompaniesListen to the episodeMore from this episode
AI-Augmented EngineeringUsing AI to accelerate boilerplate and pattern-matching while maintaining full human architectural ownership — every line committed is understood and owned by a developer. The opposite of vibe coding at production quality.Distribution Before IdeaIn an era when building costs approach zero, idea originality is no longer the primary differentiating variable. Who is launching matters more than what is launching — distribution, credibility, and persona-fit are the new moats.
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