# Creditable Builder Field Guide A free six-lesson mini-course. Original exercises and public starter prompts. Updated October 5, 2026. https://creditable.vc/guide No account, application or equity commitment is required to use this guide. ## 01. Find a problem worth solving. Leave with: One problem statement with evidence. Start with a person and a recurring frustration. A useful problem statement names who struggles, when it happens, what they do today, and what it costs them in time or effort. Pick a group you can actually reach. A market that exists in a spreadsheet is less useful than five people willing to talk this week. 1. List three groups whose work or daily life you understand. 2. For each, describe a recent frustrating task and the current workaround. 3. Choose one problem you can observe and investigate without building software. ### Your next move Write: ‘When [specific person] tries to [task], they struggle with [problem]. Today they [workaround], which costs [observed effort].’ Separate observations from assumptions. If you cannot describe a real example yet, your next task is an interview. ### Public starter prompt Act as a skeptical customer-discovery partner. Here is my problem statement: [statement]. Separate evidence from assumptions. Identify the five riskiest assumptions and suggest a question or small observation that could disprove each one. Do not invent customers, market sizes, or demand. ## 02. Listen before you pitch. Leave with: Five conversations and a pattern worth testing. Ask about a real recent experience. ‘Would you use my app?’ invites politeness. ‘Tell me about the last time you did this’ gives you a sequence of actions, constraints, and tradeoffs. A compliment is different from a willingness to spend time, introduce a colleague, or try a pilot. 1. Invite five people from your chosen group to a short conversation. Explain what you are learning. 2. Ask what triggered the task, how they handled it, and what happened next. 3. Capture their language and the workaround; ask permission before recording. ### Your next move Ask: When did this last happen? What did you try? Where did you get stuck? What did that cost you? Who else has this problem? Afterward, record the evidence that supports your idea and the evidence against it. Choose one repeated pattern, rather than averaging every opinion. ### Public starter prompt Analyze these anonymized interview notes: [notes]. Extract repeated problems, current workarounds, and actual commitments. Quote only words present in the notes. Label unsupported inferences. Give me the strongest reason not to build this and the next question that would change our mind. ## 03. Make one clear promise. Leave with: A one-sentence offer and a small demand test. Describe an outcome for a specific person. People need to understand what changes for them, how they can try it, and what happens next. Test the offer before adding features. A booked demo, an agreed pilot, or use of a working prototype is a more useful signal than an impression count. Match the test to your product and stage. 1. Write the person, outcome, and first action in plain language. 2. Make a simple page, demo, or manual service that explains that promise. 3. Decide what evidence would justify building the next version before you run the test. ### Your next move Write: ‘We help [person] achieve [outcome] by [approach]. Start with [small action].’ Show it to someone in the audience and ask them to explain it back. Then invite a concrete next step. Record the denominator as well as responses; five responses from ten relevant people differs from five responses from a thousand. ### Public starter prompt Review this offer: [offer]. Who is it for, what outcome does it promise, and what might confuse them? Give three clearer versions using only capabilities we actually have. Suggest one small demand test and the evidence that would make us continue, change direction, or stop. ## 04. Ship the smallest useful thing. Leave with: One working path from problem to outcome. Choose one task your first user can complete. Keep the scope small enough to deliver and learn from. AI can help draft code, explain unfamiliar systems, and explore options; it does not remove your responsibility to check the result. A manual step is acceptable while you learn. A broken core experience is not. 1. Write the first user's journey in three to five actions. 2. Build only what is needed to complete that journey and explain the result. 3. Watch someone use it without guiding every click; fix the first meaningful point of confusion. ### Your next move Use a launch checklist: core task works; mobile is usable; failure messages explain what to do; data is handled deliberately; the next step is clear; someone can ask for help. For startup credits, make an eligibility sheet before counting value: provider, qualifying stage, new-customer rules, covered services, expiry, and costs after credits run out. Credits are usage allowances, not cash. ### Public starter prompt Here is my first-user journey: [journey]. Reduce it to the smallest useful version. Identify what can be manual, what must work reliably, and three tests tied to user outcomes. Do not propose extra features unless they are necessary to complete the core task. ## 05. Find the room before the megaphone. Leave with: Three relevant channels and one useful contribution. Go where the problem is already discussed. The right small community can teach you more than a broad launch. Read the rules, participate in the conversation, and share something that helps on its own. Disclose your connection to your project. Use a designated promotion thread or ask an organizer when a commercial offer needs permission. 1. List three communities where your target person talks about the problem. 2. Check the current rules and choose a permitted path: resource thread, showcase, workshop, or partner placement. 3. Share a concrete lesson, example, or worksheet and offer the next step only where it is relevant. ### Your next move Create a channel ledger: community, rules link, audience, useful contribution, permission status, date, visitors, relevant conversations, and completed trials. Compare qualified outcomes, not just clicks. For a hackathon, a helpful post-event workshop can fit better than a promotional comment on everyone's project. ### Public starter prompt My audience is [audience], and the problem is [problem]. Here are three communities and their rules: [rules]. Suggest a genuinely useful contribution for each. Separate permitted sharing from actions that need organizer approval. Do not invent permission, recommend unsolicited mass messages, or write promotional text where rules prohibit it. ## 06. Turn progress into a system. Leave with: A weekly review and a playbook someone else can use. Keep a short record of what you shipped, what people did, and what you learned. Review customer value, repeat use, revenue if any, and the cost of serving people as separate measures. Save useful workflows and improve them as you learn. A strong builder network makes a lesson available to the next person rather than making everyone rediscover it. 1. Choose one customer outcome and one operating constraint to review weekly. 2. Write one useful update: shipped, evidence, surprise, next experiment, help needed. 3. Turn a repeated task into a playbook with inputs, steps, checks, and a clear owner. ### Your next move Use this weekly template: We shipped __. People completed __. They returned for __. We earned __ and spent __. We learned __. Next week's smallest experiment is __. We need help with __. Share only information you have permission to share; anonymize customer details. Return a useful lesson or introduction to another builder. ### Public starter prompt Review this weekly update: [update]. Separate activity from customer outcomes. Identify one bottleneck, one result we should verify, and the smallest useful experiment for next week. Turn one repeated task into a short playbook with an explicit completion check. ## Weekly builder worksheet Audience: __ Problem: __ Evidence: __ Current workaround: __ Next interview: __ Offer: __ Smallest useful version: __ Demand test and decision threshold: __ Distribution channel and rules link: __ What shipped: __ Customer outcome: __ Next experiment: __ Help needed: __ ## The separate builder program Creditable proposes funded AI tools, potential startup credits, private prompts/playbooks and shared cohort upside through a separate 7% equity partnership. Pool structure, covered businesses and participation are agreed in writing. This guide creates no commitment. https://creditable.vc/#exchange