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Maven Lightning Lesson
Claude Code for Non-Technical Pros
How to move from chatting with AI to getting work done with AI.
Mika Reyes & Nick Reyes
Co-Founders @ King's Cross Labs
About us
We've clocked in 1000+ hours with AI
Mika Reyes
Raised $5M, founded and exited Parallax, a fintech startup, to a $3B acquirer. Shipped products at Microsoft and LinkedIn. Ten years in product & tech.
Nick Reyes
Product engineer with 10 years of experience at Phantom, Airbnb, and Google. Expertise in auth, cryptography, security, frontend, and mobile.
Ground rules
A few quick notes before we start
- Stay on mute
- Drop questions in chat. Mika or Nick will answer as we go.
- We are not learning how to code with Claude Code.
- This is an introduction!
Agenda
What we're covering today
| Section | Time |
|---|---|
| Intro & Agenda | 5min |
| Foundations | 10min |
| Demos (2-3) | 25min |
| Next Steps | 5min |
| Q&A | 15min+ |
Problem
Most people are still "just chatting"
Before agents
- Chat with the AI, then copy and paste the answer somewhere else.
- You still do most of the execution work yourself.
Goal
Claude Code is for everyone
By the end of this talk you should:
understand chat-based AI vs. agentic AI
see Claude Code in action
& get inspired to dive deeper
Why does this matter?
Why this matters for non‑technical professionals
Why Claude Code
Why we focus on Claude Code today
01
Powerful
02
Popular
03
Efficient
04
Transferable
Mental model
Chat-based AI vs. agentic AI
| Dimension | Chat-based AI | Agentic AI |
|---|---|---|
| Tools | ChatGPT, Claude.ai | Claude Code/Cowork, Codex |
Before / After
Before: Chat-based AI
You just finished a call with a prospect. Now you need to send a follow-up, capture the key notes, and make sure the next steps don't disappear.
Before: Chat-based AI
Prompt, copy, paste, repeat
- You copy the call transcript.
- You paste the call transcript into ChatGPT or Claude.
- You ask: “Summarize this call transcript below and draft a follow-up email, summary and action items. I want the tone of the email to be clear, direct, confident, specific not generic, and smart not salesy.”
- The AI generates useful text: a summary, an email draft, and a list of next steps.
- You copy the email into Gmail.
- You edit the tone and details before sending.
- You update your notes or customer record in your Salesforce CRM.
- You create the next-step tasks on your to-do list.
- You message the team on Slack with the important takeaways.
The AI helps with the draft.
You still drive the workflow.
Before / After
After: Agentic AI
You just finished a call with a prospect. Now you need to send a follow-up, capture the key notes, and make sure the next steps don't disappear.
After: Agentic AI
Describe the outcome, then supervise
You tell the agent: “Prepare the follow-up from the customer call on Granola. Draft the email ready for review (use my TONE.md) on Gmail, update the customer record on Salesforce, and send an update on Slack #sales channel.”
- The agent reads the transcript from Granola.
- The agent drafts the follow-up email & sends you a link to the draft on Gmail.
- The agent updates the notes in the customer record on Salesforce.
- The agent prepares & sends an update on Slack.
- The agent suggests next-step tasks.
- You review, edit, and approve.
The agent handles the workflow.
You stay in control of the outcome.
Before / After
After: Agentic AI
Your agent goes as far as sending the email
Use cases
What else can you do with agentic AI?
Product or Design
| Use Case | Description |
|---|---|
| Feedback Synthesizer | Pulls from support tickets + user interviews + Notion → surfaces top themes and drafts a prioritized problem statement. |
| Sprint Prep | Scans Jira + Figma comments + calendar → generates a pre-sprint brief with open questions and blockers flagged. |
| Release Notes Writer | Reads merged PRs + Jira tickets → drafts user-facing changelog and internal release notes automatically. |
Marketing
| Use Case | Description |
|---|---|
| Campaign Briefer | Reads ICP doc + recent performance data + competitor signals → drafts a campaign brief ready for team review. |
| Content Repurposer | Takes a long-form post or transcript → reformats into LinkedIn, email, and short-form variations in one pass. |
| Weekly Metrics Digest | Pulls from GA + LinkedIn analytics + email platform → sends a performance summary with what moved and why. |
Use cases
What else can you do with agentic AI?
Sales / Business Dev
| Use Case | Description |
|---|---|
| Prospect Researcher | Pulls LinkedIn + company news + CRM notes → generates a personalized call brief before every meeting. |
| Deal Updater | Reads email thread + CRM + call notes → writes a clean deal status update ready to paste into your pipeline. |
| Follow-up Drafter | Scans meeting notes + open action items → drafts a follow-up email with next steps before you leave the call. |
Operations
| Use Case | Description |
|---|---|
| Vendor Tracker | Monitors contracts across email + Notion → flags upcoming renewals and surfaces renegotiation windows. |
| Process Doc Generator | Watches recurring Slack questions → identifies documentation gaps and drafts missing SOPs. |
| Weekly Status Report | Pulls from Linear + Slack + Calendar → writes an ops update for leadership every Friday. |
Use cases
What else can you do with agentic AI?
HR / People
| Use Case | Description |
|---|---|
| Onboarding Coordinator | Reads new hire info + Notion docs + calendar → generates a 30-day onboarding plan and sends it before day one. |
| Pulse Summarizer | Scans survey results + Slack signals → surfaces culture themes and drafts action items for leadership review. |
| Job Description Writer | Reads role requirements + team context + comp benchmarks → drafts a JD ready to post. |
Finance, Legal, Compliance
| Use Case | Description |
|---|---|
| Expense Reviewer | Scans receipts + bank statements + policy docs → flags out-of-policy charges and generates a summary report. |
| Contract Tracker | Monitors Gmail + Drive for active agreements → surfaces upcoming renewals and key clause alerts. |
| Invoice Chaser | Reads AR aging + email threads → drafts follow-up messages for overdue invoices on a set schedule. |
Use cases
What else can you do with agentic AI?
Personal
| Use Case | Description |
|---|---|
| Weekend Planner | Checks GCal + weather + local events → proposes a weekend plan in your calendar every Thursday. |
| Travel Planner | Reads your calendar + budget + destination preferences → drafts a full itinerary with bookings to confirm. |
| Health Check-in | Pulls from fitness tracker + sleep data + calendar load → generates a weekly recovery and priority report. |
Reframe
Claude Code is not just a coding agent
Think of it as a highly technical intern you just hired.
Break
Any questions?
(Before we move onto demos)
Task 1
Our first intern task
Let's hand it off to Nick to give our intern their first task!
Messy desktop
Clean up your desktop
Claude can organize your files
Demo 1
Organizing files on your computer
Goal: See how Claude Code can do things, not just summarize.
Organize these files to be in folders instead. I want the files to be in folders by year and month, and the file name to be the name of the person.Demo 1
Organizing files on your computer
Task 2
A more complex task
What if you could stop repeating yourself every time you prompt an AI?
How do we condense a complex prompt into a simple instruction?
I can use what's called a Skill.
Skills are files with repeatable instructions so you can easily do complex tasks with Claude Code.
Demo 2
Generate a Tweet in your brand voice
Goal: Using an agent skill, with examples, to help you do some work.
We're adding a 5% cash back in the Phantom Cash card! Generate a tweet to help me promote thisDemo 2
Generate a Tweet in your brand voice
Task 3
That's great but...
How do I get it to connect to other apps and tools?
How do we:
- Read my Emails
- Post on Slack
- Manage my calendar
- ...be my virtual assistant?
What is MCP?
MCPs are Connectors
MCP basics
- MCP stands for Model Context Protocol.
- It's a way for AI tools to connect to tools you already use like calendars, email, CRMs, or other apps.
- Analogy: giving agents a way to interact with the world.
- Claude Code refers to them as Connectors.
Demo 3
Daily Briefing routine across multiple apps
Goal: Combine agent skills, routines, and MCPs.
Check my Google Calendar, email, #standup channel on Slack (highlighting goals for the week and day) and in-progress/todos from Linear for the day. Also check my "Weekly Ceremony" goals for the week on Notion for a reference on goals.
...Demo 3
Daily Briefing routine across multiple apps
Demo 3
Daily Briefing routine across multiple apps
Recap
What we covered today
- Compared chat vs. agentic systems.
- Why to use Claude Cowork, Claude Code, and Codex.
- Why agentic AI is powerful for non-technical workflows.
- Various use cases of agentic AI for various roles.
- Saw how Claude Code works with files on your computer.
- Saw how Claude Code can give better results with additional data & context.
- Saw how Claude Code can connect to apps through MCPs.
- Saw how Skills and Routines turn prompts into repeatable workflows.
Course offer
Master Claude Code for Non-Tech Professionals
What's next
Next Steps
| Item & format | Do if... | CTA |
|---|---|---|
| Course: Master Claude for Non-Technical Professionals | You want accountability, live instruction, direct guidance & full system to get started & actually build your first agent. | Enroll! 40% off w/ MAY7 |
| Get started in just 30min | You want to get started on your agentic AI journey. | 30-min setup |
| Follow for Daily Learnings | You want free daily tutorials, prompt ideas, and AI updates. | Follow @its.mikareyes |
| Consulting, 1:1, & more | You want more hands-on & custom ways of incorporating AI into your work or team. | Visit our website |
...and now for Q&A!
Thank you
Thank you!
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