Product · Sales · Lean
Know what it will return before you build it.
For experts and business owners who already have clients, and an idea for AI or software.
You talk. I get it out of your head and into a plan your clients will pay for, before you spend a dollar on developers.
5 places in November and 5 in December. All delivered before 24 December.
What you get in a Build Case, in under 4 minutes
The problem
A lot of software doesn't fail because of the code. It fails because nobody checked someone would pay for it.
A quote you can't judge
A developer or agency has sent a number and you have no way to tell if it's right, or what to cut.
Stuck at 80%
You tried it yourself with AI or no-code. It's "nearly done", and has been for months.
Burned before
An app, a platform or an agency that cost real money and never paid it back.
No time
It's all in your head, and you're flat out running the business that pays the bills.
AI is already shrinking billable hours, whether you build anything or not. The better move is to turn what you know into something you sell that isn't hours. Carefully, and in the right order.
My rule is simple. Sell it before you build it.
The Build Case
Out of your head. Into a plan your clients will pay for.
What you get
- Talk it out: a 90-minute call. You talk, I ask the questions, AI captures it.
- Red-lines check: does it give regulated advice, hold sensitive data or need a licence? If so, we plan for it.
- Business case: what it costs, what it could return, and when it pays back. For your clients or your own team.
- Build, buy or wait: custom software, an existing tool, or more proof first.
- Lean MVP scope: one page. The smallest version worth building, and what to leave out.
- Sell-first plan: how to get your first paying customers before or while you build.
- Quote check: a review of one dev quote, if you have one.
How it works
- You fill in a short intake form.
- We have a 90-minute call.
- You get the written Build Case within 5 business days.
- A 30-minute follow-up call to go through it.
Not included: code, design, a full spec, or project management.
Price
A$2,300 in Australia, plus GST if it applies. Fixed price, delivered in 2 weeks.
5 places in November and 5 in December. All delivered before 24 December.
Your fee comes off the 3-month community if you join after your Build Case.
Get your Build CaseFree business case builder
Put a number on it
before you spend a dollar.
Works for any task: onboarding, quoting, reporting, chasing invoices, answering the same questions. Answer six quick questions and the builder works out what kind of fix it needs, what it could save, and whether you're ready to build.
Prefer a spreadsheet? Download the business case builder
What happens after
The Build Case tells you which of these fits. You don't have to take any of them.
"Prove people will pay first."
3 months in the community
The community while you pre-sell, deliver it by hand and get it ready to build. See how it works.
"Build it."
Development
With Sazae, or any developer you choose. You keep the scope either way.
"Fix how your systems run first."
Managed IT
With Sazae, or your current provider.
Disclosure: I work with Sazae, a Sydney software and IT firm with Japanese roots. You're always free to use someone else, and the Build Case is written so any developer can use it.
After your Build Case
Keep going while you sell and build.
Once your Build Case is delivered, I'll offer you three months in the community, US$4,500 (A$6,900 in Australia), starting in January. It's the community only, with no 1:1 calls. Your Build Case fee comes off. It's only offered after the Build Case, because that's when we both know if it makes sense.
What's in it
- Content and tools to work through at your own pace
- Weekly Q&A and implementation sessions
- A place to ask questions any time, answered by me and other technical advisors
Sales
- Finding your first customers
- Pre-selling before you build
- Pricing it
- Delivering it by hand first
Product
- What to build
- What to cut
- Getting it ready to build
- How to work with developers
Keep going in the community: US$1,500 a month
A$2,300 in Australia, plus GST if it applies. After your first 3 months, stay in the same group month to month. Cancel any time before your next billing date.
Add 1:1: US$3,000 a month on top
A$4,600 in Australia, plus GST if it applies, on top of the community. Your direct time with me: a 60-minute call every two weeks, messages between calls with a reply within one business day, and reviews of your pitches, pricing, scopes and dev quotes. Limited places. Minimum 3 months, then month to month.
About me
I'm Matt Ainsworth.
I've spent 20+ years across product management, corporate training, founder coaching and software sales.
- Product manager and analyst in financial services at MLC and AMP.
- Eight years in Japan running training for teams at McKinsey, BCG, Goldman Sachs and Sony.
- Over ten years coaching and mentoring startup founders.
- Most recently, selling offshore software development to businesses in Australia and Japan.
The one thing I've learned: sell it before you build it.
The Lean CPTO is the name of my practice, not a job title.
"As a founder without a strong technical background, I knew we needed to introduce advanced IT and AI solutions into our company, but I often felt uncertain about where to start. He guided me from the very beginning."
"It also helps me recognise when I am falling into common founder traps or patterns, and redirects or pauses me before I go too far in the wrong direction."
"I came to Matt @ Innovators Campus as a founder with ideas but not yet the confidence to articulate them clearly. What I found was a room full of people who genuinely wanted each other to succeed, and an environment that made it safe to be a work in progress. The feedback I received on my pitch was specific, honest, and immediately actionable. I left with a sharper message and a clearer sense of what I'm actually building."
"Matt is truly intelligent, well-traveled, and highly experienced in both Japan and Australia. With his business background, cultural understanding, and tech-savviness, he mentored me to establish my business in Japan and expand to Australia in less than a year."
"Matt is a great and responsible person to work with. I tried different coaches before but he is the best. I got a lot of insight every session. If you work with him, I promise you will develop some great outcomes."
Free guides
Plain-English guides for people about to build software.
Does tech need a duty of care?
Too often someone with an idea pays a deposit and gets built for, without anyone asking if they are ready. What duty of care in tech should look like, and how to test a market before you build.
Read the guideA free game to practise the expensive calls, before it’s your money
A free product manager simulator: US$500k, twelve weeks, one AI startup. Now with a 5-minute crisis you can play on your phone.
Read the guideWhat an AI-built MVP really costs: 5 places your money leaks
The AI tool subscription is the smallest part of the bill. Here are the 5 places an AI-built MVP leaks money, and how to cap each one before you build.
Read the guideFor Australian businesses
Based in Sydney.
Prices in A$: Build Case A$2,300, the community A$6,900, then A$2,300 a month, the 1:1 add-on A$4,600 a month, plus GST if it applies.
Building with AI? The Privacy Act automated decision-making disclosures apply from 10 December 2026. I'll flag them in your Build Case, and Sazae handles the governance side on builds.
Meetings can be in person in Sydney or online.
FAQ
Questions
Do you write code?
No. I help you decide what to build and how to sell it. If you need a build, I can introduce Sazae, or you can use your own developer.
Can I take the Build Case to another developer?
Yes. It's yours.
It's for my own business, not to sell. Is this still for me?
Yes. Then the Build Case is about payback and build versus buy, and often the answer is an existing tool. You'll know before you spend.
I'm a doctor, lawyer or financial adviser. Can I do this?
Often, yes. It depends on the idea. Admin, intake, client portals and education tools are usually fine. Tools that give advice, a diagnosis or legal answers to clients need more care. The Build Case flags the red lines, and you check them with your own adviser.
What if it's not useful?
Tell me within 14 days of delivery and I'll refund you in full. See refunds and cancellations.
Where are you based?
Sydney. I work with people anywhere over video, and in person in Sydney.
Do you only work with Australian businesses?
No. Prices are in US$ for everyone outside Australia and A$ inside it. Sazae takes on build and IT clients in Australia and overseas.
Refunds and cancellations
Before You Pay a Developer kit
- If it isn't useful, tell me within 14 days and I'll refund you in full. No reason needed.
Find and Hire workshop replay
- If it isn't useful, tell me within 14 days and I'll refund you in full. No reason needed.
Build Case
- Before our first call: cancel for any reason and I'll refund you in full.
- After delivery: if the Build Case isn't useful, tell me within 14 days and I'll refund you in full. No reason needed, no deductions.
- UK and EU: you have 14 days to cancel. If you ask me to start sooner, you'll pay for work already done if you cancel. Once your Build Case is delivered, the 14-day cancellation right ends, but the 14-day refund promise above still applies.
The community and the 1:1 add-on
- First month of the 1:1 add-on: if it isn't a fit after our first call, tell me within 7 days and I'll refund that month in full.
- After that: the minimum is 3 months. After the minimum, cancel any time before your next billing date and you won't be charged again. Months already started aren't refunded, unless I've let you down, for example by missing calls. Then I'll refund or add time, whichever you prefer.
- The 3-month community: if it isn't a fit, tell me within 7 days of starting and I'll refund what you've paid. After that, it runs for the 3 months.
- Staying in the community month to month: cancel any time before your next billing date and you won't be charged again.
Nothing here limits your rights under the Australian Consumer Law or the consumer law where you live. To ask for a refund or to cancel, reply to any email from me. I'll reply within 2 business days.
Tell me what you want to build.
I'll reply within 2 business days with next steps and the payment link.