The Founder's Kit for Families

Family Quick Start Guide

Think of your kit as the AI Assistant's curriculum. The Founder's Kit is a software package (prompt libraries, runbooks, plugins, scripts, templates) that instructs your AI assistant to build your business with you while educating young founders along the way. This page takes you from "I don't have an AI Assistant" to "My AI Assistant is interviewing me about my business idea." Most people finish in about ten minutes.

What you need before you start

A paid AI assistant account (typically the $20/mo option will do fine): a Claude Pro or Max plan, ChatGPT Plus, or similar. Don't have one? No problem! This guide assumes you do not already have an AI Assistant. If you do, great! Skip step 2.
Your kit: you received a link to the GitHub repo as well as a .zip file downloaded from your order page. Find a more complete guide with troubleshooting FAQs here: START_HERE.md (the link opens once your purchase gives you kit access).
A Mac or Windows computer.

If you are having any issues at all getting set up, please email us at support@thefounderkit.ai.

Download the Kit

Your kit reaches you two ways: a link to its GitHub repo, and a zip file from your order page. Both contain the same kit; you only need one.

Easiest: from your order page, download the zip. It lands in your Downloads folder; its name ends in .zip.
From GitHub instead: open the repo link you received, click the green Code button, then Download ZIP. The zip lands in Downloads the same way.
On a Mac: double-click the zip file. A folder with the same name appears next to it.
On Windows: right-click the zip file, choose Extract All, then click Extract. A folder appears.
Drag that folder onto your Desktop. You can also right-click the folder, choose Move, and select your Desktop folder. That folder is your kit. Everything from here on happens inside it.

You are done with this step when there is a kit folder on your Desktop, and double-clicking it shows files inside.

Set up your AI assistant

Pick one assistant below and set it up. Either way, the app puts your assistant on your computer, where it can build real files for your business.

2a. Claude (click to expand)

In your web browser, go to claude.ai/download.
Click the download button for your computer (macOS or Windows).
Open the downloaded file. On a Mac, drag the Claude icon into Applications when asked, then open Claude from Applications. On Windows, run the installer and let it finish; Claude opens when it is done.
Sign in with your Claude account.

On Windows there is one more install: Git for Windows. It is a free helper program. The Claude app needs it to work with folders on a Windows computer, and the kit's built-in safety checks run on it. Anthropic's own setup instructions for Windows include it. This is only for Windows; a Mac needs nothing extra.

Go to git-scm.com/downloads/win and download the installer.
Run it and accept every suggested option: keep clicking Next, then Install. None of the choices need changing.

The claude.ai download page, with download buttons for macOS and Windows — The download page. Pick your computer, run the installer, sign in.

You are done with this step when the Claude app is open and you are signed in.

2b. Codex (click to expand)

Codex comes with a paid ChatGPT plan, inside the ChatGPT app for Mac.
In your web browser, go to openai.com/codex and click Download for macOS.
Open the downloaded file, install it, and sign in with your ChatGPT account.
On Windows, Codex runs in the terminal instead of an app. START_HERE.md, the first file inside your kit folder, has those steps.

You are done with this step when Codex is open and you are signed in.

Open your kit in your assistant

Now point your assistant at the kit folder from step 1, so it can see and work with your files.

In Claude:

At the top of the Claude app, click Code.

The top-left of the Claude app, with the Code button circled — The Code button, at the top of the app.

The app asks where you want to work. Choose Local, which means: on this computer.
Click Select folder and pick the kit folder on your Desktop from step 1.
If a button is not where this page shows it, the app has updated its look. Follow the names: Code, Local, Select folder.

In Codex:

Open Codex and choose your kit in the project picker above the message box. Not listed yet? Click New project and pick the kit folder from step 1.

Codex with its project picker open and the kit selected — Choosing where to work in Codex: the project picker, with the kit selected.

You are done with this step whenyou see a message box ready for typing, with your kit folder's name showing above or beside it.

Paste the prompt below

A prompt is a message you send to your assistant. This one tells it to start your kit.

Click the Copy button on the box below.
Click into the message box in your assistant.
Paste (Cmd+V on a Mac, Ctrl+V on Windows) and press Enter.

Start my kid's startup kit. First, make sure you are in the kit folder: it has an AGENTS.md or CLAUDE.md file, a FAMILY.md file, and a "playbooks" folder. If they are not here, do not start over or guess: look on my Desktop, Documents, and Downloads for the folder that has them, move into it, and tell me where you found it. Then follow the kit's contract (AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md), read FAMILY.md, show me the welcome, and start interviewing my kid to build their business one phase at a time, stopping for my approval at every gate FAMILY.md requires before anything goes public.

What happens next: your assistant checks that it can see your kit, shows you a welcome message with the map of what you will build together, and starts interviewing the young founder about the business idea. Answers in their own words are perfect. There are no wrong answers, and this first conversation takes 10 to 15 minutes.

As it works, your assistant asks your permission before each piece of work, with an Allow or Accept button. Saying yes is normal. Asking first is how the kit keeps you in charge.

You are done with this page when your assistant has welcomed you and started interviewing the young founder about the business idea. From here, it leads, the founder decides, and you approve.

Good to know

This is the quick start guide for the Families product. Setting up the standard kit? Use the Quick Start Guide.

For parents and teachers

Is my child's data safe?

Private by default. We don't create a child account or collect child data; we collect a parent's email at checkout. A public page may include only what a parent approves at a logged gate — a first name, photo, or a business email. Full name, age, school, schedule, and home address stay private.

What if they spend money?

They can't — not through the kit. Money lives in accounts you own, in your name, with caps you set, and the AI can't move a cent. Real costs (a domain, supplies) are named to you before they happen, and you hold the card.

How much of my time will it take?

You're a supervisor, not a project manager — approval moments (a page, a price, a flyer: read-and-a-yes) plus being present for first customer conversations. For most families it's less than a science-fair project, and none of it is technical.

What about strangers?

First customer conversations happen with you present — a kit rule, not a suggestion. Nothing is published and no order is taken without your approval.

Do I need to know how to code?

No. You'll learn to direct and supervise AI agents doing the technical work — the kit walks you through each decision that matters. If you can code, the kit can explain its choices and go deeper with you.

Can one kit cover both my kids?

Yes — one kit covers your household. Siblings each run their own venture from the same kit; no per-child pricing. The license is per family.

Teaching a class or co-op?

The license covers one household. For a classroom, co-op, or program, email support@thefounderkit.ai and we'll set your group up.

You can stop at any time

The kit saves your progress after every phase and every decision. Close the app whenever you like. To come back, open your kit the same way as step 3 and paste: "Continue my kit." Your assistant picks up exactly where you left off.

If something looks wrong

Ask your assistant first. It can check the kit itself and explain what it finds. Copy this message to it:

Something isn't working. Run the kit's doctor script and tell me in plain English what it found and what I should do next.

If that does not sort it out, email support@thefounderkit.ai and include what your assistant told you.

Why the app, and not a chat website

Your kit builds real files on your computer: your website, your records, your progress. The apps in step 2 work with those files directly. The claude.ai and chatgpt.com websites can chat with you, but they cannot open the folders on your computer, so the kit cannot run there.

Prefer the terminal?

That works too. Open START_HERE.md, the first file inside your kit folder: it has the terminal setup for both Claude and Codex. The four steps on this page are the simplest road, so start here unless you already know you want the terminal.