Technical Foundations & AI Prototyping for Product Managers

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4 Weeks

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Cohort-based Course

Two related skills in one course: master tech to speak the same language with your team. Use it to AI-prototype features or a side project.

Students from

Microsoft
Stripe
Booking.com
Adobe
Miro

Course overview

The technical understanding a successful PM needs - nothing more.

Why invest in learning with me?


I’m a Lead PM at Booking.com, and one of the first tech PMs there, with over 10 years in the field.


Before moving into product, I was a Software Developer and earned a PhD in Computer Science. I’ve worked on both sides and know exactly what technical understanding PMs need - and don't.


I'll teach you exactly what matters (and why) for driving products forward. You'll get the technical and AI-building fluency needed to drive your team, no coding, no database internals, no load balancers.


What can better technical understanding do for your career?


From a survey of 650 PMs, 56% want to speak the same language as their engineers to communicate effectively, and build trust.


61% want to estimate features on their own, so they can plan better and deliver on time.


And today, technical understanding also lets you quickly AI-prototype features to show it to real users.


Finally, if you want to land a Big Tech PM role, tech skills are critical.


What makes this course different?


➡️ The course is 20% theory and 80% hands-on: you’ll solve over 200 exercises, because that’s how real skills stick. (Try two free lessons below to learn new things even if you don’t enroll)


➡️ The course naturally offers you two very related skills: Tech foundation (part 1) allows you to lead your team more effectively. Then, if you think about it - AI is... just a non-human version of your team :) That's why in part 2 you apply Tech concepts to create features yourself. This enables you to understand tech even deeper and later turn your ideas into clickable features in minutes/hours (check 2 examples below: Spotify Clone and Cost Split App).


In student's words: "Interestingly, the AI part is also incredibly useful even if you’re not the one doing the prototyping yourself. I started using the right technical terms and began to think a bit like an algorithm (which helps in finding a common language with developers and engineers)."


➡️ You can join even if you have zero knowledge about tech or AI-building


➡️ Over 1,500 students have already completed the course online or in person, on this platform and others. See reviews below.


➡️ Even more valuable practice: all alumni get a 100%-off voucher for one of the other ProductDo simulators worth up to 400$.


✅ The course structure explained


1️⃣ Live session: Tech 101s

We start with a Tech 101 live session.

In just 2 hours, you’ll learn (and immediately apply) the core concepts every PM should know: Frontend, Backend, Services, APIs. If you only did this session, you’d already have the essentials down.


2️⃣ Practice Tech Core (50+ exercises)

Time to roll up your sleeves. You’ll work through a story-driven series of exercises based on real-life scenarios. You’ll build a Taxi app and along the way you’ll master tech topics with your virtual colleagues: Daniel the bossy CEO, Jane the guiding Principal PM, Ivar the eager Jr. PM (who always needs help), Helen, your sharp Engineering Manager, and more.


Curious if this hands-on style suits you?

Grab the free resource below, which is one full lesson from the API chapter, and see if solving 200+ exercises like this one sounds fun.


3️⃣ Live session: building a product architecture together

Once you’ve mastered the theory and practiced solo, we'll meet up again.

You’ll team up with other PMs to design an architecture, APIs, and more for a product idea. Students love this collaborative part!


4️⃣ Practice AI-prototyping (50+ exercises)

Back to hands-on mode this time with an AI-prototyping simulator.

- Start by cloning UI with simple prompts, then add more UI features.

- Next, bring in the database — suddenly it starts to feel real.

- Layer on backend logic to make it smarter.

- Finally, integrate an external API like OpenAI so your app becomes even more powerful.


🤖 Two examples of what you can do with AI:

- In 5 mins: the Spotify clone: now in another 10 mins I can imitate "Concerts nearby" feature and show to stakeholders instead of slides: https://productdo-spotify-clone-interface-demo.replit.app/

- In 3 hours: Fully functional CostSplit full-stack app: https://cost-split-mobile-demo-no-auth.replit.app/ (this app is part of the course, you'll build it yourself).


Want a taste? Grab another free resource below; it's the full lesson on UI feature creation. After this, you'll be able to add a feature to your Spotify clone all by yourself!


5️⃣ Live session: building a product from scratch using AI

Now we bring it all together. I’ll walk you through building a complete app, step by step. You’ll break into groups to handle the UI, backend, databases, APIs, and more. It’s going to be a lot of fun.


6️⃣ Bonus

- You’ll unlock advanced simulator chapters, allowing you to continue progressing at your own pace.

- We have one more workshop reserved for any other topics the group wants to dive into, plus an extended Q&A.

- Additionally, you’ll receive complimentary access to one of the other ProductDo simulators worth up to 400$.


Prerequisites to join the course

- No prior tech or AI experience needed

- If you want to participate in the AI-prototyping part, you need a Replit account (25$ for a month should be more than enough)

- Be ready to set aside 2 hours for the live workshops and 3-4 hours during the week for self-practice. Only through practice can you really learn; there is no way around it.

Who is this course for

01

Non-tech Product/Program Managers who want to communicate effectively with their teams and assess the real complexity of projects

02

PMs, designers, and marketers to prototype features in minutes/hours or even start their own side project

03

Entrepreneurs/founders who want to build confidence in a tech-driven world, create an MVP on their own, and hire the right team later

What you’ll get out of this course

Tech fluency to lead your team effectively

Understand all core concepts of tech and lead the team with "what/why" without getting into "how"

The skills to accurately estimate project scope and timelines

Build the ability to gauge development complexity, keeping your plans realistic and your launches on track

Preparation to handle technical interviews

Get ready for Big Tech PM interview questions like “Can you design the architecture for a Tinder/WhatsApp/Uber/etc?”

The ability to turn ideas into clickable prototypes

Clone your product’s UI, add interactive features, and wire up backend logic. All without writing code.

The power to build an MVP or start a side project on your own

Use AI to create full-stack apps (UI, backend, database, APIs) in just hours or days. No engineering background or coding needed.

What’s included

Vladimir Kalmykov | Lead PM @ Booking.com

Live sessions

Learn directly from Vladimir Kalmykov | Lead PM @ Booking.com in a real-time, interactive format.

Lifetime access

Go back to course content and recordings whenever you need to.

Community of peers

Stay accountable and share insights with like-minded professionals.

Certificate of completion

Share your new skills with your employer or on LinkedIn.

14 chapters of "Tech for PM" simulator

Tackle a hands-on series of exercises that build your product thinking and tech problem-solving skills.

8 chapters if "Full-stack AI prototyping" simulator

Work through practical challenges that teach you to prototype features and full-stack products more effectively.

Maven Guarantee

This course is backed by the Maven Guarantee. Students are eligible for a full refund up until the halfway point of the course.

Course syllabus

5 live sessions • 23 lessons

Week 1

Oct 17—Oct 19

    Oct

    17

    Workshop #0: a quick 30 mins kick off

    Fri 10/173:00 PM—3:30 PM (UTC)

    Hands-on practice #1: Tech 101

    2 items

Week 2

Oct 20—Oct 26

    Oct

    21

    Workshop #1 (Tech): 101

    Tue 10/213:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

    Hands-on practice #2: Service Blueprint & Service Diagram instruments

    4 items

    Hands-on practice #2: API for PMs (advanced)

    2 items

Week 3

Oct 27—Nov 2

    Oct

    28

    Workshop #2 (Tech): building an architecture together

    Tue 10/284:00 PM—6:00 PM (UTC)

    FROM THIS DAY WE START WITH AI-PROTOTYPING PART

    1 item

    Hands-on practice #3: Prototype simple UI-only features

    2 items

    Hands-on practice #3: Revive the product with backend and databases

    3 items

Week 4

Nov 3—Nov 9

    Nov

    4

    Workshop #3 (AI-prototyping): Vibe-code a full-stack app

    Tue 11/44:00 PM—6:00 PM (UTC)

Week 5

Nov 10—Nov 11

    Nov

    11

    Bonus Workshop #4: we'll pick the topic based on the group preference

    Tue 11/114:00 PM—5:30 PM (UTC)

Post-course

    Advanced Tech #1: Role of a PM in Monitoring and Reliability

    3 items

    Advanced Tech #2: Role of a PM in Testing and Security

    2 items

    Advanced Tech #3: Product Complexity Estimation framework and PRD-writing

    1 item

    Advanced AI-Prototyping #1: Deploy, Testing, API-secrets, etc

    1 item

Bonus

    Exam to self-check your Tech skills: build Spotify architecture

    1 item

    Exam to self-check your AI-Prototyping skills: build a full-stack app

    1 item

What students are saying

Already 1500+ happy non-tech leaders

Already 1500+ happy non-tech leaders
Free resource

API for Product Managers

Learn what a PM should know about APIs in 5 examples: understand the concept and main terms (input, output, potential errors), and call a Taxi Order API yourself from your browser and even from Postman.


This is a full lesson, not a cut version.

Get this free resource

Free resource

AI-prototyping: creating UI-features without code

A full lesson on creating features with AI. You clone an existing product interface and bring a few ideas to life. You can immediately apply it to your own job, even without completing the full course. Enjoy!

Get this free resource

Meet your instructor

Vladimir Kalmykov | Lead PM @ Booking.com

Vladimir Kalmykov | Lead PM @ Booking.com

Lead PM @ Booking.com, PhD, 1500+ PMs learned Tech with me

  • PhD in Computer Science, Former developer
  • 10+ years in product management
  • Leads a department
  • 1500+ "Tech for PM" alumnis on various educational platforms
  • Author of hands-on courses on productdo.io

Career highlights

  • One of the first Tech PMs at Booking.com


  • Successfully delivered from 0 to 1 the Central Payments Platform in Booking.com (as a Sr. PM)

  • Currently responsible for the Connected Trip Platform for Booking.com (as a Group PM)

Course schedule

4-6 hours per week

  • Live workshops

    Tue 17:00 - 19:00 (Amsterdam time)

    Live workshops where we solve practical exercises together and in groups

  • Simulator practice

    3-4 hours per week

    Hands-on practice in the Simulators ("Tech for PMs" and then "Full-Stack AI Prototyping"), where you learn by doing

  • Questions for the author

    Anytime during the course

    Just send me a DM message in the Maven chat

Frequently Asked Questions

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Join an upcoming cohort

Technical Foundations & AI Prototyping for Product Managers

Oct'25

$1,199

Dates

Oct 17—Nov 11, 2025

Payment Deadline

Oct 20, 2025
Get reimbursed

$1,199

USD

·

4 Weeks