Training course · Windsurf · MVP Development for Startups

Windsurf for Startups and MVP Development

Develop with the Windsurf AI IDE and its Cascade agent: flows, memories, rules, workflows and safe use across the team.

Duration
2 days (14 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

This course connects Windsurf with the everyday processes of MVP Development for Startups. Participants work on realistic scenarios and leave with prompts, workflows and checklists they can use straight away.

Windsurf is an AI-powered development environment built around its agent, Cascade. Cascade understands the structure of your project, follows your actions in the editor and terminal, and works with you according to the flow principle: you and the agent take turns on the same task without having to re-explain context over and over. In this two-day course you will learn how to use Cascade effectively for features, debugging and refactoring, and how to make the most of intelligent completion in your daily development work.

To keep results consistent across a team, you steer Cascade with global and workspace rules, rely on memories for lasting project knowledge and automate recurring procedures with workflows that run from a slash command. You will connect external tools through MCP, control how terminal commands are executed and decide which data Cascade is allowed to see. Finally, you will define rules for code review, security and data protection so that Windsurf can be used responsibly within your organisation and its existing processes.

For founders and early product teams, speed determines how fast they learn from the market. AI coding tools, vibe coding and app builders now make it possible to turn an idea into a working minimum viable product with sign-up, database, payments and a landing page within days, often without a large engineering team. The real challenge shifts as a result: which hypothesis are you testing, which features truly belong in the MVP, and how does a quick prototype become a codebase that withstands investor due diligence, the first paying customers and growth? In this course you learn to build MVPs purposefully with AI agents, manage technical debt deliberately, build in security and data protection from day one and prepare the handover to a professional engineering team.

The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.

Who is this course for?

  • Founders with little or no programming experience
  • Technical co-founders and first engineers in startups
  • Product managers in early-stage product teams
  • Corporate innovation and venture building teams
  • Participants in incubator and accelerator programmes

Typical challenges we address

  • Limited time and budget to validate a product idea in the market
  • Lack of engineering capacity or dependence on external agencies
  • Quickly built prototypes with security holes, open databases and unclear architecture
  • Uncertainty about when to rewrite an MVP and when to evolve it

What you will be able to do

  • You use Cascade productively in flow for features, debugging and refactoring.
  • You steer Windsurf’s context precisely and keep sensitive content protected.
  • You maintain memories and rules that reliably enforce your project conventions.
  • You automate recurring procedures with workflows and connect external tools via MCP.
  • Turn a business idea into a focused MVP scope and build it yourself with AI tools.
  • Integrate sign-up, database, payments and analytics and check your MVP for common security gaps before launch.
  • Manage technical debt deliberately and prepare the codebase for growth, due diligence and an engineering team.

Course outline

Day 1

Module 1 Getting to know Windsurf and Cascade
  • Installation, importing existing editor settings and basic configuration
  • Cascade in code and chat mode: when the agent edits and when it only advises
  • The flow principle: how Cascade takes your editor and terminal actions into account
  • Intelligent completion and inline commands in everyday development
Module 2 Steering context
  • Understanding codebase indexing and referencing relevant files or directories
  • Bringing documentation, web sources and terminal output into context
  • Excluding sensitive content from context with ignore files
  • Structuring sessions and starting afresh when the topic changes
Module 3 Memories and rules for consistent results
  • Reviewing and maintaining auto-generated and manually created memories
  • Creating and versioning global and workspace rules
  • Expressing architecture, style and testing guidelines as effective rules
  • Activating rules selectively by file pattern or occasion
Module 4 Workflows and automation
  • Defining recurring procedures as workflows and launching them via slash command
  • Building workflows for release preparation, testing or code maintenance
  • Connecting MCP servers for issue trackers, databases or internal services
  • Controlling terminal command execution with allow and deny lists

Day 2

Module 5 Quality, review and governance
  • Tracing Cascade’s changes, accepting them partially or reverting them
  • Using a test-driven approach and preview features for verification
  • Team settings, data protection options and handling of secrets
  • Defining review processes and accountability for AI-generated code
Module 6 Practice lab: MVP Development for Startups
  • From pitch to specification
  • Building the MVP by prompt
  • Payments and integrations
  • Landing pages and experiments
  • Pre-launch security check
  • Making the codebase hand-over ready
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • Even an MVP processes real customer data: you learn to implement GDPR essentials such as privacy notices, data processing agreements and consent, manage API keys and secrets securely and clarify licensing and copyright questions around generated code that become relevant in due diligence.
  • Ground rules for safe AI use in your team
  • Checking results: facts, sources, tests and the four-eyes principle
  • Personal action plan for the next 30 days
  • Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning

Practical scenarios from your field

From pitch to specification

Translate the business idea, target group and core hypothesis into user stories, a data model and a prioritised scope that stays deliberately small and includes measurable learning goals for the market test.

Building the MVP by prompt

Generate a web app with sign-up, database, core feature and admin area step by step using AI agents or app builders, working in small, tested iterations with the code under version control.

Payments and integrations

Integrate subscriptions and one-off payments through a payment provider, transactional email, analytics and first integrations, with webhooks, error handling and securely stored API keys. Test and live modes stay separate.

Landing pages and experiments

Create landing pages, waitlists and pricing pages in several variants, track conversion events and run quick A/B tests to check demand and willingness to pay before investing in heavier development.

Pre-launch security check

Have the MVP code checked for open database rules, missing access controls, exposed keys and unprotected endpoints, and work through a short checklist for a safe go-live.

Making the codebase hand-over ready

Document the architecture, add tests, refactor critical areas and produce a technical overview that new engineers or a technical due diligence can follow quickly. This also helps investor conversations.

Possible hands-on projects

Waitlist landing page

A landing page with value proposition, email capture, double opt-in and a simple dashboard that analyses sign-ups and traffic sources.

Booking MVP

A small web app where customers book and pay for appointments, providers manage availability and both sides receive email confirmations.

Interview synthesis tool

A tool that collects notes from customer interviews, clusters statements by problems and wishes and shows evidence for or against the core hypothesis.

Prerequisites

You program regularly in at least one language and are familiar with Git and a modern IDE. You have a concrete product idea or work in an early-stage product team; no programming skills are required, though a basic technical understanding helps.

Technical requirements

Your own laptop with the Windsurf editor, Git and your usual toolchain installed; a Windsurf account with access to Cascade is required.

Data protection & compliance

Even an MVP processes real customer data: you learn to implement GDPR essentials such as privacy notices, data processing agreements and consent, manage API keys and secrets securely and clarify licensing and copyright questions around generated code that become relevant in due diligence.

Suggested dates

All dates are suggestions – your preferred date is always possible.

  • Thu, 26 November 2026 – Fri, 27 November 2026 Online Request
  • Tue, 8 December 2026 – Wed, 9 December 2026 Berlin Request
  • Tue, 15 December 2026 – Wed, 16 December 2026 Online Request
  • Wed, 13 January 2027 – Thu, 14 January 2027 Stuttgart Request
  • Tue, 26 January 2027 – Wed, 27 January 2027 Online Request
  • Mon, 8 February 2027 – Tue, 9 February 2027 Hanover Request

Frequently asked questions

What does Windsurf mean by flows?

Flows describe the close collaboration between you and Cascade. The agent observes what you do in the editor and terminal and takes those actions into account in its next steps. As a result you do not have to keep explaining where you are, and you can move smoothly between doing the work yourself and delegating it to the agent.

How do memories, rules and workflows differ?

Memories store knowledge that Cascade has gathered while working or that you have explicitly recorded. Rules are guidelines you write that shape the agent’s behaviour permanently. Workflows are reusable sequences of steps for recurring tasks, launched with a slash command. Together they keep results consistent across the whole team.

Can I use Windsurf with my existing projects and languages?

Yes. Windsurf is language-agnostic and works with your existing toolchain, including build tools, package managers and test frameworks. Whether you work on back end, front end, data processing or infrastructure code, what matters is giving Cascade good rules and clear context. Each course variant adds the specific focus for your field.

Can a non-technical founder really build an MVP alone?

For many business models, yes: web apps with sign-up, data storage, a core feature and payments can be built with AI tools without programming skills. What matters are clear requirements, small steps and systematic testing. Complex logic, high security demands or rapid growth will eventually call for engineering expertise. In the course you learn to recognise that point.

Will an AI-built MVP have to be rewritten later?

Not necessarily. If you use version control from the start, keep the data model understandable, test core features and separate configuration from code, an MVP can often evolve step by step. We show which early decisions make later rework easier and how to tell when starting afresh is the cheaper option.

How much does “Windsurf for Startups and MVP Development” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 2 training day(s) with a live trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.

Can I suggest my own date?

Yes. Our suggested dates are just a guide. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and confirm within one working day.

Is the course online or on-site?

Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart or Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.

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