Most founders use AI like a search bar. One question, one answer, move on. That's a fraction of what it can do.
The difference isn't a better tool. It's how you talk to it. These are the ten phrases we teach first in Kindri, the ones our founders keep coming back to. No code. No new subscriptions. Copy, paste, and use them on real work today.
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Two rules under everything
Name the pain before you ask for the fix. One sentence on what's broken gets you a better answer than a paragraph on what you want.
End every prompt with: "Ask me any clarifying questions before you start." That one line turns AI from a vending machine into a thinking partner.
How to use this
Start with 01 and 02. They make every phrase after them work better.
Use real work, not test questions. The phrases only show what they can do when something real is on the line.
Anything in [square brackets] is yours to fill in.
They work in Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini. We use Claude in Edge.
01
Name the pain first
Use when: you're about to ask AI for anything.
Here's what's broken: [one sentence on the frustration]. Here's what it's costing me: [time, money, a client, sleep]. Help me fix it. Ask me any clarifying questions before you start.
Why it works: AI solves the problem you describe. Describe a task and you get a task back. Describe the pain and you get a solution, often one you hadn't thought of. This is the first step of Kindri's Pain → Problem → Prompt framework.
Try it now: Pick the thing that annoyed you most this week, whether that's a late payer, a slow supplier or a proposal you keep putting off, and run it through this phrase.
02
Teach it who you are
Use when: once, today. It's the phrase that improves every other answer you'll ever get.
Ask me these questions one at a time and remember my answers for everything we do together: 1. What's my business, in one sentence, and what's my role in it? 2. Which countries and cities do we sell in? 3. Who are our best customers, and how do they usually reach us: WhatsApp, email, walk-in, referral? 4. What do we sell, at what prices, and in which currencies? 5. How do I sound at my best? Give me three words. 6. Which words, phrases or styles should you never use for me? 7. Who's on my team and what does each person own? 8. Which tools does the business run on day to day? 9. What's the one thing I most need to get done this quarter? 10. What does a great year look like twelve months from now?
Why it works: generic answers come from AI not knowing you. Fifteen minutes of answers, saved to memory, means everything after this sounds like it came from someone on your team who knows Lagos from Nairobi and naira from shillings.
Try it now: Answer properly. Talking is fine (see the tip in 05). Before you close the chat, ask: "Show me everything you've saved about me," and correct anything that's wrong.
03
Cast the role, hard
Use when: you're opening a fresh chat and need one specific, expert point of view.
You're a world-class [role] with [number] years' experience in [market or industry]. I'm paying you $1,000 an hour. [Your request.]
Why it works: a vague assistant gives vague advice. Give it a real title, a track record and a place, and the answer sharpens. More examples: "You're my senior credit controller. You've collected from 500 late-paying clients across Kenya and Nigeria." · "Answer like I flew you in from Johannesburg to fix this."
Try it now: Rerun a question you asked AI last week, but cast the role first. Compare the two answers.
04
Raise the stakes
Use when: the answers are long, generic or padded.
I have [five minutes / one shot / a board meeting at 9am] to get this right, or it costs me [the deal / the client / the month]. Be sharp.
Why it works: AI tightens up when something's on the line. Stakes cut the fluff and force it to choose what matters.
Try it now: Use it on the next email you've been putting off sending.
05
Untangle my head
Use when: you've got forty things spinning and can't think straight.
I'm buried. Here's everything in my head right now: [brain dump]. Sort it into what must happen this week, what someone else should do, and what can wait. Then give me the first three things to do today.
Why it works: when you're overloaded, the list isn't the problem. Deciding is. AI turns a messy dump into a ranked plan in seconds.
Talk, don't type: You speak about three times faster than you type, and the messy spoken version works better. Use your phone's dictation, or record yourself the way you'd send a WhatsApp voice note, and paste the transcript. Ums and tangents included.
Try it now: Five minutes, out loud, tonight. Run the phrase. Work off the list tomorrow.
06
Interview me
Use when: you don't know exactly what you need yet, or the task really matters.
Before you write anything, interview me. Ask one question at a time until you understand what I actually need. Then summarise it back to me before you build.
Why it works: a consultant who asks nothing gives you a template. One who asks good questions gives you something that fits. Make AI earn the brief.
Try it now: Use it for a job post, a client proposal or a tricky message to your team. Answer three or four questions properly before you let it write.
07
Tear it down, then rebuild
Use when: you've got a draft that's "fine", and fine isn't good enough.
Tear this apart the way my toughest client would. Show me everything that's weak, vague or forgettable. Then rebuild it using every fix you just named.
Why it works: the first answer is the starting point, not the finish. Most people stop at "close enough". Make AI attack its own work and the second version is a different level.
Try it now: Paste in something you're about to send: a pitch, a price list, a WhatsApp broadcast. Run the phrase twice if you need to.
08
Pump the brakes
Use when: the chat is heading in the wrong direction and you're getting frustrated.
Stop. We're not on the same page. Ask me three sharper questions so you can get this right.
Why it works: don't start over. Starting over throws away everything it learned in the chat. Making it ask questions turns guessing into understanding.
Show, don't describe: If you're struggling to explain something, like a confusing spreadsheet, an error message or a client text you don't know how to answer, take a screenshot and paste it in. Ask: "What's going on here, and what would you do?"
Try it now: Next time an answer misses twice in a row, use this instead of rewording your request.
09
Bottle the winning prompt
Use when: you just got exactly what you wanted.
That's exactly right. Write me the prompt that would produce this same result every time, so I can reuse it without explaining everything again.
Why it works: a great chat is a recipe you'll lose when you close the tab. Bottle it and you get the same quality next month, and anyone on your team can use it too. In Edge, this is how you start building AI employees.
Try it now: Find your best chat from the last month. Run the phrase. Save the result in a doc called "Our prompt library" and share it with your team.
10
Build a shadow board
Use when: you're about to make a big call, like a price change, a hire, a new market or saying yes to a big client.
I'm deciding: [the decision]. Assemble a shadow board of five experts with different lenses: strategy, money, customers, risk and execution. For each, tell me why they're in the room, what they think, and what they'd push back on. Then tell me where they agree and the one thing they'd all warn me about.
Why it works: most founders make the big calls alone at 10pm. AI agrees with you by default. This makes it disagree on purpose, before reality does.
Follow-up: “Have each board member score my plan out of 100, say what would make it a 100, and merge their fixes into one stronger plan.”
Try it now: Bring a real decision you're sitting on. Read the risk expert's answer twice.
Bonus
+
After the meeting
Here's the transcript from our meeting. Give me: the decisions we made, every action with an owner and a deadline, a follow-up email ready to send, and a short WhatsApp update for the team.
Why it works: the meeting isn't the work. The hour after it is. Turn on transcription in Zoom, Google Meet or Teams, and that hour becomes two minutes.
+
The polish pass
Polish this so it reads like a sharp operator wrote it, not a machine. Cut anything repetitive, padded, vague or trying too hard. Cut at least 20%. Make it clear and human.
Why it works: Use it on anything going to clients, investors or your team.
All prompts
Copy, paste, make them yours. [Square brackets] are yours to fill in.
01
Here's what's broken: [one sentence on the frustration]. Here's what it's costing me: [time, money, a client, sleep]. Help me fix it. Ask me any clarifying questions before you start.
02
Ask me these questions one at a time and remember my answers for everything we do together: 1. What's my business, in one sentence, and what's my role in it? 2. Which countries and cities do we sell in? 3. Who are our best customers, and how do they usually reach us: WhatsApp, email, walk-in, referral? 4. What do we sell, at what prices, and in which currencies? 5. How do I sound at my best? Give me three words. 6. Which words, phrases or styles should you never use for me? 7. Who's on my team and what does each person own? 8. Which tools does the business run on day to day? 9. What's the one thing I most need to get done this quarter? 10. What does a great year look like twelve months from now?
03
You're a world-class [role] with [number] years' experience in [market or industry]. I'm paying you $1,000 an hour. [Your request.]
04
I have [five minutes / one shot / a board meeting at 9am] to get this right, or it costs me [the deal / the client / the month]. Be sharp.
05
I'm buried. Here's everything in my head right now: [brain dump]. Sort it into what must happen this week, what someone else should do, and what can wait. Then give me the first three things to do today.
06
Before you write anything, interview me. Ask one question at a time until you understand what I actually need. Then summarise it back to me before you build.
07
Tear this apart the way my toughest client would. Show me everything that's weak, vague or forgettable. Then rebuild it using every fix you just named.
08
Stop. We're not on the same page. Ask me three sharper questions so you can get this right.
09
That's exactly right. Write me the prompt that would produce this same result every time, so I can reuse it without explaining everything again.
10
I'm deciding: [the decision]. Assemble a shadow board of five experts with different lenses: strategy, money, customers, risk and execution. For each, tell me why they're in the room, what they think, and what they'd push back on. Then tell me where they agree and the one thing they'd all warn me about.
08 · Show, don't describe
What's going on here, and what would you do?
10 · Follow-up
Have each board member score my plan out of 100, say what would make it a 100, and merge their fixes into one stronger plan.
Bonus · After the meeting
Here's the transcript from our meeting. Give me: the decisions we made, every action with an owner and a deadline, a follow-up email ready to send, and a short WhatsApp update for the team.
Bonus · The polish pass
Polish this so it reads like a sharp operator wrote it, not a machine. Cut anything repetitive, padded, vague or trying too hard. Cut at least 20%. Make it clear and human.
Closing line
Ask me any clarifying questions before you start.
Take it further
Where this goes next
These ten phrases change how one person works with AI.
Kindri Edge changes how the whole business works. Over ten live weeks with Nick and Ali, you and your team build your Business Brain and put AI to work across marketing, sales, operations, customer success and finance, built for how business actually runs, wherever you are.
The founding cohort starts 6 January 2027. The waitlist hears first.
