# Lars the Leader - Entrepreneur Persona

> Secondary target - Validates WDS business value and creates demand

![Lars the Leader](resources/lars-the-leader.png)

**Priority:** SECONDARY 💼  
**Role in Flywheel:** Validates business value → Hires WDS designers → Creates demand  
**Created:** December 27, 2025

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## Profile Summary

**Seasoned entrepreneur who's burned through projects and learned there are no shortcuts.**

Lars represents the entrepreneur who validates that WDS delivers business value and creates demand for WDS-trained designers. He needs to trust designers to shoulder complexity and say "We need this, make it happen."

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## Background

### Business Journey

**Company Role:** Employee #3 in a product and service company - practically the founder

**Experience Level:** Seasoned - has been through multiple projects, learned from failures, understands there are no shortcuts

**Technical Background:** Not a tech person, but functions as a hybrid of:
- Product Manager
- CTO-ish role
- Business leader

**Management Style:** Social person who doesn't wish to get his hands dirty with actual work. Active on whiteboard sessions but leaves the experts to do their thing.

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## Current Situation

### Company & Team

**Company Size & Scope:**
- Multiple apps, sites, and admin systems
- Some legacy systems - nothing crazy
- Solid customer base with personal relationships
- Has paid off the technical debt (this was hard-won)

**Team Philosophy:**
- Realizes motivation has to come from within
- Lets people do their thing
- Open to mistakes of ambition
- Doesn't like when people aren't trying to do their best
- Wants team to be happy AND productive

**Technology Approach:**
- Leans heavily on consultants to set up techy things
- Interested in new technology
- Lets team tinker and fiddle with new tech when they're passionate
- Knows all new tech isn't great, but sees the spark in eyes when learning
- This might be why team members have stayed so long

**Customer Relationships:**
- Personal contact with quite a few customers
- Takes downtime and bugs very personally
- Hates bottlenecks - each one feels like a personal failure

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## Current Challenge

### The Designer Transition

**The Situation:**
- Current designer is going on maternity leave soon
- Needs a stand-in with knowledge and drive in AI
- UX workflow could be a little better (knows this)
- Wants smooth transition without quality dropping

**What He's Looking For:**
- Someone with AI knowledge and drive
- Designer who can maintain or improve quality
- Person who can integrate with the existing team
- Someone who won't need constant hand-holding

---

## Psychological Profile

### Leadership Style & Values

**Core Values:**
- Team happiness matters - but so does productivity
- Quality over shortcuts
- Learning and growth within team
- Trust the experts to do their thing

**Team as Machinery:**
- Sees team as a big, optimized machine
- Wants everyone to have unique skills
- Values overlap and communication
- Willing to pay for quality

**Personal Approach:**
- Social but not micromanaging
- Active in strategy, hands-off in execution
- Takes failures personally (downtime, bugs, bottlenecks)
- Fills the vision role

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## Driving Forces

### ✅ Top 3 Positive Drivers (What He Wants)

**1. Team that's happy AND productive (optimized machinery)**
- Not just one or the other - both
- Everyone has their unique skills
- Overlap and good communication
- Spark in their eyes when learning new things
- **WDS Promise:** Methodology that empowers teams and improves collaboration

**2. Smooth designer transition with AI-savvy replacement**
- Maternity leave coverage handled well
- New designer who understands AI tools
- No drop in quality during transition
- Someone with drive and knowledge
- **WDS Promise:** WDS-trained designers are prepared, structured, and AI-confident

**3. Quality work that fulfills the vision (willing to pay)**
- Work that delivers on the business vision
- No shortcuts - learned that lesson
- Willing to invest in quality
- Want to be in forefront of technology
- **WDS Promise:** Proven methodology with measurable business results

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### ❌ Top 3 Negative Drivers (What He Fears)

**1. Quality dropping or bottlenecks (takes very personally)**
- Downtime feels like personal failure
- Bugs are embarrassing
- Bottlenecks frustrate him deeply
- UX workflow inefficiencies bother him
- **WDS Answer:** Structured methodology reduces bottlenecks and maintains quality

**2. Being taken advantage of by consultants**
- Has been burned before (implied)
- Leans on consultants but wary
- Wants honest, quality work
- Fears being sold snake oil
- **WDS Answer:** Open-source, proven methodology - no vendor lock-in

**3. Being embarrassed in front of his team**
- Social person who values team respect
- Doesn't want to look foolish
- Fears making bad hiring/consulting decisions
- Wants to maintain credibility
- **WDS Answer:** Real case studies, testimonials, proven track record

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## What Lars Needs from Designers

### The Ideal Designer (From Lars's Perspective)

**Characteristics:**
- Takes initiative and shoulders responsibility
- Understands business needs, not just aesthetics
- Can work with developers effectively
- Brings AI knowledge and modern approaches
- Doesn't create bottlenecks or confusion

**Workflow:**
- Clear communication about design decisions
- Specifications that developers can work with
- Proactive about identifying issues
- Collaborative without needing constant direction

**Results:**
- Quality work that fulfills the vision
- Happy users and customers
- Smooth collaboration with dev team
- Business value delivered

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## Role in Strategic Triangle

```
STINA (Designer)
Strategic Leader
Shoulders complexity
      │
      │ Creates specs for
      ▼
FELIX (Developer)
Gets logical specs
Life gets easier
      │
      │ Delivers quality for
      ▼
 LARS (Entrepreneur)
 Gets business value
 Trusts the process
      │
      │ Hires/values
      └──────────────► STINA
                      (Loop closes)
```

**Lars's Role:**
- Receives business value from quality design + development
- Validates that WDS methodology works
- Creates demand by hiring more WDS-trained designers
- Closes the loop by valuing and promoting WDS approach

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## Validation Strategy

### What Lars Needs to See About WDS

**1. Business Value Proof**
- Real case studies with measurable results
- Dog Week: 5x faster, better quality
- ROI clearly demonstrated
- Not just design theory, actual business impact

**2. Risk Mitigation**
- Methodology is proven, not experimental
- Based on 25-year BMad foundation
- Open-source - no vendor lock-in
- Community of users providing validation

**3. Team Benefits**
- Makes designers more effective
- Improves designer-developer collaboration
- Reduces bottlenecks and confusion
- Creates happier, more productive team

**4. Trust Signals**
- Testimonials from other entrepreneurs
- Case studies from real companies
- Speaking engagements and recognition
- Active community support

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## Conversion Path

### How Lars Validates WDS

**Phase 1: Discovery**
- Hears about WDS from designer applicant or community
- Sees it mentioned as methodology on portfolio/resume
- Notices improved specifications from WDS-trained designer

**Phase 2: Evaluation**
- Reads case studies and testimonials
- Sees business results (time saved, quality improved)
- Validates with other entrepreneurs
- Checks that it's real methodology, not just hype

**Phase 3: Adoption**
- Hires WDS-trained designer (or encourages current designer to learn)
- Sees immediate benefits in workflow and quality
- Experiences smoother designer-developer collaboration
- Business results validate the investment

**Phase 4: Advocacy**
- Recommends WDS to other entrepreneurs
- Looks for WDS-trained designers in future hiring
- Becomes proof point in case studies
- Creates ongoing demand for WDS designers

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## Impact on Business Goals

**Lars's Role in Success Metrics:**

**Primary Goal (50 Evangelists):**
- Validates that WDS-trained designers deliver value
- Creates demand that motivates designers to learn WDS

**Secondary Goals (WDS Adoption):**
- Becomes one of **100 entrepreneurs embracing WDS**
- Hires designers who are WDS-trained
- Provides case study of business impact

**Tertiary Goals (Community Opportunities):**
- His company becomes proof point in case studies
- Provides testimonials about business value
- Recommends WDS at entrepreneur/business events

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## The Message for Lars

**"WDS-trained designers deliver business value. They shoulder complexity, communicate clearly, and collaborate effectively. They make your team better."**

Lars doesn't need to learn WDS himself - he needs to trust that WDS-trained designers are worth hiring and empowering.

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## Related Documents

- **[00-trigger-map.md](00-trigger-map.md)** - Visual overview and navigation
- **[02-Stina-the-Strategist.md](02-Stina-the-Strategist.md)** - Primary persona
- **[04-Felix-the-Full-Stack.md](04-Felix-the-Full-Stack.md)** - Tertiary persona
- **[05-Key-Insights.md](05-Key-Insights.md)** - Strategic implications

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## Visual Representation - Image Generation Prompt

**Prompt Used:**

"Professional portrait of a 42-year-old Scandinavian male entrepreneur, short neat hair, slight beard, standing in modern office space with glass walls and sticky notes on whiteboard behind him, confident and engaged expression with friendly smile, natural office lighting, shallow depth of field, wearing business casual (button-down shirt, sleeves rolled up), contemporary startup office environment, photorealistic style, warm professional color palette, 4K quality, executive portrait photography"

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_Back to [Trigger Map](00-trigger-map.md)_

