# Lars the Leader - Entrepreneur Persona

> Secondary target - Validates WDS business value and creates demand

**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

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

