Vibe Coding: Connecting External Systems
Tuesday, June 9, 2026, 10:00 AM PDT – 12:00 PM PDT
Virtual event
Hosted by Founder Guide
Your app does not exist in a vacuum. It needs to send emails, accept payments, sync with spreadsheets, pull data from other services, or push information to tools your team already uses. This session teaches you how to connect your project to external systems through APIs. If the word "API" makes you nervous, relax. An API is just a way for two pieces of software to talk to each other. You will learn how to describe these connections to the AI and have it build them for you. What You Will Learn • What an API is and how it works. A simple mental model for understanding how your app communicates with other services. • Common integrations. How to connect to email services (SendGrid, Resend), payment processors (Stripe), spreadsheets (Google Sheets), and other tools. • Reading API documentation. You do not need to understand every detail. You need to know where to look and what to copy into your prompt. • Error handling. What to do when an external service does not respond or returns an error. How to build your app so it fails gracefully. • Testing integrations. How to test that your connections work without accidentally sending real emails or charging real credit cards. What You Will Walk Away With • At least one working external integration in your project. • A pattern for connecting to any API in the future. • Confidence that integrations are not as intimidating as they sound. Prerequisites This session assumes you have some experience building with AI coding tools. You will get the most out of it if: • You have a working project with some functionality built out. • You are comfortable making changes to your project through AI prompts. • Helpful but not required: experience with databases from Session 5. What to Bring • A laptop with a browser (all tools we use are web-based) • A project you are working on or want to start • Your project in its current state • A list of external tools or services you want your app to connect to Part of the From Prototype to Product Series This is Session 1 of 10 in the Vibe Coding: From Prototype to Product workshop series. Each session stands alone, but the full series is designed as a progression from first build to finished product. Full series ticket holders get access to all 10 sessions, weekly lab sessions for live troubleshooting, recordings of every session, and Founder Guide community access. Full series: $480 (10 sessions for the price of 8). Visit the series page for details. Already have a series ticket? Enter your promo code at checkout to register for free. About the Facilitator Todd Bashor is the founder of Founder Guide and has 25 years of experience building and scaling software products at ServiceNow, FICO, and Intuit. He co-founded NewRocket in 2017 and led it through hypergrowth to acquisition in 2022. He now works with early-stage founders on product validation, traction, and go-to-market strategy. Todd has been coding with AI for over two years and has mentored multiple non-technical founders through building their first MVPs with vibe coding tools.