Smart Agent Collective — April 2026
Phase 1 & 2

Build Your
AI Executive
Assistant

Today you'll set up the brain of your AI assistant — the folder, the context, and the memory that makes Claude actually know who you are.

The Problem

Most agents use AI
like Google

Without a setup
  • Starts from scratch every session
  • Re-explain your market every time
  • Generic outputs, wrong tone
  • No memory of past decisions
  • You're training it — then losing the training
With your EA setup
  • Knows your name, market, team, clients
  • Knows your communication style
  • Remembers decisions across sessions
  • Gets smarter as you work
  • Your assistant — not a stranger
Before we start

Quick check-in

💻
VS Code installed? code.visualstudio.com — free download, 2 minutes
🤖
Claude Code installed in terminal? Open a terminal and type claude — if it runs, you're set. See companion guide for install steps.
📋
Companion guide open? tom.here.now/thesmartagent — you'll need the Initialize Prompt from there
Not set up yet? Follow along as best you can — after the call, the companion guide walks through Stage 0 step by step.
Today's Plan

Three phases.
Two today.

Phase 1

Build the Structure

Create your project folder and run the Initialize Prompt. Claude builds the skeleton — all the files and folders your assistant needs.

0–8 min
Phase 2

The Interview

Claude asks you 6 sections of questions — your business, your team, your goals. Then it fills in every file based on your answers.

8–30 min
Phase 3

Review & Commit

Review what got built, make a first git commit. Your assistant is live. We'll build skills on top of this in a future call.

30–45 min
Phase 1

Create your
project folder

1
Create a new folder Finder / File Explorer → new folder → name it EA or executive-assistant
2
Open it in VS Code File → Open Folder → select your new folder
3
Open the terminal in VS Code Terminal → New Terminal (or Ctrl+`), then type claude and hit Enter — this is where the real power is
4
Paste the Initialize Prompt Get it from tom.here.now/thesmartagent → copy the entire prompt → paste into Claude Code → hit Enter
Then wait. Claude builds the folder structure automatically. You'll see files appearing on the left. Don't type anything yet.
Phase 1 Output

Your assistant's
skeleton

CLAUDE.md # The brain context/ me.md work.md team.md current-priorities.md goals.md decisions/ log.md projects/ # Active work templates/ references/ archives/ .claude/ settings.json rules/ skills/ # Built over time

All the files are empty placeholders right now.

Claude built the skeleton. Phase 2 is where you fill it in — through the interview.

Don't edit anything yet. Let Phase 2 do the work.
Phase 2

The interview

Claude asks you 6 sections of questions — one at a time. Just answer honestly. Type "skip" for anything you're unsure about.

Section 1

About You

Name, role, timezone, your #1 priority

Section 2

Your Business

Company, services, revenue streams, tools you use

Section 3

Your Team

Solo or team? Key people, roles, where you communicate

Section 4

Priorities & Projects

What you're focused on, deadlines, active initiatives

Section 5

Communication

Bullets or paragraphs? Pet peeves? Tone for clients vs. internal?

Section 6

What You Want Help With

Recurring tasks, what you'd delegate first, workflows to automate

Phase 2 Output

What Claude
builds for you

1
5 context files — filled in from your answers me.md, work.md, team.md, current-priorities.md, goals.md — all populated with your real information
2
Communication rules .claude/rules/communication-style.md — Claude will follow your formatting preferences automatically from now on
3
CLAUDE.md — your assistant's master brain Under 150 lines. An index that imports all your context. This is what Claude reads at the start of every session.
4
A "Skills to Build" backlog Based on Section 6 — the recurring tasks you mentioned become a prioritized list of workflows to automate next
Keeping It Sharp

The maintenance
routine

Weekly
Nothing required — auto-memory handles daily learnings for you
Monthly
Glance at context/current-priorities.md — update if your focus has shifted
Quarterly
Update context/goals.md with new goals and milestones
As needed
Log decisions in decisions/log.md — add reference files — build new skills
Pro tip: If you want your assistant to permanently remember something, just say: "Remember that I always prefer X." It saves it across all future conversations — no file editing needed.
Take it home

Your homework

1
Finish Phase 1 & 2 if you didn't complete it today Use the companion guide — it walks through every step
2
Use it for one real task this week Draft a client email, write a listing description, answer a market question — something you'd normally do yourself
3
Post a screenshot of your CLAUDE.md in Skool Show the group what your brain looks like — even if it's a first draft
tom.here.now/thesmartagent
1 / 10