Expo x STRV: Hackathon Prague 2026
Build a real app for a real business. In one day.
Expo is coming to Prague and joining forces with STRV to host a hackathon focused on one thing: building something real.
No throwaway demos. No fake startups. Pick a business you actually care about (your favorite coffee shop, a local brewery, your own company) and build them an app. By the end of the day, you'll ship something to the App Store.
Limited to 20 curated teams and whatever you can ship by 5 PM.
What You'll Build
Every team must:
Build a mobile app using the Expo stack
Solve a real problem for a real business you care about
Choose a business that doesn't already have a mobile app (or has something outdated that needs replacing)
Examples: Coffee shop ordering and loyalty. Brewery membership or events. An internal tool for your team at work.
Goal: Take an idea and make it real in one day.
Tools and Workflow
This is about showing how modern app development actually works.
Recommended flow:
Start with Expo Agent to scaffold your app
Pull the code and iterate using Claude Code and the Expo MCP stack
Use Expo for the last mile: build, deploy, update, ship
What you'll have access to:
Expo and STRV engineers on-site for support
Full Expo toolchain
Claude Code credits
Help getting your app to TestFlight
We provide the workspace, the experts and the tools. You bring the idea.
Run of the Show (Friday, 1 May)
09:00 Kickoff and team formation
10:00 Build
17:00 Submit demo video (code freeze)
17:00 - 18:00 Judges review submissions
18:00 Top 5 teams: live demos
19:00 Winners and networking drinks
Judging Criteria
We're looking for things that should exist in the world.
1. Realness: Is this a real business? Do you clearly understand the problem?
2. Product Quality: Is it intuitive and well-designed? Does it feel like a real product? Did you use native modules?
3. Technical Execution: Good use of the Expo stack. Clean and thoughtful implementation.
4. Shipability: Is it on TestFlight or close? Can you hand this to a business owner and have them use it tomorrow?
Constraints and Guardrails
Must use Expo
Must build for a real business without an existing app
Must build during the hackathon window
Must submit a demo video (3 minutes max) and a working app
Advice
Keep scope tight
Focus on one core workflow
Build something that could actually ship
Prizes
No cash. Only things that matter.
Top Teams:
Trophy and certificate
$10,000 in Expo credits for the year
Tickets to App.js Conf
Private session with Expo and STRV senior engineers
Featured on Expo's blog and social channels
All Participants:
Expo swag
Free Expo Production account for one year
Registration
This event is curated. We're selecting 20 teams (1 to 3 people).
In your application, include:
Project idea: What are you building and for which business?
Why this business: Why do you care about it? Why do they need an app?
Your team: Who's on it? (LinkedIn profiles required)
Expo exists to help people take ideas and make them real. This hackathon is about doing that for something you actually care about. Not a fake startup. Not a demo project. A real business in your world.
Start with an idea. Build the app. Make it real.
- Expo and STRV
By taking part in this event, you grant the event organizers full rights to the use of images resulting from the photography/video filming, and any reproductions or adaptations of the images for fundraising, publicity or other purposes. This might include (but is not limited to): the right to use them in printed and online publicity, social media and press releases.
If you do not wish to be photographed, please inform an event organizer during check-in.