​Building a consumer brand? Before you spend more on product, packaging or ads, put it in front of real buyers.

​This time, Reality Check by AI Garage returns with a special D2C Edition for founders building products people can discover, compare, try and buy.

​Bring your product, prototype, samples, packaging, landing page or early brand.

​Sit across from real consumers.

​Find out:

• ​What catches their attention

• ​What they think your product is

• ​Who they think it is for

• ​What they compare it with

• ​What feels trustworthy — or doesn't

• ​What they think it should cost

• ​What would stop them from buying

• ​What would make them try it today

​No investor panel. No startup pitch competition. No polite “looks interesting” feedback.

​Just founders and potential customers having the conversations that usually happen too late.

​The first Reality Check happened on 8th August.

​After 2 months and 4 reschedules, we finally got the first edition into a room.

​9 founders showed up with everything from landing pages and prototypes to live MVPs.

​20+ Reality Checkers sat across from them for multiple rounds of candid user conversations.

​And founders walked away with things they didn't have when they entered:

• ​Sharper positioning

• ​New use cases

• ​Feature ideas triggered by user questions

• ​Confusion points they hadn't noticed

• ​Better ways to explain what they were building

• ​More clarity on what to test next

​One founder changed how he positioned his product after users misunderstood something he thought was obvious.

​Others discovered new use cases or features directly through conversations.

​And several founders told us the quality of questions from Reality Checkers surprised them.

​That is what this room is for.

​Why Reality Check exists

​AI has made building faster and cheaper.

​Landing pages, agents, workflows, prototypes and MVPs that once took weeks can now be built in days.

​But the hard question has shifted.

​Earlier: “Can I build this?”

​Now: “Am I building the right thing?”

​Most founders know they should talk to users.

​But doing it consistently is awkward, unstructured and surprisingly difficult to arrange.

​So Reality Check creates the room for it.

​You bring what you're building.

​We bring founders and Reality Checkers together.

​Then you personally pitch, demo, ask questions and watch what people actually understand.

​The goal is not applause. The goal is clarity.

​This is NOT

​❌ A demo day
❌ A pitch competition
❌ A networking event disguised as validation
❌ Generic founder-to-founder feedback
❌ A room where someone validates your idea for you

​Reality Check is founder-led.

​You will personally face real user reactions.

​That is the point.

​Who should apply as a Founder / Builder?

​Reality Check is best suited for early-stage builders working on:

• ​Consumer apps

• ​AI products and agents

• ​Productivity tools

• ​Learning and career products

• ​Creator tools

• ​Community and event products

• ​Local commerce

• ​B2B / workflow products

• ​Student or working-professional products

• ​Other early-stage technology products

​You do not need a finished product.

​You should have something people can understand or experience:

​Landing page → Prototype → Figma → WhatsApp demo → Working MVP

​The stronger your prototype/MVP, the more useful the conversations usually become.

​What happens during Reality Check?

​Founders are assigned their own tables.

​Reality Checkers rotate between founders in small groups.

​Each interaction is deliberately short so founders hear reactions from multiple people instead of spending the entire event with one user.

​A typical round looks like:

​1 min → Founder context/problem
3 mins → Pitch/demo
2.5 mins → User reactions + questions
1.5 mins → Feedback capture + rotation

​Then the Reality Checkers move to the next founder.

​Over multiple rounds, patterns start appearing.

​What should founders listen for?

​Not: "Do you like my idea?"

​Instead:

• ​What do people think your product actually does?

• ​Who do they think it is for?

• ​What did they misunderstand?

• ​Where did they get confused?

• ​What language did they naturally use?

• ​What existing behaviour/product did they compare it to?

• ​Would they actually use it?

• ​Would they pay, share or recommend it?

• ​What questions keep appearing across conversations?

​One comment may be noise.

​The same reaction from five different people is a signal.

​What you'll leave with

​Depending on attendance and rotation, founders can leave with multiple independent user reactions plus:

• ​Clarity on what users understood

• ​Repeated confusion points

• ​Objections and interest signals

• ​Exact language people used to describe the product

• ​New use cases or feature ideas

• ​A sharper pitch

• ​Better questions to investigate

• ​Clearer next steps for the product, landing page, positioning or ICP

​We also capture structured feedback wherever possible so founders can review user responses after the event.

​Who are Reality Checkers?

​You don't need to be a founder, product manager, investor or AI expert.

​You just need to be willing to try early products and tell builders what you actually think.

​As a Reality Checker, you might be asked:

• ​What do you think this product does?

• ​Who do you think this is for?

• ​What confused you?

• ​Would you use it?

• ​Why or why not?

• ​Would you pay for it, share it or recommend it?

• ​What would make it more useful?

​There is only one rule:

​Be honest, specific and kind.

​Your reaction could save a founder weeks of building in the wrong direction.

​What the first edition taught us

​Reality Check itself is also an experiment.

​After the first edition, we're already improving:

• ​User ↔ founder matching

• ​Feedback capture

• ​Rotation mechanics

• ​Founder briefing

• ​Post-event synthesis

• ​Ways to create deeper conversations where useful

​Each edition should be better than the one before it.

​Event Format

​Format: In-person
Duration: ~2.5 hours
Founder seats: Limited
Reality Checker seats: Limited
Founder / Reality Checker ticket: Free

​Founder applications are reviewed because the quality of the room depends heavily on having something concrete enough for users to react to.

​Agenda

​0:00–0:15 → Welcome + context
0:15–0:30 → Founder + Reality Checker briefing
0:30–2:00 → Rotating validation rounds
2:00–2:20 → Founder/user debrief
2:20–2:30 → Closing + next steps

​Exact timings may vary slightly by edition.

​What to bring

​Founders / Builders

​Bring:

• ​Your laptop or phone if required for the demo

• ​Your prototype/MVP already opened and tested

• ​A short pitch/demo you can deliver repeatedly

• ​Backup screenshots/video in case your demo breaks

• ​2–3 assumptions/questions you genuinely want to test

​Most importantly:

​Come ready to listen more than you explain.

​Reality Checkers

​No preparation required.

​Show up curious and willing to give honest reactions.

​Want to help build Reality Check?

​We're looking for people and organisations who can help us make Reality Check one of the most useful rooms an early-stage founder can walk into.

​We're especially looking for:

• ​Venue partners

• ​Community partners

• ​Refreshment partners

• ​Reality Checkers

• ​Experienced founders/operators

• ​Event volunteers

• ​People who can help us reach specific user communities

​The ambition is simple:

​Give early-stage builders a place to gain clarity, build conviction and set direction before building more.

​About AI Garage

​Reality Check is hosted by AI Garage, a builder community focused on helping people go from learning AI to actually shipping with it.

​Across 25+ events in the last 12 months, we've brought builders together through workshops, buildathons, fellowships and experiments like Reality Check.

​Because AI can help you build faster.

​Real users help you figure out whether you're building the right thing.

​Build fast. Reality check faster.