From Hackathon to Founder: How Builders Turn Ideas into Real Products

​A hackathon gives you a deadline. Building a product gives you the real test: will anyone use it, and will you keep going when the sprint is over?

​Join LF Decentralized Trust India Chapter and AI Citizen Community for an honest, founder-focused conversation with a hackathon builder who has taken an idea all the way to a real product. We’ll follow the journey from the first problem and the decisions made under hackathon pressure to early users, unexpected setbacks, and the work of turning a demo into something people rely on.

​This is a practical story about the builder’s mindset: how to choose what matters, learn quickly, make trade-offs, ask for feedback, and keep moving through uncertainty. No polished success story or pitch deck—just the real choices, misses, and lessons behind the product.

​FORMAT · 60 MINUTES 3:00–3:05 PM — Welcome and introductions 3:05–3:25 PM — The builder’s journey: problem, hackathon, product, and turning points 3:25–3:40 PM — Candid Q&A with the builder 3:40–3:55 PM — Open builders’ circle: share an idea or obstacle and get perspectives 3:55–4:00 PM — One next step, useful connections, and close

​WHO SHOULD JOIN Developers, founders, designers, students, and anyone curious about building a useful product. You don’t need a startup or a finished idea. Bring a project you’re working on, a problem you want to solve, or a question you’ve been sitting with.

​LEAVE WITH

• ​A clearer picture of the path from hackathon prototype to product

• ​Practical lessons on users, iteration, and staying resilient

• ​A concrete next step for something you want to build

• ​New connections with people building across India

​Come for the story; stay for the conversation.

​Presented by AI Citizen Community in collaboration with LF Decentralized Trust India Chapter. Speaker details to be announced.