Builders NYC: Demo Day -- Roast & Roast
Builders NYC is a community for builders across New York City: founders, developers, designers, students, creatives, technologists, product-minded enthusiasts, and anyone who wants to build, share, and connect.
The theme for this Demo Day is simple: Roast & Roast
Roast & Roast is a morning demo day where builders present real projects, prototypes, MVPs, experiments, tools, designs, and half-baked ideas, then get honest feedback from the room over coffee.
Each selected demo will get around 5-10 minutes to present, followed by 3-5 minutes of constructive feedback, questions, and lighthearted roasting from the audience.
The goal is not to tear anyone down. The goal is to help each other sharpen ideas, improve products, explain projects more clearly, and become better builders together.
Whether your project is polished, half-working, or ugly-but-functional, bring it! Te best demos aren't always perfect, sometimes they're honest, interesting, and worth discussing.
This isn't a pitch competition, this a room full of builders helping other builders get better!
### Who Should Attend
This event is open to anyone who has a project they want to share or a project they want to roast. If you want to demo, you don't need a completed product, you just need to be willing and able to show something, give useful feedback, and have a sense of humor.
### Demo Format
Selected builders will have 5-10 minutes to present their project.
A demo can include:
a live app or website
a prototype
a Figma/design walkthrough
a GitHub repo
a CLI or dev tool
a notebook
a slide deck
a landing page
a demo video
a startup idea or product concept
anything else people can react to
After each demo, we'll spend 3-5 minutes on feedback from the room.
Feedback can focus on things like:
product clarity
UX/design
technical approach
market/use case
onboarding
pitch/storytelling
what's confusing
what's actually interesting
what could be improved upon
The roasts should be funny, but useful. No personal shots, no punching down, no being weird. The goal is to make the project better, not embarrass the demoer.
Demo interest doesn't guarantee a demo slot. Selected demoers will be confirmed before the event, and we may leave room for a few quick lightning demos depending on time.
Selected demoers may also be asked to submit their project through HackerSquad before the event so their demo can be recorded and shared with them afterward as an unlisted video.
### Partner/Tool Demos
We may feature a small number of partner or tool demos from companies building products, resources, or opportunities that are useful for builders.
These are not meant to be long sales pitches. The goal is for partners to show something useful, get feedback from the room, and connect directly with other builders.
Partner demos should follow the same spirit as the rest of the event: show something real,keep it short, and make it useful for the room.
### What to Bring
Bring a laptop, charger, and a project if you want to demo.
If you're demoing, make sure your project is ready to show in some form. It doesn't need to be perfect, just understandable enough for people to react to.
Good demo materials include:
working app
deployed website
local build
prototype
Figma file
screenshots
slide deck
GitHub repo
demo video
landing page
a clear product idea
If you're not demoing, bring yourself, your curiosity, and your willingness to give thoughtful feedback.
### Agenda
10:00 AM – 10:25 AM — Doors Open + Coffee
Check in, grab coffee, meet other builders, and settle in before demos begin.
10:25 AM – 10:35 AM — Welcome to Builders NYC
A short intro to Builders NYC, the mission behind the community, and how Roast & Roast will work.
10:35 AM – 11:25 AM — Project Demos: Round 1
Selected builders will demo their projects for 5–10 minutes each, followed by 3–5 minutes of feedback, questions, and light roasting.
11:25 AM – 11:35 AM — Coffee Break + Open Feedback
Refill your coffee, talk to demoers, ask questions, and meet other people in the room.
11:35 AM – 12:15 PM — Project Demos: Round 2
More builder demos, product feedback, and useful roasts from the room.
12:15 PM – 12:25 PM — Lightning Demos Partner Spotlights
If time allows, we’ll open the floor for quick lightning demos or short partnertool spotlights that are useful to builders.
12:25 PM – 12:35 PM — Closing Thoughts + Community Updates
We’ll thank demoers, partners, and attendees, share what’s next for Builders NYC, and highlight ways to stay involved.
12:35 PM – 12:40 PM — Group Photo + Wrap-Up
We’ll take a group photo and wrap up the official event.
12:40 PM onward — Optional Hangout
Stick around, meet people, and keep the conversations going.
Feel free to check out our LinkedIn page for more updates: https://www.linkedin.com/company/builders-nyc/