​Vibe-coding means describing what you want to an AI tool in plain English and letting it write the code. It's how a lot of first prototypes get built now, and it's a cheap way to find out whether an idea has legs before you spend real money on it.

​This is a half-day session for anyone who wants to learn how to vibe-code the first version of their own product. You don't need any coding experience or a plan, just an idea you'd like to try. If you don't have one yet but would like to help build someone else's, you're welcome too.

​You can build on your own or in a small team. Plenty of good first products are built by one person, so tell us which you'd prefer when you register.

​What you'll get from the afternoon

• ​New people to build alongside. Others at the same stage as you, plus a few who have done this before.

• ​An introduction to the tools. Which AI building tools are worth starting with, what each is good at, and what they cost once the free plan runs out.

• ​A way to think about your venture before you touch any code. We'll walk through a lean canvas, which is a one-page plan of who your product is for, what problem it solves and how it will make money. We'll also cover where your first users will come from, a few basic principles of product design, and technical debt: the shortcuts in your code that are fine for now but cost more to fix the longer you leave them.

• ​Mentoring while you build.

• ​Early feedback. If you'd like to, show what you built to the room and get a first reaction from people who could be your users.

• ​Light refreshments

• ​A working prototype by teatime!

​What to bring

​A laptop, a charger and your idea. We'll recommend tools on the day but feel free to use whatever vibe-coding tool you might be using already. Most have a free plan that's enough for the afternoon, but they run out quickly once you start building, so be prepared to upgrade to a paid plan if you want to keep going afterwards.

​Your mentors

​Judy Leung is founder of Manchester-based Sweqlink, built on the belief that access to ownership shouldn’t be limited to those with the deepest pockets. Her platform helps early stage founders and entrepreneurial professionals form partnerships centred around equity ownership. She is an Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award winner, startup mentor and chapter lead for Female Founders Rise.

Graeme Goulden is a senior Product Manager with over 15 years experience building high-audience, engaging, consumer products with brands such as Monster Jobs, UK Government, the BBC and Manchester City Football Club. He's been building high-performing products and product teams whilst also championing and developing members of those teams.

Aditya Kadam is the founder of LumenHarbor, a UK-based technology company, and works as a fractional CTO for early-stage startups. He started LumenHarbor during Covid after seeing too many founders exploited by tech vendors, and has since helped more than 28 startups and SMEs get their products built. He also built Garchi CMS, an AI-native content operations platform where teams, apps and AI agents work on the same content, and nothing goes live until a person publishes it. He is Entrepreneur in Residence at Lancaster University.

​Cost - £15 per seat

​Non-refundable if you can't make it. We need at least 15 people for the afternoon to work. If we haven't reached that by 25 November, we'll cancel and refund everyone in full.

​We approve places by hand so the afternoon has the right mix of people and the mentors can give everyone enough time.

​Photos: We'll be taking photos on the day for social media. Let us know on arrival if you don’t want to be captured.