The Founder Sprint
A 48-hour anti-hackathon for AI-native builders.
Build fast. Validate smarter.
Most hackathons celebrate who can ship the most features in 48 hours. We celebrate who can find the strongest evidence that their idea actually matters to real people.
The Founder Sprint isn't a hackathon. It's a 2-day startup building experience.
100 builders. Hand-picked. Application-only.
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DAY 01 — THE FORGE
A full day of workshops on the methodology real founders use to validate ideas: problem severity, rapid validation, AI-native building with the Boundless Stack. Plus team formation and experiment design.
DAY 02 — LAUNCH DAY
A 10-hour build sprint. You'll prototype, talk to real users, validate one assumption, and present to a panel of judges (including a working VC) for $5K in cash, $10K+ in credits, and 3 months of mentorship with the top team.
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WHO THIS IS FOR
All fields. Healthcare, education, finance, arts, anything. You don't need a CS degree — you need to know how to use AI as a force multiplier. Vibe coding, AI research, no-code prototyping. If you can use AI to build, you belong here.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
— Full 2-day experience (workshop + hackathon)
— Food, snacks, coffee, and credits for whichever AI tools you use
— Mentors, judges, and operators who've actually shipped
— $18K+ in prizes for the top 3 teams
— A network of builders that doesn't end on Sunday
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HOW IT WORKS
01 — Fill out the Luma form
Submit your interest — no charge, no commitment. About you, your team size, what you want to build, why now. 5–7 minutes.
02 — We review
Every application is read by a human. Rolling decisions right up to the June 30 deadline.
03 — Accepted? You’re in
You’ll get an acceptance email with everything you need to prep, plus an invite to our Discord/Slack to meet fellow builders before the event.
100 spots. Eastside Seattle. July 11–12, 2026. Venue revealed to approved applicants.
A Boundless Founder experience.
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SCHEDULE
DAY 01 — THE FORGE (Saturday, July 11)
11:00 AM · Doors open. Check-in, AI tool setup help, mingling.
12:30 PM · Welcome & Vision (Mo + Partner)
12:45 PM · Session 1: The Velocity Trap — why AI lets you build the wrong thing fast
1:15 PM · Session 2: Finding Problems Worth Solving (interactive)
2:00 PM · Session 3: Rapid Validation Framework
2:30 PM · Session 4: Building with AI — the Boundless Stack (live demo + setup)
3:30 PM · Session 5: Team Formation & Idea Sprint
4:15 PM · Session 6: Experiment Design Workshop (mentors floating)
5:00 PM · Day 1 Wrap + Day 2 Preview
5:15 PM · Dinner + open networking
7:00 PM · Day 1 ends
DAY 02 — LAUNCH DAY (Sunday, July 12)
8:30 AM · Doors open. Breakfast, fuel up.
9:00 AM · Day 2 Kickoff. Rules, judging criteria.
9:15 AM · BUILD SPRINT BEGINS
10:30 AM · Mentor Round 1 (5-min check-ins per team)
12:30 PM · Lunch (mandatory step-away)
1:15 PM · Lightning Talk (VIP guest, optional)
1:30 PM · Build sprint continues
2:30 PM · Mentor Round 2 (focus shifts to demo prep)
4:00 PM · CODE FREEZE. Demo prep.
4:30 PM · Science Fair Round (judges rotate through every team)
5:45 PM · Final Demos — top 5 (3-min pitch + 2-min Q&A each)
6:45 PM · Awards + Closing
7:15 PM · Open networking. End.
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FAQ
Do I need to know how to code?
No. Some of the best teams will pair a domain expert with someone AI-fluent. If you can describe what you want to build to an AI and iterate, you belong here.
I don't have a team yet.
Apply solo. We match solo applicants with teams on Day 1, and run a pre-event Co-Founder Matching channel for anyone who wants to arrive paired up.
What should I bring?
Your laptop. Your chargers. A headset if you do your best thinking with music. We cover food, coffee, snacks, and credits for whichever AI tools you use.
Is there a theme or track?
No. Space manufacturing, autonomous swarms, physical AI, fusion, neural interfaces, synthetic biology, climate at planetary scale — any domain, any ambition. You're judged on the strength of your evidence, not the category.
Will the venue be accessible?
Yes. Venue will be ADA-compliant with wheelchair access and quiet rooms. Let us know on your application if you have specific needs.
Where exactly is the event?
Eastside Seattle (Bellevue Kirkland Redmond area). The exact venue address is shared with confirmed attendees only — keeps the room curated. Easy to drive to with parking.