North Jersey Tech Collective #9: AI Buildathon
NJTC Meetup #9: AI Buildathon
Join NJTC for our 9th meetup! What to expect:
Intro circle
Short intro to AI coding tools (~15 min) — We'll walk through how to use AI-assisted coding tools to go from idea to working app, so everyone's set up and ready to build.
Build session (~2 hrs) — Pick a prompt and build! Your challenge: build a small tool that solves a problem in your life — an expense splitter, a meal planner, a workout tracker, whatever you want. Use any AI coding tool you like.
Show & tell (~30 min) — Present what you built! No pressure, no judging — just showing off what you made and how you made it.
AI tool recommendations:
Free options: Google Antigravity (full free IDE), Gemini CLI (1,000 requests/day with a Google account), or Kiro (500 bonus credits for new signups). OpenAI Codex may also be temporarily free with ChatGPT Free accounts. For non-coders, Lovable lets you build full apps from prompts (5 free credits/day).
Paid ($10-20/mo, recommended for best experience): GitHub Copilot Pro ($10/mo), Windsurf Pro ($15/mo), Cursor Pro ($20/mo), Claude Pro ($20/mo), or ChatGPT Plus ($20/mo).
Disclaimer: NJTC is not affiliated with or sponsored by any of these tools. These are just our personal recommendations based on what's currently available.
What to bring: Yourself, your ideas, and your laptop!
The vibe: Super casual. We're here to learn from each other and build community.
Looking forward to seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones. Let's keep growing this thing together!
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Our Venue
Thank you to Planet Networks for hosting & sponsoring NJTC! Planet Networks has built and operates a next-generation fiber optic network to connect people and organizations throughout NJ, NY, PA, and VA to the fastest public Internet and private backbone connections available. Learn more at https://planet.net.
Parking
Park in the rear of the building — please avoid the side lot! Refer to the below image:
About NJTC
💻 What is North Jersey Tech Collective? NJTC is an informal meetup for coders and tech-curious folks to connect, collaborate, and hang out with people in the local tech community.
🙋 Who can come to NJTC events? Anyone interested in tech! Whether you wrote your first line of code yesterday or have been in tech for years, we'd love to have you!
❓ Are there rules? Be kind and respectful :)