Build Sessions: A one-day hackathon
Context
3 teams will build 3 products over a couple of hours. By 6pm, every team will have built a working prototype, a short deck, and a demo they can share.
What you'll come away with
A working prototype of a real product idea
Experience building with AI tools under real pressure
The confidence to do it again
People you'd want to build with again
The constraints
Time: Teams have one day. Limited time forces clarity in decisions.
Cost: Everything you build with has to be free. No additional spending on the day. Free tools force creativity.
How the day runs
Morning - get ready to build
Setup, environment checks, and a quick scoping session where each team commits publicly to what they're building and what done looks like.
Afternoon - build
Six hours of focused building, with support available when you need it. Teams are self-directing; you decide how to divide the work. There will be a 30 minute break for lunch and to catch up with everyone.
Evening - demo day
Each team gets 10 minutes: 5 to pitch and demo, 5 for questions from the room. The artefacts (a working prototype and a 1–2 slide deck) are yours to post, share, and keep building.
After 7pm, we'll head out for dinner or a movie to celebrate.
Who this is for
Technical and non-technical builders — engineers, product people, designers, marketers. Every skill matters: who's the user? How does it spread? What's the story? These are product questions, and they're as important as the code.
Note: Attending the CWT salon on April 15 is strongly encouraged — that's where teams form and the lightning sessions happen. If you can only make one, make the 18th. But make both if you can.