01
Working software in someone's hands by Friday.
Working. Software. In someone's hands. By Friday May 16. That's the bar. Everything else is process trying to make us feel safe.
A Buildathon Manifesto
Anyone
can AI.
The build curve flattened. The only question left: what would you build, given a week?
Sign-ups
Friday, May 1
Kickoff
Fri, May 8 · 5 PM ET
Submissions
Tue, May 12 · 1 AM ET
Live finals
Thu, May 14 · 1 PM ET
Hosted by MLT · Powered by WNCP AI
02
Three prompts, because choice is friction.
Open buildathons sound generous. They aren't — they offload the strategy work onto first-time builders. Three prompts give you a wedge. Pick the one that pulls hardest.
03
Tools are table stakes.
Google AI Studio. Lovable. Cursor. Claude Code. v0. The toolchain you'd hire someone to teach you a year ago is now in your browser, free. The week is about taste and judgment, not access.
04
Ship for someone specific.
Generic AI tools win demo days and lose adoption. Pick a person — your cousin, your old teammate, a person in one of the orgs MLT serves — and build for them. Specificity is the cheat code.
05
Sustainability isn't a stage-five problem.
Every submission needs a plausible path to sustainability — funding, paying users, or measurable impact. Sketch it on day one. Test it by day three. Defend it on stage.
Read enough?
Save your spot.
Free for the MLT community. We send the prompt deep-dives, the Devpost link, and the Gather invite before kickoff.
The three prompts
Three places where AI shifts the unit economics of help.
01
Prompt 01
Careers & Future of Work
A tool or product that helps people navigate or improve their careers in the age of AI.
Personalized career path agents
Interview prep that adapts to the role
Salary negotiation co-pilots
02
Prompt 02
Equity & Access to AI
A tool that brings the benefits of AI to broader audiences or expands access to opportunity.
Plain-language access to public benefits
Local resource finders for underserved zip codes
AI translators for civic and legal documents
03
Prompt 03
Personal Security
A tool that protects individuals — their data, identity, finances, family, or wellbeing.
Scam detectors for text and voice
Privacy audits for non-engineers
Estate and emergency-doc walkthroughs
Why MLT, why now
Twenty years of MLT alumni, plus a toolchain that didn’t exist five years ago, plus a community of practitioners who already ship for a living. That’s the thesis.
Prizes
Cash. Credits. The MLT20 stage.
Top three teams pitch live during the MLT20 lunch block on Thursday May 14. Winner announced that evening.
Cash + sponsor credits
Pool grows with confirmed sponsors. Vercel credits pending. More to come.
MLT20 conference pass + hotel
Covered for finalists who attend the live showcase in person.
Audience with John Rice
And MLT senior leadership. The room you don't get into otherwise.
Recognition + recap features
Featured in the MLT20 recap reel and on the showcase site.
Timeline
Two weeks, eight checkpoints.
- Fri, May 1
Sign-ups open
Landing page goes live. Save your spot — prompt deep-dives go out by email next week.
- Fri, May 8 · 5 PM ET
Virtual kickoff
Devpost opens. Live kickoff on Gather. Mentors paired. Prompt-pick Q&A.
- May 9 – 11
Build weekend
Saturday through Monday. Async building, daily mentor office hours, tool clinics.
- Tue, May 12 · 1 AM ET
Submissions due
Devpost submission with GitHub repo, hosted prototype, demo video, and writeup. Hard deadline — 1 AM Eastern, end of day Monday Pacific.
- Tue, May 12 (day)
Round 1 judging
Judges + volunteers score every submission. Two finalists + one Viewers' Choice.
- Thu, May 14 · 1 PM ET
Finalist showcase at MLT20
Live finalist pitches at the MLT20 conference during the lunch block.
- Fri, May 22
Recap + showcase site
Finalist gallery, winner recap, and WNCP AI case-study lead capture go live.
How it works
Five steps. No mystery.
1
Sign up
Drop your name on the landing page. We send the prompt deep-dives.
2
Join Gather + Devpost
Both go live May 8. Personal invites land in your inbox.
3
Attend kickoff
Friday, May 8 evening. Virtual on Gather. Pick your prompt and team.
4
Build
Saturday through Monday. Solo or in teams. Use any AI tool you like.
5
Submit
Submit on Devpost by 1 AM Tuesday Eastern: repo, prototype, demo video, and writeup.
Submission requirements
The bar by 1 AM Tuesday.
Public GitHub repo
Code visible to judges. All API keys hidden.
Working prototype
Hosted anywhere — Vercel, Lovable, your own server.
Demo video
Two minutes or less. Show the working product.
Brief writeup
Problem · who it's for · tools used · what's next.
One of the three prompts
Pick one. Tell us which in your submission.
A path to sustainability
Funding, paying users, or measurable impact.
Judging
Two rounds.
Round 1 · Async · Tuesday, May 12
Score every submission
Judges and volunteer support score every Devpost submission against the rubric. Two finalists are picked, plus one Viewers' Choice from participant voting in Devpost.
Round 2 · Live · Thursday, May 14
Finalists pitch live at MLT20
Three finalists pitch on stage during the MLT20 lunch block. Judges deliberate. Winner announced Thursday evening.
Built for the MLT community — ~1,500 conference attendees, 250+ executive-level — plus the partner network. Any skill level. Solo or team. New ideas only — not for already-funded ventures.
Sign up
Tell us a little. We’ll do the rest.
Sign-up takes thirty seconds. We’ll send the prompt deep-dives and the Devpost link before kickoff.
Questions
Honest answers.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. The whole point is that the modern AI toolchain has flattened the build curve. Lovable, Google AI Studio, and v0 let non-technical participants ship full applications. Engineers can go deeper with Cursor and Claude Code. Both win.
How much does it cost?
Free for the MLT community. Sponsor seats are available — see the Sponsors section.
Where does the building actually happen?
Async on your own machine, with live touchpoints (kickoff, mentor hours, demo day) on Gather. Submissions are managed on Devpost.
What gets judged?
Did it ship? Does it work for a real person? Does it answer one of the three prompts? Is there a plausible path to sustainability — funding, paying users, or measurable impact? Full rubric publishes at kickoff.
Can I submit an existing project?
No. New ideas only — not for already-funded ventures. Build something new during the build weekend.
What do finalists get?
Top 3 pitch live at MLT20 on May 14. Finalists who attend in person get a conference pass + hotel covered. Winner gets cash + credits + an audience with MLT senior leadership.
Last call
Read enough? Build something.
Sign-ups close at kickoff Friday May 8. New ideas only. Solo or team. Any skill level.