Day 1
Saturday, Feb 6
9 AM–5 PM- 9 AMKickoff and team formation
- All dayBuild with mentors on the floor
- 5 PMDay one wraps
Founder Weekend: Build an AI company. Ship it by Sunday.
One weekend in Phoenix to build an AI company, then pitch it to judges, employers and investors. Free for teams of 1–4.
Presented by
Ship AIAI Exchange
- Saturday and Sunday, 2027
- Feb 6–7
- Workuity Biltmore
- Phoenix
- Teams of 1–4
- Free
- Prizes and awards
- Cash
01 · Why a weekend
You've had the idea for months.
AI made building it cheap. What's missing is a deadline, a team and a room that expects you to ship. Founder Weekend gives you all three, and puts the people who hire and invest in the front row.
- A deadlineSubmissions close Sunday at noon
- A teamUp to four, or find one at kickoff
- A roomJudges, employers and investors watching
02 · What you leave with
More than a demo. A company.
Every team that submits leaves with a certificate, a recorded pitch and a room full of people who saw it.
01
Prize pool
Cash prizes for the top teams, decided by the judges on Sunday.
02
Venture capitalists
Investors in the room for Sunday's pitches. Five minutes in front of people who write checks.
03
Employer network
Hiring managers from Phoenix companies watch you build and pitch. Your weekend is your interview.
04
Certificates
Every team that submits gets a verifiable certificate to share on LinkedIn.
05
Mentors
Founders, engineers and marketers on the floor all weekend to unblock you.
06
Your pitch, recorded
Walk away with a filmed five-minute pitch you can send to customers and investors.
03 · Judging
Six criteria. Scored 1 to 10.
Judges score what your company is by Sunday, not what it could be. Pitches run five minutes, and going over costs points.
- 01/10
Craftsmanship
Product quality · Attention to detail · It works when we click it
- 02/10
Opportunity size
How big the market is · How painful the problem is
- 03/10
Market fit
Founder–market fit · Traction and product–market signal
- 04/10
Scalability
Unit economics · Tech stack · Ability to bootstrap
- 05/10
The pitch
Stays within five minutes · Clarity · Energy
- 06/10
Go-to-market
Surface: marketing site and socials · Growth strategy
04 · The weekend
Two days. One company.
Arizona time. Submissions close at 12:00 PM MST, Sunday Feb 7.
Day 2
Sunday, Feb 7
9 AM–4 PM- 9 AMFinal push
- 12 PMSubmissions close
- AfternoonFive-minute pitches to the judges
- 4 PMAwards
05 · Who's building
The roster so far.
- Teams registered
- 0
- Participants
- 0
- Projects submitted
- 0
Register now and your team is the first name on this board.
06 · People
Hosted by builders. Judged by them too.
Santos Hernandez
Host and judge
Dan Kite
Host and judge
Raj Shah
Judge and mentor
Mentors on the floor
Jonathan Chambless
Mentor
MentorBoth days
Mentor a team
Spend a few hours on the floor with teams. Founders, engineers, designers, marketers and operators all have something a team needs by Saturday afternoon.
Apply to mentorVolunteerBoth days
Help run the weekend
Run check-in, shoot photos and video, or keep the pitch schedule on time. You get a front-row seat to every pitch.
Apply to volunteer07 · Sponsor
Back the builders. Two ways in.
Prices are published so you can decide before you message us. We never sell lead lists or attendee data.
Title sponsor1 slot
$2,500
Your name on Founder Weekend.
- Named on every graphic, including the share image and event cards
- Named in the event description on the site, Luma and Meetup
- Named in every announcement post on LinkedIn, X and Discord
SponsorOpen
$500
On the page, the feed and the decks.
- Logo on the Founder Weekend page
- Three dedicated social posts across LinkedIn and X
- Logo on every educational deck we present
Questions, answered.
01Who can join Founder Weekend?
Anyone in Arizona or willing to travel to Phoenix. Founders, developers, designers, marketers and students all compete on equal footing. There is no application and no selection.
02How much does it cost?
Nothing. Founder Weekend is free to enter, with no application and no selection round.
03Do I need a team or an idea?
No. Come solo and form a team at Saturday's kickoff, or RSVP and register a team of up to four now. Bring an idea if you have one; we will help you find one if you don't.
04Do I need to know how to code?
No. Today's AI tools let anyone ship a working product. Teams also need someone who can sell, design and pitch, and those skills are judged too.
05Can I bring something I've already started?
Yes. Existing projects are welcome. Judges score what the company is by Sunday, so show what you shipped during the weekend.
06Who owns what we build?
You do. Your team keeps full ownership of the code, the brand and the company.
07How is it judged?
Judges score six criteria from 1 to 10: craftsmanship, opportunity size, market fit, scalability, the pitch and go-to-market. Pitches run five minutes, and going over costs points.
08What should I bring?
A laptop, a charger, and accounts for the AI tools you like to use. We provide the room, Wi-Fi and power.
09Can I mentor, judge, sponsor or volunteer instead?
Yes. Sign in and request the role from your dashboard, or ask in the Ship AI Discord.
Feel the fear. Ship it anyway.
RSVP, then register a team, or come solo and find one at Saturday's kickoff.
- Free to enter
- Teams of 1–4
- Phoenix, Feb 6–7, 2027
Harbor at dusk · Phoenix, Arizona