The complete flow
From application to something real.
Assessment earns a place on the shortlist. The public vote determines the final Top 3. Certification protects the result before the focused month begins.
Stage 1 — Apply
Builders submit one lightweight application. No pitch deck is required, and there is no minimum age to apply.
Stage 2 — Assessment
Organizers and judges review valid applications under the published criteria and shortlist the strongest contenders.
Stage 3 — Public Vote
The shortlisted projects are published. During the official voting window, one eligible authenticated account may vote for one finalist.
Stage 4 — Top 3
After vote-integrity review and certification, the three projects with the strongest valid results enter Ship in 30 and receive access to the program's resources and support.
Stage 5 — 30 Days to Ship
Selected builders work through Define, Build, Users, and Ship, share structured updates, and conclude at Demo Day.
The 30-day framework
Week 1 — Define
Scope the smallest product worth shipping and define a measurable Day-30 outcome.
Week 2 — Build
Get the core experience functioning from beginning to end.
Week 3 — Users
Put it in front of real people, gather feedback, and fix what matters.
Week 4 — Ship
Launch a usable product, tighten onboarding and analytics, and present the result.
The judging rubric
- Execution evidence and ability to execute — 30%
- Problem value — 25%
- Meaningful scope for 30 days — 20%
- Differentiation and approach — 15%
- Community contribution and building publicly — 10%
Each criterion is scored from 1 to 10. Recused judges do not contribute to an application's aggregate score. Organizers and judges use the assessment to create the shortlist. They do not silently bypass the public vote to select the normal final three.
If the final qualifying place is tied after invalid votes are removed, the original assessment score breaks the tie first. A further tie requires a recorded judging-panel decision under these same criteria.