Before anything else
An honest question.
Live survey · hands up, I count
Why are you actually here?
My parents signed me up0
It beat summer homework0
I actually want to build something0
I heard there is money involved0
What you get, by Saturday
Real. Not school-real. Real-real.
A product on the internet
A real URL. Your name on it. Friends can use it tonight.
Real money 🔔
On Saturday you charge actual people actual yuan. A bell rings every time.
A stage and a prize
Sunday: pitch live, judges score, one team takes the cash.
And yes, the college thing
A live product beats another club on an application. Your parents already know this part. Moving on.
Can you actually do this?
Students with zero coding background have shipped real products in five days.
The AI writes the code. You do the thinking. That is the unlock, and it is recent. You are early.
You first
Okay. So what is the catch?
▸ click to reveal after they guess
Every day at 4:15, your work goes on that screen, live, in front of everyone. There is nowhere to hide. That is the deal.
Icebreaker OFFLINE · screens closed
Name, grade, and one thing you made
5:00
1At your table: your name, your grade, and ONE thing you ever made that you are a little proud of.
2Anything counts. A cake. A Minecraft build. A meme that went around school. A playlist.
3Remember the best one at your table. I will ask.
5:00
Then: best one per table, out loud
Thirty seconds on me, then back to you
I am Phillip. I build companies.
Started my first one in college. Worked at a big consulting firm, went to Harvard for business school, went through Y Combinator, the startup program most of the apps on your phone came out of. That is the resume version.
The real version: building things is the most fun I have ever had, and this week I get to prove it to you.
The second rule · practice it right now
When you hear “Lids!” screens go to half-closed. Three seconds.
Half-closed, not shut: your work stays alive, your eyes come up. Every slide tells you the current mode in the corner: LIDS DOWN or LAPTOPS OPEN. Deal: I keep the talking short, you keep the lids honest.
The whole week, one slide
Five days, five moves
Wed
Find a real problem, form your company
Ships: your team page, live
Thu
Interview real customers, plan the build
Ships: prototype v0
Fri
Build with AI, ship it, strangers test it
Ships: v1, used by 5 strangers
Sat
Brand it, film it, charge money 🔔
Ships: launch video + first yuan
Sun
Pitch on stage. Parents watching. Prize.
Ships: you, on a stage
Every day works the same way
Mornings you learn it. Afternoons you build it.
Studios
Short, fast, hands-on. I teach a move, you use it immediately.
Build time
Your team, your product, coaches at your desk. Lunch and snacks on us.
4:15 standup
60 seconds, your URL on this screen. Every single day.
One more thing before we start
You do not have a team yet. By 2:30 you will.
So all morning, quietly watch one thing: who makes your ideas sharper when they talk. That person might be your co-founder.