Makersfuel
The proving ground for Founders building with AIEst. MMXXVI
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Work on your startup for 48 hours.

Twice a week we set one practical challenge, and founders spend two days applying it to the company they are already building. Not a hypothetical. Not somebody else’s brief. Yours.

See what is on →How a jam works

Next upBusiness JamWednesday 2 September

So what is a jam?

One challenge

A single specific task, published in full before you decide whether to join. Nothing is hidden and nothing is a surprise. You pick the jams that are worth two days of your company’s time.

48 hours

Long enough to do something real, short enough that you can give it a weekend without rearranging your life. It starts at nine and ends at nine, two days later.

Your startup

You apply the challenge to the company you are already building. At the end you submit what you actually did, with the evidence attached. It is public and permanent under your name.

What you get

Free · nothing to commit to

  1. Work your company keeps

    The challenge is applied to your own startup, so the pricing page, the outbound sequence or the analytics you build during a jam is still yours on Monday. Nothing is thrown away when the clock stops.

  2. A deadline you did not set

    Founders do not lack ideas about what to fix. They lack a reason to fix it this week. A jam is a real deadline with other people watching, which is the part you cannot give yourself.

  3. A brief that has been thought about

    Each one is written for founders at different stages, and says what a good outcome looks like rather than handing you a template. If you are further along, the brief tells you what the harder version is.

  4. Read by people doing the same thing

    Submissions are public and other founders vote on them. Not a scoreboard for its own sake: it is the only honest signal about whether the thing you shipped reads as convincing to somebody outside your head.

  5. A dated public record

    Every submission is permanent under your name, with what you did and the evidence attached. Six jams in, that is a record of a company moving, which is worth more to an investor than a deck claiming the same thing.

  6. A room, not a feed

    The jams run in the open on Discord, where people post what they are stuck on while they are stuck on it. Free, and you can lurk.

How a jam works

Four steps, two days

  1. 1 clickJoinRead the brief in full, then join if it is worth two days. No application, nothing to pay, nothing to enrol in.
  2. 48 hrsBuildYou apply the challenge to your own startup. Nothing you do gets thrown away when the jam ends, because it was your work all along.
  3. Any formatShipSubmit what you actually did, with the evidence. Screenshots, links, numbers, a recording. Not a plan.
  4. 10 / 15VoteFounders read each other’s work and vote. Ten points for a business jam, fifteen for a weekend build, and they stay on your record.

Two a week. That is the whole calendar.

Wed and Fri · 09:00 SF

  1. Wed to Fri48 hours

    Business Jam

    48 hours on the half of building that is not code.

    Customers, positioning, pricing, distribution. The work that decides whether anything you build matters, and the work founders postpone because it never feels urgent.

    10points
  2. Fri to SunThe weekend

    Hackathon

    A weekend to build and ship one thing for your startup.

    Code, design, automation, a landing page, whatever shipping means for you. Long enough to finish something, short enough that finishing is the point rather than starting.

    15points

Do one, do both, or skip a week entirely. There is nothing to enrol in and no run to keep up.

What is on

7 jams · next 30 days

Every challenge is published in full, from the day it is scheduled. Read it, then decide whether it is worth two days.

  1. Business JamCustomer IntelligenceEvery startup collects signal from customers — calls, tickets, churn, reviews, objections. Most of it is never looked at twice. Build the system that turns it into decisions.2 joined
  2. HackathonWebsite ConversionThe whole path from landing to signup, demo or purchase. Find where it leaks worst and fix that — not the theme.Read the brief
  3. Business JamMessaging & ConversionCustomer insight is only worth what it changes. Build the workflow that turns what you heard into sharper words everywhere a stranger meets you.Read the brief
  4. HackathonAnalytics & Event TrackingCan you actually see what is happening inside your startup? Spend the weekend building the instrumentation that answers it.Read the brief
  5. Business JamProspectingBefore you can sell to anyone you have to find them. Build the engine that produces the right companies and people, repeatably.Read the brief
  6. HackathonCompetitive IntelligenceYour market moves whether you are watching or not. Build the thing that watches it for you and tells you when something changed.Read the brief
  7. Business JamCold OutreachMaybe you have never sent one. Maybe you send ten thousand a month. Find the weakest link in your outbound and fix that one.Read the brief

Before you ask

What is a jam?
A jam is one practical challenge with 48 hours to complete it, applied to your own startup rather than a hypothetical brief. You submit what you actually did with the evidence attached, and it is public and permanent under your name.
How often do jams run?
Two a week. A Business Jam runs Wednesday to Friday and covers the half of building that is not code: customers, positioning, pricing and distribution. A Hackathon runs Friday to Sunday and is for shipping. You can do one, both, or skip a week entirely.
Does it cost anything, and do I have to commit?
Jams are free and there is nothing to enrol in. Every challenge is published in full before you decide, so you join only the jams that are worth two days of your company time.