Curriculum and getting-started material for the third annual Venture 313 AI Buildathon, hosted by ID Ventures / TechTown Detroit.
Event dates: September 17–22, 2026, Detroit
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Thu Sept 17 | Kickoff + team formation |
| Fri Sept 18 | Technical curriculum sessions (this repo) |
| Sat–Sun Sept 19–20 | Build days, with on-site and virtual support |
| Mon Sept 21 | Finalist selection |
| Tue Sept 22 | Showcase |
Teams build solutions to Detroit-specific problems drawn from Mayor Sheffield's citizen survey pillars. Adherence to your chosen pillar is a major judging criterion.
There is no required course, template, or tech stack. Use whatever tools you know and love. The purpose of this material is to lower the floor: to make sure that people who aren't already comfortable coding have everything they need to participate and finish something they're proud of.
On Friday Sept 18 we'll run short, scheduled sessions, about 30 minutes of content plus Q&A, offered at multiple times (exact schedule TBD). Pick the one that matches your experience:
- I've never used an AI agent: a crash course on working with an AI assistant. You'll leave able to develop your idea in conversation and produce something real — a concept, a pitch, a mockup — without writing code.
- I've chatted with AI, but never built an app: a directed workflow: shape your idea with a chat assistant, then hand it to a build tool to make a working app.
- I've built apps before: no session needed. Here's a resource sheet with the available credits, recommended tools, and where to find help. Knock yourself out.
Not sure which fits? Start one tier lower than you think — you can always leave early.
Throughout the build days there will be technical coaches on hand (on-site and virtual). Most teams won't need much help; if you're stuck, that's exactly what the coaches are for. Don't burn an hour on a problem a coach can help you resolve in five minutes.
sessions/— facilitator-ready outlines for the Tier 1 and Tier 2 sessionstier-3-resources.md— self-serve resource sheet for experienced buildersresources/tools-and-credits.md— the platforms and credits available to participantsfacilitator-notes.md— notes for session leads and day-of coaches