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IBM Bob
Free for 30 days for every innovator. Build with it to compete for Best Build with IBM Bob, open to every track.
Every innovator this weekend
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Q. What do I build with?
Start with the four guides. Then the reading that is worth your time. Then a library of everything free or cheap we found, for when you need it.
Q. Where do I start?
About fifteen minutes in total. Written here, for people who have not done a hackathon before.
Q. What is worth reading?
Out of everything below, these are the ones founders come back to. Paul Graham's essays are free and have been for twenty years.
Course · 6 to 10 weeks
Y Combinator
A free, structured path from idea to launch taught by YC partners, with co-founder matching built in.
Essay · 40 min
Paul Graham
Why the best ideas come from noticing problems in your own world, which is exactly where a themed hackathon leaves you.
Essay · 25 min
Paul Graham
Your first users are recruited one by one, by hand, long before any growth engine exists.
Essay · 10 min
Y Combinator
The advice YC repeats most, short enough to use as a checklist for your first month.
Video · 30 min
Gustaf Alstromer, YC
Which questions to ask and which to avoid, so you hear what people actually did, not polite compliments.
Guide · 30 min
a16z American Dynamism
Plain-language primer on DoD budget cycles, contracting paths and who actually decides.
Essay · 30 min
Paul Graham
The things he wishes someone had told him before he started.
Essay · 60 min
Paul Graham
On choosing what to work on at all. Long, and worth it.
Essay · 10 min
Paul Graham
Why a meeting in the middle of the afternoon costs more than an hour.
Essay · 35 min
Paul Graham
What a startup is actually for, written plainly.
Q. What do I get?
From our partners. Set these up before Friday so you are not doing it at midnight.
FreePartner
Free for 30 days for every innovator. Build with it to compete for Best Build with IBM Bob, open to every track.
Every innovator this weekend
Open ↗FreePartner
$10 in credits when you sign up, enough to build and test a voice agent. Resilience Comms partner.
Every innovator this weekend
Open ↗FreePartner
Live data on 1M+ containers, vessel schedules and US port coverage, with sandbox keys from Friday night.
Every innovator this weekend
Open ↗FreePartner
Free courses and credentials in AI, data and cybersecurity. Lillian Lei's Saturday session walks through it.
Anyone
Open ↗Q. What else is there?
A library, not a reading list. Search it when you need one thing. None of it is required to compete.
Nothing matches. Try a broader word like cloud or AI.
Oct 18
Tech Week Startup Flash Sale ends
11:59 PM PT
Oct 31
ChatGPT Plus free for students: claim by
US students
Nov 1
a16z speedrun SR008 applications close
11:59 PM PT
Nov 2
Y Combinator Winter 2027 on-time deadline
8 PM PT
Nov 20
CEC wildfire-resilient grid grant (GFO-26-501) closes
State funding
Dec 31
Google AI Pro for students: redeem by
US students 18+
52 links, grouped. Nothing here is required.
Course · 6 to 10 weeks
Y Combinator
A free, structured path from idea to launch taught by YC partners, with co-founder matching built in.
Video · 30 min
Jared Friedman, YC
Concrete tests for whether your weekend idea is a real problem or a tarpit many founders keep failing at.
Essay · 40 min
Paul Graham
Why the best ideas come from noticing problems in your own world, which is exactly where a themed hackathon leaves you.
Essay · 25 min
Paul Graham
Your first users are recruited one by one, by hand, long before any growth engine exists.
Essay · 10 min
Y Combinator
The advice YC repeats most, short enough to use as a checklist for your first month.
Guide · 10 min
Eric Ries
Build, measure, learn in one page, so you run experiments instead of polishing a demo.
Video · 30 min
Gustaf Alstromer, YC
Which questions to ask and which to avoid, so you hear what people actually did, not polite compliments.
Course · about 1 month
Steve Blank, Udacity
The original customer development course: 14 lessons on testing every assumption by getting out of the building.
Guide · 1 to 2 hours
Steve Blank
Interview templates, value proposition canvases and discovery lessons in one directory.
Program · 7 weeks
U.S. National Science Foundation
Seven weeks of federal customer discovery training for turning research into a business.
Program · 7 weeks
NSF I-Corps
The Southern California hub USC Viterbi links to, with up to $50,000 for customer discovery.
Course · 11 weeks
Harvard
The best free foundation for teammates who need to read and reason about code.
Course · about 12 hours
MIT CSAIL
Shell, git, debugging and tooling: the skills that make a two-person team ship twice as fast.
Course · 10 to 15 hours
Vercel
Build and deploy a full-stack dashboard with a database and auth, which is close to a real MVP.
Course · several weeks
University of Helsinki
University-grade React, Node, TypeScript and CI for turning a hack into software you can maintain.
Guide · 1 to 2 hours
Supabase
Postgres, auth and storage with framework quickstarts: a production backend in an afternoon.
Course · about 14 hours
fast.ai
Top-down deep learning for vision, sensing and forecasting features in grid and logistics products.
Course · 5 to 20 hours each
Hugging Face
Hands-on courses on open models, agents and robotics, useful for offline and on-device builds.
Essay · 20 min
Anthropic
When a simple workflow beats an autonomous agent, which saves teams from overbuilding their AI layer.
Guide · 1 to 3 hours
Anthropic
Start from success criteria and evals, then work through the free interactive tutorials.
Course · 30 to 60 min each
SBIR.gov
Official modules on finding topics, writing proposals, data rights and ITAR. SBIR was reauthorized through 2031 in April 2026.
Program · 2 to 4 hours
NSF America's Seed Fund
The short first step for NSF SBIR. Staff give feedback before you write a full proposal; funding up to $2M with no equity.
Guide · 30 min
a16z American Dynamism
Plain-language primer on DoD budget cycles, contracting paths and who actually decides.
Program · 20 min
Defense Innovation Unit
Live DoD problem statements, with awards that often arrive in 60 to 90 days. Check it weekly.
Program · 30 min
U.S. Air Force
The Air Force's main door for small businesses, with open topics listed.
Program · 30 min
U.S. Department of Energy
Non-dilutive funding for energy, grid and resilience technology.
Program · 20 min
CEC
State grants for grid innovation. GFO-26-501 funds wildfire-resilient grid data and modeling, closing Nov 20, 2026.
Essay · 25 min
a16z American Dynamism
The unit economics of manufacturing, before you promise hardware at scale.
Guide · 20 min
Y Combinator
Explain what you do in two sentences, the format judges and investors actually want.
Guide · 45 min
Y Combinator
When to raise, how SAFEs work, and how to run a tight process.
Template · 15 min
Sequoia Capital
The classic ten-section deck outline: problem, solution, why now, market, team and the rest.
Guide · 15 min
DocSend
How investors really read decks: under three minutes each, and what winning decks put first.
Guide · 25 min
Carta
Dilution, option pools and fully diluted shares, before your team signs its first SAFE.
Essay · 20 min
First Round Review
Making decisions fast and following through, which matters most in the weeks after a hackathon.
Template · 1 hour
Y Combinator
The official post-money SAFE with sample conversion math. Talk to a lawyer before signing.
Guide · 30 min
Stripe Atlas guides
Entity choice and Delaware C-corp formation explained, whether or not you use Atlas.
Guide · 30 min
Stripe Atlas guides
Vesting, 83(b) elections and splits: the guide that prevents most co-founder blowups.
Guide · 15 min
IRS
The official, free EIN application. Sites that charge for an EIN are unnecessary.
Guide · 1 to 2 hours
U.S. Small Business Administration
Registration, licenses, banking, taxes and becoming a federal contractor in one place.
Essay · 30 min
Paul Graham
A startup is defined by its growth rate, with a weekly target to hold yourself to.
Video · 30 min
Y Combinator
How to tell real pull from polite interest before you scale anything.
Essay · 30 min
a16z
The metrics investors check, from CAC to burn, so you report numbers correctly.
Guide · 40 min
First Round Review
Founders of Varda Space, Merge and others on running the first sales process yourself.
Course · 1 to 4 hours
HubSpot
Short free courses on sales process and marketing for builders with no go-to-market background.
Video · 20 to 60 min
Y Combinator
Hundreds of Startup School talks and partner conversations, searchable by topic.
Video · 1 to 2 hours
Steve Blank
Eight student teams show how they validated defense problems in a quarter; seven went on to a DIU program.
Essay · 10 min a post
Steve Blank
Customer development and national security innovation, still updated in 2026.
Essay · 15 to 45 min
Paul Graham
The full archive, start anywhere.
Essay · 15 to 30 min
First Round Capital
Tactical company-building articles with no paywall.
Video · 60 to 90 min
Lenny Rachitsky
Product and growth leaders on building and launching products.
Podcast · 2 to 4 hours
Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal
Long company histories that show how lasting companies compound advantages.
Podcast · 30 to 60 min
Andreessen Horowitz
AI, energy, space and go-to-market, including how founders won their first customers.
79 perks in all. The four you actually need this weekend are at the top of this page.
FreePartner
Free for 30 days for every innovator. Build with it to compete for Best Build with IBM Bob, open to every track.
Every innovator this weekend
Open ↗FreePartner
$10 in credits when you sign up, enough to build and test a voice agent. Resilience Comms partner.
Every innovator this weekend
Open ↗FreePartner
Live data on 1M+ containers, vessel schedules and US port coverage, with sandbox keys from Friday night.
Every innovator this weekend
Open ↗FreePartner
Free courses and credentials in AI, data and cybersecurity. Lillian Lei's Saturday session walks through it.
Anyone
Open ↗FreeUSC
Free for active USC students, plus Microsoft Copilot Chat and Zoom AI Companion. Sign in with your NetID.
USC students
Open ↗FreeUSC
Full library free. Sign in at linkedin.com/learning with your USC email.
USC students, faculty, staff
Open ↗FreeUSC
Full campus license at no charge, through the MathWorks USC portal.
USC students, faculty, staff
Open ↗FreeUSC
Free with a Wolfram ID on your USC email.
USC students, faculty, staff
Open ↗FreeUSC
Free on USC lab computers and through cloudapps.usc.edu. No free personal download.
USC students
Open ↗FreeStudents
GitHub Pro, the Copilot Student plan, $100 Azure credit, MongoDB, Datadog, 1Password, free domains and dozens more.
Verified students
Open ↗FreeStudents
Claim by Dec 31
One year free: higher Gemini limits, 5 TB storage, Gemini in Gmail and Docs. Card required.
US college students 18+
Open ↗FreeStudents
Claim by Oct 31
Four months of Plus free, then $20 a month. Card required; not through app stores.
US college and grad students
Open ↗FreeStudents
Every JetBrains IDE free for non-commercial use, then 40% off after graduation.
Students with a school email
Open ↗FreeStudents
Figma and FigJam with the professional tools, through an education team.
Students with a school email
Open ↗FreeStudents
Free workspace with unlimited pages and uploads. Your school email must be primary.
College students
Open ↗FreeStudents
Free for two years: up to 10 members, unlimited boards, monthly AI credits.
Students and educators
Open ↗FreeStudents
$100 credit for 12 months plus free services, no credit card.
Full-time university students
Open ↗FreeStudents
200 Google Skills credits for labs, badges and courses.
Students
Open ↗Free
Free self-paced cloud training and labs. Training only, no credits.
Anyone 13+
Open ↗FreeStudents
One year free error monitoring, logs and replays.
GitHub Student Pack holders
Open ↗FreeStudents
Fusion, AutoCAD, Revit and more, free for one year and renewable.
Students at qualified schools
Open ↗FreeStudents
Unity Pro, Odin Inspector and an asset bundle, free for a year.
Students 16+
Open ↗Free tier
Flash and Flash-Lite models, TTS and Live models free. Free-tier data may be used by Google.
Anyone
Open ↗Free tier
Two projects, 500 MB database, 50K monthly users. Projects pause after a week idle.
Anyone
Open ↗Free tier
$30 of free compute every month for GPU and serverless workloads.
Anyone
Open ↗Free tier
Free ZeroGPU Spaces, CPU hosting and community GPU grants.
Anyone
Open ↗Free tier
Free web services (sleep when idle), free static sites, temporary free Postgres.
Anyone
Open ↗Free tier
Free serverless Postgres: 100 projects, 1 GB each.
Anyone
Open ↗Free tier
$300 for 30 days plus Always Free Arm compute and databases.
Anyone
Open ↗Free tier
Free hosting for personal, non-commercial projects. Plan for Pro once you sell.
Anyone
Open ↗Free tier
One million tokens a month free for building apps in the browser.
Anyone
Open ↗Free tier
Free cap table, SAFEs and 83(b) guidance until you outgrow it.
Under 25 stakeholders, under $1M raised
Open ↗Free tier
Free US payroll for founders, for life.
Founders
Open ↗FreeHardware
Free project PCBs (you pay shipping) and discounted assembly. Email sponsor@pcbway.com with your student ID and project.
University students
Open ↗FreeHardware
Six months of Arduino Cloud Maker free, 25 to 50% off select boards.
GitHub Pack students
Open ↗DiscountHardware
30% off Circuit Playground and Bluefruit, one year of Adafruit IO+.
GitHub Pack students
Open ↗Apply once you have a team, a domain and a simple site. Cards marked Partner code need a referral from an accelerator or VC. Ask a mentor this weekend.
Credits
Start tier: up to $2,000 for a year with no funding needed. Up to $350K for AI-first, equity-funded startups.
Startups with a website and company-domain email
Open ↗Credits
$1,000 to $5,000 in AWS credits for self-funded startups. Bigger tiers need a VC or accelerator code.
Pre-Series B, under 10 years old
Open ↗Credits
Up to $150K in Azure credits, unlocked in stages as you show progress.
Startups
Open ↗Credits
$10K in credits for bootstrapped startups, no partner needed. Decisions in about 48 hours.
Live site, business email, under $1M raised
Open ↗Credits
Free membership with partner cloud credits, free training and GPU hardware discounts.
Incorporated, with a developer and a website
Open ↗Credits
12 months and 33M characters of voice AI, decisions in about a week.
Startups
Open ↗Credits
$50K in credits over 12 months plus partner perks.
Under 2 years old, under $5M raised
Open ↗Credits
First year free: 1B events and 1M session replays.
Under 5 years old, up to $8M raised
Open ↗Credits
Growth plan free for a year, then 40% off.
Under 20 people, under $10M raised
Open ↗Credits
Up to $30K in Vercel credits.
Startups
Open ↗Credits
Atlas credits and Voyage AI tokens, no partner required.
Series A or earlier
Open ↗Credits
Twelve months of credits; choose Other if you have no partner.
Raised $10M or less
Open ↗Credits
Up to $1K self-funded, more if VC-backed or YC.
Startups building an MVP
Open ↗Credits
Up to $5K in credits plus priority support.
Startups
Open ↗Credits
Business plan with AI free for three months with a website and work email (six with a partner).
Under 100 people
Open ↗Discount
93% off year one, 50% year two, 25% year three, including Fin.
Up to $10M raised
Open ↗Credits
Six months free without a partner, up to two years with one.
Funded, new customers
Open ↗Credits
Free business banking and 270+ partner perks.
Account holders
Open ↗CreditsPartner code
Up to $25K in credits or a free year of Pro.
VC-backed founders
Open ↗CreditsPartner code
API credits and support.
Needs a referral from a partner VC
Open ↗CreditsPartner code
Jira, Confluence and Loom Premium free for a year, up to 50 users.
VC-funded or in a partner accelerator
Open ↗DiscountPartner code
90% off year one through a partner, or 30% through an affiliated org.
Pre-seed to Series A
Open ↗DiscountStudents
50% off Pro: $12.50 a month for 100 credits. Verify with your school email, no card.
Students and teachers
Open ↗Discount
$500 to incorporate a Delaware C-corp with EIN and 83(b) filing, plus $2,500 in Stripe credits.
Anyone
Open ↗DiscountStudents
$19.99 a month for the first year (71% off), then $39.99.
Students 13+
Open ↗Discount
Claim by Jan 1
Three months of Google AI Pro when you enroll in the Google AI Professional Certificate.
Anyone who enrolls
Open ↗FreeHardware
Free for three years with limited CAM and PCB. Students should use Autodesk Education instead.
Non-commercial individuals
Open ↗Checked October 13, 2026. Offers change; confirm on the provider's page.