Everest Startup Workshop

Build a real startup in two days, using AI to test and launch your product by Monday.

This is a hands-on workshop for people who want to go beyond brainstorming and actually test whether an idea has legs.

You’ll start with a short pitch, challenge the assumptions behind it, identify what really creates value for the customer, and design the fastest way to test the riskiest parts of the idea.

Then you’ll use AI tools such as Codex to prototype and launch a working version, put it in front of real users, gather feedback, and iterate.

On day two, we’ll go deeper on customer validation and acquisition. You’ll test how to reach customers, sharpen the proposition, improve the product, and build a clearer view of what might become a viable business.

You’ll leave with:

• a sharper customer and problem hypothesis

• a mapped set of critical assumptions

• a live prototype or alpha product

• real customer feedback

• acquisition experiments in market

• a clearer view of what to build and test next

This is not a two-day coding class and it’s not a pitch competition. The focus is on using AI to move quickly through the startup loop:

Hypothesis → Experiment → Evidence → Decision → Build → Learn

Come with an idea you want to test. Be a founder on Monday morning.

Who this is for

This workshop is for founders, aspiring founders, product people, engineers, designers and operators who have an idea they want to test quickly.

You do not need to arrive with a finished business plan or polished concept.

You should come with:

• a startup idea, problem or opportunity you want to explore

• a willingness to challenge your own assumptions

• enough technical confidence to work with AI tools, or a teammate who has it

• access to potential customers, users or people in the target market

This will suit people who want to build and test, not just talk about ideas.

What you’ll do

Over two days, you’ll work through the core startup loop:

Pitch → Challenge → Assumptions → Experiment → Build → Release → Learn → Iterate

You will:

• sharpen your customer and problem hypothesis

• identify the assumptions most likely to kill the idea

• work out what actually creates value for the customer

• design fast validation experiments

• use AI tools such as Codex to build a prototype or alpha product

• write lightweight specs to guide AI-assisted development

• put your proposition in front of real customers

• collect feedback and behavioural evidence

• improve the product based on what you learn

• test different customer acquisition methods

• finish with a clearer view of whether the idea is worth pursuing

The emphasis is on real evidence, not workshop theatre.

What to bring

• your laptop and charger

• a startup idea or problem worth exploring

• access to Codex or another capable AI coding environment

• any existing notes, research, mock-ups or customer insights

• a list of potential users or customers you can contact during the workshop

• any domain knowledge, data or examples that will help you prototype quickly

If possible, line up a few people in advance who are willing to test something or give you feedback during the two days.

The more easily you can reach real customers, the more useful the workshop will be.

What you’ll leave with

By the end of the workshop, you should have:

• a much sharper startup proposition

• a ranked map of your riskiest assumptions

• a live prototype, alpha product or other testable experience

• real customer feedback

• evidence about what people actually do, not just what they say

• at least one acquisition experiment in market

• a revised view of the product based on what you learned

• a focused set of next experiments

You may leave more confident in the idea.

You may also discover that an important assumption is wrong.

Both are useful outcomes. The point is to find out quickly, while the cost of changing direction is still low.