Hosted by Experiment Labs · Season 01 Applications open · close 15 Sept
10-day hackathonfor college students · solo or teams of up to 3 · 11–20 Sept

Don't tell us.
Prove it.

A 10-day hackathon for college students. Build one real thing — and leave with a verified record a recruiter can actually open.

Solo or teams of up to 3 · Apply by 15 Sept · Build 11–20 Sept · Results 30 Sept

02 · What you leave with

Not a certificate.
A record.

Every hour, every stuck moment, every verified fix — logged while you build, and yours to share when you're done.

sample record
Build Record
Campus mess-waste tracker · T01
EL-S01-0042
Aarav M. · 3rd yr
D1 09:12scopeProblem, user, planverified
D1 09:40gapNever shipped authflagged
D2 11:05buildSchema + intake formverified
D3 13:20stuck14 min on RLS · copilot inassisted
D3 13:31fixPasses 6/6 testsverified
D5 18:02userContractor interviewedverified
D7 16:48buildDashboard · 3 chartsverified
17.4 hverified build time
AI-assisted · not AI-generated
0
days to build
0
cash prize pool
0k/mo
paid internships · 3–6 months
0+ open
tracks · builders & growth hackers
Why this one

Every other competition hands you a certificate.

This one hands you the post. Everyone who finishes gets a verified build record — not just the winners.

what you post on 30 sept · sample
AM
Aarav Mehta · 3rd
B.Tech, 3rd year · Delhi NCR
2h · 🌐

Spent 10 days building a mess-waste tracker for my hostel. It runs. 17.4 verified hours, 6 verified fixes, 1 contractor interview. Here's the record — every stuck moment included. #ElivatedPortfolio #proofofwork

Verified build recordTop 100 · Mentor AMA
Campus mess-waste tracker
EL-S01-0042 · T01 Campus OS · 17.4 h verified · AI-assisted, not AI-generated
elivio.experimentlabs.in/r/EL-S01-0042 · opens the full record
0 reactions0 commentsReposted by 2 mentors
01

Judged on execution, method, and idea.
Not a pitch deck.

No presentation round. The build and the record speak.

02

Finish, and you have proof.
Place, and you have a job.

Every finisher leaves with a shareable record. Top 3 get paid internships.

03

The judges are the people
who actually hire.

Operators with exits and P&Ls. Then a TiE Bangalore panel.

Tracks

Twelve tracks. One open lane.

For builders and growth hackers alike. Pick the one you can talk to a real person about this week.

T01

Campus OS

Fix your own college.

T02

Careers & Hiring

Get students seen.

T03

AI for Bharat

Local language, local problem.

T04

Fintech & Money

UPI-native, thin-file.

T05

Health & Wellbeing

Access, adherence, clinics.

T06

Learning & EdTech

Not another course site.

T07

Climate & Energy

Measurable and local.

T08

Creator & Media

Tools for the makers.

T09

Commerce & D2C

Small-brand operations.

T10

Agents & Dev Tools

Make builders faster.

T11

SMB Ops

Back-office for a real shop.

T12

Civic & GovTech

Make one thing legible.

OPEN

Bring your own problem.

Same rubric. Someone other than you must want it — and you must have talked to them.

Apply
Format

Apply. Unlock. Build. Prove.

Ten days is short on purpose. Scope small, ship something that runs.

NOW → 15 SEPT

Apply

₹1,999 per team. Solo or up to 3. Apply after 11 Sept and you join the sprint in progress.

11 SEPT

Unlock

Competition opens. Every signed-up participant moves to Elivio Premium. Kickoff live, 7 PM IST.

11 → 20 SEPT

Build

Copilot beside you daily. Mentor AMA for the top 100 mid-sprint.

20 SEPT · 11:59 PM

Submit

Working link or ≤3-min demo, your build record, a one-page brief.

30 SEPT

Results

Winners announced. Top 3 go to the TiE Bangalore panel.

Judging criteria

Does it work and get used? How did you build it? Is the idea real?

Copilot mandatory — the record is a judged artefact.
Started during the sprint. No repackaged projects.
Bring your own tools — paid or free, on you. Your IP stays yours.
Solo or a team of up to 3. One build, one record, every name on it.
ExecutionIt works, and it's used — real users, real numbers, the growth you drove
40
Working methodYour build record — how you decided, where you got stuck, what you verified
35
The ideaA named user, a real problem, evidence they want it
25
Prizes

The cash is the small part.

The internship and the panel are what change your next year.

Winner
₹15,000cash
Paid internship · ₹20k/mo · 3–6 months · PPO potential
TiE Bangalore panel · present live
3 months of 1:1 mentorship
Runner-up
₹10,000cash
Paid internship · same terms
TiE Bangalore panel
3 months of mentorship
Third
Internshipoffer
Paid internship · same terms
TiE Bangalore panel
Top 100
Mentor AMAlive · mid-sprint
Live session with the full mentor pool
Priority for future Experiment Labs roles
The finale

Top 3 present to a TiE Bangalore panel.

Founders, operators, and investors from one of India's most active entrepreneur networks. Date confirmed with the shortlist.

Apply
Why is there a fee?

Because 100 people who finish beat 5,000 who register.

Free hackathons get 5,000 sign-ups and 200 submissions. We'd rather judge 100 real records. The fee pays for the prizes, the mentors' time, and the tool you build with — no sponsor logos, no data sold. And it includes the copilot for 30 days, so nobody is disadvantaged by what they can afford to build with.

Cash prizes · internships · TiE panelfunded
Mentor kickoff · AMA · feedbackfunded
Your build tool · 30 daysincluded
Sponsors · your data · adsnone
Per person₹1,999

PER TEAM · SOLO OR UP TO 3 · NON-REFUNDABLE ONCE ACCESS IS ISSUED

The copilot · Elivio

It watches how you decide. Not what you type.

  1. 01Scores you first. 250–800, 75+ parameters, against the role you want.
  2. 02Reads your decisions. What you tried, what you skipped, where you hesitated.
  3. 03Names where you lack. "You've never shipped auth." Ranked by what it costs you.
  4. 04Tells you what to learn next. In order, with a practitioner's exemplar — not a tutorial.
  5. 05Steps in when you stall. Five signals. The next move, never the whole answer.
  6. 06Verifies, then vouches. A record you own. A profile recruiters open instead of your résumé.
Skill report · sample
612 / 800

Target: Product Engineer · threshold 700

250you · 612target · 700800
  • Shipping to productiongap · high
  • Talking to usersgap · medium
  • Data modellingon target
  • Written communicationgap · low
Mentors

People who've done the thing.

Kickoff, an AMA for the top 100, written feedback for finalists, 1:1 for the top three.

NJphoto · assets/naman.jpg

Naman

Founder & CEO, Experiment Labs · Lead mentor

Founder with an exit to Dineout (Times Internet). $20M+ P&L. Hired 500+. Will read every record.

PHphoto · assets/pulkit.jpg

Pulkit Handa

CEO Shopping, District by Zomato

Runs commerce at one of India's largest consumer apps. Will test your idea against a real margin.

AGphoto · assets/ayush.jpg

Ayush Garg

INSEAD · Zilingo · Accenture

Strategy and ops across a high-growth marketplace and global consulting. Will rebuild your business case with you.

+ TiE Bangalore panel · announced with the top 3

Apply
₹1,999per team · solo or up to 3 · closes 15 Sept, 11:59 PM IST
  • 30 days of Elivio Premium — unlocks 11 Sept for every signed-up participant.
  • Kickoff + mentor AMA (top 100), live and recorded.
  • A verified proof-of-work profile, place or not.
  • Eligibility for ₹25k, three internships, and the TiE Bangalore panel.
Applications close in
days
hours
min
sec

Your application is saved, then the Razorpay page opens with your details filled in

After you pay
1Receipt + your ID

Email and WhatsApp, within minutes.

2Sign up on the platform

Same email, at elivio.experimentlabs.in. Do the 20-min onboarding.

311 Sept · Premium unlocks

Every signed-up participant is moved to Premium. Kickoff 7 PM.

4Build → submit by 20 Sept

Results 30 Sept. Top 3 to TiE Bangalore.

FAQ

Before you pay.

I'm a growth hacker, not a coder.

Good. This is for builders and growth hackers both. Ship with no-code, ship a growth engine, ship a product — execution means it works and people use it. Ten real users beats a hundred features.

Do I need Claude Code / Codex / Cursor?

Probably, yes — serious builders use them, and they're on you. Elivio is included in the fee; any other tool, paid or free, is your call. Free tiers get you far; paid tiers get you further. Nobody is scored on what they spent.

Can I enter as a team?

Yes — solo, or a team of 2 or 3. One application, one fee, one build record with every name on it. Elivio access is issued to the primary email; teammates get their own logins on 11 Sept.

Applications close 15 Sept but the build starts 11 Sept?

Yes. Apply early and you get the full ten days. Apply on the 14th and you get six. Same deadline for everyone: 20 Sept.

How is the internship decided?

Top three placings. ₹20,000/month, 3–6 months, Delhi and remote-friendly, PPO possible. Offers are per person — every member of a placing team is evaluated on the shared record.

What if I can't finish?

You keep Premium. No refund, no penalty. Season 02 is coming.

Who owns what I build?

You do. We may feature it, with credit.

Not ready yet?

Get the brief. And a nudge before 15 Sept.

Tracks, rubric, dates, and one reminder. Nothing else.

One email now, one reminder on 9 Sept. Unsubscribe in one click.