Don't justbuild.Ship.

Sydney's go-to-market hackathon. Open to anyone who wants to build.

Every hackathon ends the same way

Forty hours, a demo that works on the second attempt, a prize. On Monday the repo goes quiet and nobody opens it again. The part that would have made it real — finding someone who actually wants it — never got scored, so nobody did it.

So we scored it.

Judged on three things. That's it.

01
Live demoIt has to actually run. In front of the room, no video.
02
Commercial caseWho it's for, what they do today, and why they'd switch.
03
Verified signupsReal users who opted in. Not your group chat.

Two of the three have nothing to do with how well you code. That's deliberate.

Scroll to pan the harbourScroll down

Zone 02 — The Shipyard

Seven days, three for selling

A mixer to find your team and get the briefs, a build weekend with mentors, then three days with one job: get it in front of real people. Pitch night is the report on what came back.

Dates: 23–28 and 30 October 2026
Venue: TBC

Day one — Mixer + briefs

Time TBC

Fri 23 Oct

Mixer — find your team
SessionTime TBC
Briefs released
SessionTime TBC

Days two–three — Build focus

Time TBC

Sat 24 – Sun 25 Oct

Possible workshops from track sponsors — TBC.

Mentors on both build days
MentorTime TBC
Ship v1 + start outreach
SessionTime TBC

Days four–six — Ship focus

Time TBC

Mon 26 – Wed 28 Oct

Three days to put it in front of real people, chase signups and act on what comes back. How you work them — in the room, remotely, or both — is still being settled.

Day seven — Pitch night

Time TBC

Fri 30 Oct

Live demonstrations
SessionTime TBC
Judging + results
SessionTime TBC

The back half is the point

A team that has only ever shown its product to a judging panel hasn't shipped anything — it has performed. Most hackathons end at the demo and leave the selling to whoever still has the energy on Monday. Here it is the programme: three days, no scheduled sessions, no ceremony, one job. Pitch night is the report on what happened when you asked real people.

What you walk out with

A product that runs. Not a mockup with a fake login.
A case you can defend to someone who isn't your friend.
Users who said yes because you asked them properly.
Three days that exist only for getting it in front of people.
A team, if you arrived without one.

Mentors

Being confirmed. Names go up as they sign on.

Zone 03 — Setting Sail

Put your name down

Registration is open. Put your name down for HarbourHack on Luma.

Reasonable questions

I've never shipped anything.
Good — that's the gap this closes. You'll ship in the first thirty-six hours whether it's ready or not, because you can't get signups for a thing nobody can use.
I don't have an idea.
Most people don't, and the ones who arrive with a precious one usually do worse. Friday night is for narrowing to a single user.
I'm not technical.
Two of the three criteria are yours. A team that can build but can't sell loses to a team that can do both.
Do I need a team?
No. Register alone, say what you're strong at, and your card goes out so people can find you before the doors open.

Put your name down

Partners

Early enough to shape it

The programme isn't fixed yet, which is the useful part of coming in now. Four places a partner fits:

Mentor floor
Judging panel
Prize category
Venue

We're not quoting attendance numbers for a first-year event. Ask and we'll walk you through the projection and the reasoning behind it.

Get the briefTBC