
Launch your vision. Prove your traction. Compete for a share of up to $125,000 in USDC on Algorand.
Are you a passionate builder, entrepreneur, or innovator with an early-stage business idea that uses Algorand to help solve a real-world problem? Does your project have clear market opportunity and traction potential? If so, Algorand Startup Challenges are perfect for you.
The program includes a series of challenges, guiding participants through different phases of project development. Each phase ends with a specific challenge to test your knowledge and demonstrate the project's progress. While participation in each task is optional, those who actively engage and deliver strong results have a greater chance of winning awards.
To help you succeed, the program combines technical and business topics. Technical sessions cover Algorand integration, tooling, and proof of concept (POC) development, all using AI and no-code tools, so no prior technical knowledge is required. Business sessions dive into market validation, growth strategies, and pitching.
Through this hands-on, tech+business approach, you’ll iterate on innovative blockchain applications and focus on addressing genuine market needs.
Why builders and entrepreneurs should be part of this program:
Dive into Lean Startup principles and learn how to rapidly iterate (test and refine) your initial project concept. Understand how to validate assumptions, assess market feasibility, and define essential requirements. Build a solid foundation to ensure your project is on the right track.
We’ll help scope your POC and identify the core functionalities it needs to test the market effectively. You’ll also gain hands-on experience integrating Algorand with your POC.
Discover several marketing strategies to attract early adopters and gain user traction. Learn how to gather early feedback and use it to refine your POC so you can pivot towards a strong product-market fit.
Founders will receive valuable one-on-one mentorship sessions throughout the program to guide their progress.
Teams that complete the challenges and score highest under the judging criteria may earn a spot in the final pitch. A total prize pool of up to $125,000 in USDC on Algorand (USDCa) will be awarded per the Official Rules.
We will use AI tools and no-code to turn your idea into a working proof of concept.
What You’ll Learn:
Educational content only; not legal, tax, or investment advice. Participation or mentorship does not guarantee selection, funding, or business outcomes.
Over the course of this program, you'll gain practical skills and startup-building experience to help you:
- Define and validate your startup idea using Lean principles.
- Identify customer pain points and test your value proposition.
- Build and iterate a blockchain-based proof of concept (POC).
- Integrate Algorand into your project using modern tooling.
- Attract early users and gather actionable feedback.
- Understand product-market fit and learn how to test for it.
- Craft a compelling pitch and pitch deck for investors or competitions.
- Compete for a $125K USDCa prize pool in the final pitch event.
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Date: October 7 | 12:00 PM ET / 06:00 PM CEST
- Iterate your business idea: problem and solution
- Refine user pain points and map target personas profiles
- Types of competitors and how to identify them
- Founder-led marketing
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Date: October 9 | 12:00 PM ET / 06:00 PM CEST
- Identify core features needed to test your concept in the market
- What we already have in the ecosystem
- User-centric approach: user stories definition and prioritization
- Wireframing and prototyping: translate user stories into visual flows and screens
- UX best practices for blockchain products
- Build/Iterate your POC
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Date: October 14 | 12:00 PM ET / 06:00 PM CEST
- Value proposition canvas
- Defining your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
- Critical success factors
- How early traction validates your value proposition
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Date: October 16 | 12:00 PM ET / 06:00 PM CEST
- Introduction to ready-made Algorand integration templates
- Demo: wallet connection, asset creation, and basic transactions
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Date: October 21 | 12:00 PM ET / 06:00 PM CEST
- What is Product-Market Fit (PMF) and why does it matter
- Levels and dimensions of PMF
- How to test PMF?
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Date: October 23 | 12:00 PM ET / 06:00 PM CEST
- Adding features that prove your market opportunity
- Add basic analytics
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Date: October 28 | 12:00 PM ET / 06:00 PM CEST
- Moving from early adopters to evangelists
- Community-building tactics
- Low-cost traction experiments to prove market demand
- Key traction metrics to track and how to use them for growth
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Date: October 30 | 12:00 PM ET / 06:00 PM CEST
- Prepare your project for production deployment
- Deploy on Vercel (or similar hosting platform)
- Test with a small group of users and collect quick feedback
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Date: November 4 | 12:00 PM ET / 06:00 PM CEST
- Crafting your go-to-market strategy
- Revenue strategies
- Fundraising basics: what investors look for and how to prepare
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Date: November 6 | 12:00 PM ET / 06:00 PM CEST
- What is a pitch deck, and how to start building it
- Elevator Pitch: what it is, components, and techniques
- Tips for showcasing your product demo effectively in pitches
- What will you need to prepare for the final pitch competition?
Prerequisites to join:
To get the most out of the Startup Challenges, we strongly recommend that participants have drafts or completed versions of the following key project items before joining.
A well-defined initial concept that addresses a real market need.
A brief statement that clearly articulates the problem your idea intends to solve.
A draft outline of your solution's unique value.
Initial market research to identify user pain points, target audience, and the competitive landscape.
A simple early version of your idea that shows the main features and early evidence that it solves the problem.
A basic (not necessarily technical) understanding of how blockchain could enhance or transform your concept.
Register now:
Please complete this form to register for all ten startup challenges sessions. Once you submit it, you will receive an individual confirmation email directly from the Livestorm platform per session.
Please see the T&Cs of the startup challenges here.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Subject to Official Rules, void where entry is prohibited. No purchase or payment required to enter or win. Prize pool up to $125,000, paid in USDC on the Algorand network (USDCa) to a compatible wallet; network fees may apply. Winners are responsible for taxes and may be required to complete identity verification (KYC). Selection is by judges per published criteria; odds depend on number and quality of entries. Mentorship and program content are for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal, tax, or investment advice; no outcomes are guaranteed.