Kickoff is November 15, 2026 at 00:00 UTC. The hackathon runs until December 15, 2026.

Starts Nov 15, one day before a certain $99 one. Total coincidence.

A hackathon that doesn't charge you to enter a hackathon.

Build a business in 30 days. Entry: $0

Someone already put up the prize money? Great. Then why are you paying? Here, you don't.

Price alertGoes up at kickoff! (to $0)

Live 0 chatting

      Podium

      Be builder #1.The line is very short.

      Live money

      Prize pool · 100% to builders

      Updated ↻ now

      $0so far. We're as surprised as you.

      1. $10K30 cash winners
      2. $25KSeed top 10: $500+
      3. $50KSeed winner: $7K
      4. $100KMatches the paid one

      In: $0 · Out: $0 · Organizer cut: $0

      Money builders kept

      $0

      0 builders × $149, not spent on entry fees. You're welcome.

      $149

      is what you'd pay elsewhere. and keep it.

      $149 = late entry at a certain other $100K hackathon. Not prize money.

      Perks for builders

      0so far. Not even an eyepatch.

        Credits, subscriptions, tools. One for every builder.

        Perks are listed, never added to the $ pool.

        No sharks were monetised in the making of this hackathon. 🦈 Rules · Privacy ·
        Admit one builderNo. 000001

        Get your free ticket

        Two fields and a bracket. We email you before kickoff, nothing else.

        X, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, Instagram or newsletter.

        Followers on that account

        No judgement. You get a Double Dipper badge on your ticket.

        Pre-launch price$99.00 $0.00
        Price after kickoff$149.00 $0.00
        Hidden fees$0.00
        Your ideastill yours
        Due today$0.00

        By joining you agree to the rules and privacy policy.

        The podium

        10 winners in every cash bracket (Seed, Sprout, Grove). Top 3 get 35%, 20% and 10% of their bracket; 4th to 10th get 5% each. Hover or tap a trophy. They have opinions.

        1. 2nd 20% of each bracket Your name here, Dec 23
        2. 1st 35% of each bracket Your name here, Dec 23
        3. 3rd 10% of each bracket Your name here, Dec 23

        100% of sponsor money to builders Organizer cut 0%

        Results and verified numbers: Dec 23. Paid by Jan 5.

        Contact us

        A human reads every message. Replies come from hello@zerohackathon.com.

        Topic

        0 / 2000

        Questions (free of charge)

        What is it?

        A free 30-day hackathon, Nov 15 to Dec 15, 2026, online from anywhere. Start a brand-new online business, sell it to strangers, post one public update a week. The most verified profit in your bracket wins.

        Prizes come from sponsors and community backers. 100% of the cash goes to builders:

        Seed bracket (0 to 999 followers)40%
        Sprout bracket (1K to 9.9K)30%
        Grove bracket (10K to 49.9K)20%
        Side quests (4 prizes)10%
        Forest bracket (50K+)credits + trophy
        Organizers0%
        How much does it cost?

        $0. Early bird: $0. Late bird: $0. The worm: also $0.

        Pre-launch price$99.00 $0.00
        Price after kickoff$149.00 $0.00
        Hidden fees$0.00
        Course you must buy$0.00
        Your ideastill yours
        Total$0.00

        If anyone asks you for money in our name, it isn't us.

        What happens after I pay?

        You can't. We looked for a way to charge you and couldn't find one. Here's what happens after you sign up: you get a ticket with your bracket on it, a kickoff email before Nov 15, and from day 1 you post one public build-log update a week.

        Is this a sales funnel?

        There's nothing at the bottom of the funnel. We checked. No course, no community upsell, no "pro" tier. Organizers sell nothing to you during the event.

        Is this gambling?

        Gambling needs a bet. You're not putting anything in, so you can't lose anything except sleep. Nobody pays, so nobody loses money. Lots of people win, thanks to the side quests.

        Why Nov 15?

        So you can start a day earlier, and keep $149. If you already paid for a different hackathon, you can submit the same new business to both.

        What's the catch?

        You have to actually build something. That's the whole catch.

        Can I pay anyway?

        No. If you really want to spend $149, buy a domain and 12 coffees and ship something.

        Are there pirates?

        No. Just builders. The only plank you walk is your own roadmap.

        Where does the money go?

        Only sponsors and community backers put money in. It sits in one dedicated account, and 100% of the cash goes to builders. Organizers take 0% and pay the running costs themselves. Sponsor credits (API, hosting) are listed separately and never counted as cash.

        Inside each cash bracket there are 10 winners: 1st takes 35%, 2nd 20%, 3rd 10%, 4th to 10th 5% each.

        Payout calculatorexample pool

        Cash per place, by bracket
        PlaceSeed40%Sprout30%Grove20%
        Bracket total

        Side quests: $5,000 (10% of the pool)

        • First Stranger $Split equally among everyone whose first sale is from a verified stranger, max $100 each. Leftovers roll into the other quests.
          $2,000
        • Best Build LogOne winner. The most honest, useful public log.
          $1,000
        • Most CustomersOne winner. Most unique paying customers, any price.
          $1,000
        • Builders' PickOne winner. Voted by participants, one vote each, not for yourself.
          $1,000

        Forest bracket (50K+ followers): $0 cash. Its top 3 get sponsor credits and the trophy.

        How many winners are there?

        30 cash winners: 10 in each of the three cash brackets (1st gets 35% of the bracket, 2nd 20%, 3rd 10%, 4th to 10th 5% each). Plus the side quests: First Stranger $ pays many people, and Best Build Log, Most Customers and Builders' Pick each have one winner. The Forest bracket's top 3 get credits and a trophy. Each person can win one bracket prize; side quests can stack on top.

        How are winners picked?

        By verified profit, highest in each bracket. On Dec 15 you connect Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, Polar or Paddle with a read-only key. No screenshots.

        • Profit, not revenue: revenue minus refunds, chargebacks, processor fees and the costs you declare. A 7-day refund window catches "buy now, refund later".
        • Real strangers only: your own cards, teammates, other participants or anyone sharing your payout account don't count. You need at least 5 unique paying customers, and no single customer can be more than 20% of your profit.
        • Brand-new business: new domain, new product, first sale on or after Nov 15. Old code is fine. Old customers aren't.
        • Open review: the top 10 in each bracket are checked by hand and their final numbers are published. Ties go to the builder with more unique paying customers.
        What are the brackets?

        Judging on revenue usually rewards whoever already has an audience. So on Nov 14 we snapshot the follower count of your biggest account (X, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, Instagram or newsletter) and you compete only inside your bracket.

        Seed 40%

        0 to 999 followers

        The biggest share goes to people starting from nothing.

        Sprout 30%

        1K to 9.9K followers

        Some reach, still mostly hustle.

        Grove 20%

        10K to 49.9K followers

        A real audience, judged against other real audiences.

        Forest $0

        50K and up

        Welcome to play. Top 3 get credits and the trophy. Nobody smaller loses cash to them.

        What if a bracket has too few people?

        To qualify you need at least 5 unique paying strangers. If fewer than 10 builders qualify in a bracket, the unclaimed money passes down to the next smaller bracket: Grove to Sprout to Seed. It never goes back to organizers or sponsors.

        When and how do winners get paid?
        1. Nov 15, 00:00 UTC: building starts.
        2. Dec 15, 23:59 UTC: building ends. Connect your payment processor, read-only.
        3. Dec 22: the 7-day refund window closes.
        4. Dec 23: results and full verified numbers are published.
        5. By Jan 5, 2027: winners are paid by bank transfer, Wise or PayPal after a basic identity check. Winners handle their own taxes.
        Do organizers get any of it?

        No. 0%. Running costs are paid by the organizers separately. Organizers, judges and sponsors' staff can't compete, we sell nothing to you during the event, and every dollar in and out of the prize account is in the public ledger.

        What can I build?

        Any digital product you can sell online: SaaS, app, directory, template, newsletter, info product. It has to be new, and it has to take real payments.

        Solo or team?

        Both. Teams have at most 3 people and go into the bracket of their biggest account.

        Who owns what I build?

        You do, 100%. No equity, no revenue share, no rights to your code.

        Kickoff Nov 15, 2026, 00:00 UTC. Nothing to pay, now or later.