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Most entrepreneurship programs teach you about building a startup. This one helps you to build it.
'Building your startup with AI tools 2026' is an eight-week, hands-on incubator where you build your venture in the room - not in theory, not later. Every session, you produce something real: a problem statement, a validated insight, a working prototype or a positioning strategy. AI is your co-pilot throughout, embedded in every session from week one.
By week eight, you'll have a venture concept that's been validated, built, iterated on and pitched. Not a business plan; a real start.
You'll build:
Put your new skills to the test by creating a video pitch for the 'Building your startup with AI tools award 2026' and your chance to win $5,000 in non-dilutive funding to kickstart or scale your project.
Join a community of changemakers who believe business can be a force for good. Walk away with practical skills, a polished pitch, and the confidence to make your business a reality.
'Building your startup with AI tools 2026' is fully subsidised for ACU students, staff and alumni. Community participants can attend the first workshop free. To continue, choose standard pricing of $75 per workshop, or save with our complete bundle at $320 covering the other seven sessions. Topics are delivered via livestream to a national audience, creating an interactive learning experience that connects changemakers across the country.
In partnership with Disruptors Co.
Format: Two hours per session, Wednesday evenings 4-6pm
Structure: 20-minute teach | 60-minute build | 20-minute peer review | 20-minute commit
AI experience needed: None - we build that in from week one
Tools used: Claude (AI research and writing) | Lovable (rapid prototyping)
You'll leave with:
Attend the full program to be in the best position to develop a winning pitch for the 'Building your startup with AI tools award 2026', or choose specific workshops directly relevant to your project.
Week 1: AI readiness
Set up your tools, frame your venture idea and write your first structured AI prompt. You'll leave with your venture concept in one sentence and a habit that compounds every week.
Wednesday 19 August
4-6pm AEST
Online
Week 3: Validation and discovery
Evidence beats assumptions. You'll design a validation plan, run discovery conversations and use AI to synthesise what you hear into insights you can build from.
Wednesday 2 September
4-6pm AEST
Online
Week 5: Building your PRD
From validated insight to working product. You'll write a product requirements document with AI, then build your first clickable prototype using Lovable - in a single session.
Wednesday 16 September
4-6pm AEST
Online
Week 7: Going to market
A great product no one knows about doesn't grow. You'll write your positioning statement, structure your offer and draft your first outreach to a real target customer.
Wednesday 7 October
4-6pm AEDT
Online
Week 2: Problem worth solving
Not every frustration is a business. We pressure-test your problem statement against three criteria and use AI to sharpen it until it's specific enough to act on.
Wednesday 26 August
4-6pm AEST
Online
Week 4: AI as your unfair advantage
Map the highest-leverage uses of AI in your venture. Build a personal prompt library you'll use for the rest of the program and well beyond it.
Wednesday 9 September
4-6pm AEST
Online
Week 6: Build sprint one: demo and iterate
Your first prototype was a hypothesis. Now you have feedback. You'll update your requirements, rebuild and produce a version you'd actually show a customer.
Wednesday 23 September
4-6pm AEST
Online
Week 8: Showcase and next steps
Present your venture to the cohort and invited guests. Live demo. Pitch. 90-day roadmap. And a clear path into the ACU Co-lab ecosystem if you want to keep going.
Wednesday 14 October
4 - 6pm AEDT
Online
Attend three or more workshops and you will be eligible to enter the 'Building your startup with AI tools award 2026'.
This award recognises an individual or team who have developed a novel business idea and are at any stage of development, from idea stage to market. Your idea may be for a business that sells a physical product or one that offers a service.
The winning video pitch entry receives:
Opening date: Friday 4 September 2026 at 9am AEST
Closing date: Sunday 1 November 2026 at 11.59pm AEDT
The 'Building your startup with AI tools award 2026' is open to any eligible entrant who attends at least three 'Building your startup with AI tools 2026' workshops. To participate, you must lodge your application online.
To enter the competition, eligible entrants must during the competition period:
Presentation skills - 20 points
Pitch content - 70 points
Audio/video quality - 10 points
We're available 9am–5pm AEST,
Monday to Friday
If you’ve got a question, our AskACU team has you covered. You can search FAQs, email, live chat, call – whatever works for you.