With AI, anyone can build a product in a weekend. Building is no longer the hard part. Real learning is.
The Four-Week Sprint carries the energy of BuildFest into October. Every Wednesday, students take an idea or project and find out whether it’s worth pursuing, with judges, mentors and sponsors in the room. Teams and individual builders are welcome. You don’t need to have attended BuildFest or any earlier week to join, so come with an idea or join a table.
All sessions run 5:30–7:30 PM at 1403 University Ave.
Week 1 · Wed, Sept 30: Define and Validate Your Problem ✅
We kicked off by celebrating the BuildFest winners and putting problem statements to the test. Teams left with a plan to talk to five people who actually have the problem.
Week 2 · Wed, Oct 7: Test Your IUP with Real Users
Put your IUP (Initial Untested Product) in front of real users and test your riskiest assumptions. Bring what you heard and what broke. A broken assumption counts as progress.
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Week 3 · Wed, Oct 14: Value Proposition Workshop
Why would anyone pay for this? A hands-on workshop on what makes your idea worth paying for, and why users can’t just build it themselves. Bring your evidence so far.
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Week 4 · Wed, Oct 21: Learn and Pivot
Sort what held up from what broke, then decide what to keep, change and drop. A pivot isn’t failure. It’s what happens when you take users seriously.
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Closing Week · Wed, Oct 28: Share What You Learned
Give a 2–3 minute share-out on what you set out to test, what broke and what changed, then get feedback from peers and mentors. Evidence beats polish. Everyone is welcome to come listen and give feedback.
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Want to keep going? Demo Night is Th, Nov 19, for builders ready to take their project further.
About the Tech Exploration Lab:
Led by the Wisconsin School of Business in collaboration with the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, the Lab connects students from across campus with industry partners, researchers, and alumni to explore, build, and commercialize ideas at the intersection of emerging technologies and real-world challenges.