Hands-on 4 day sprints for non-engineers, designed to unlock practical AI knowledge.
AI is no longer a Silicon Valley pipe dream. It’s a tidal wave heading straight for the work culture we’ve built our careers around (and the society we’ve grown up with).
But the fact is, the only way to really leverage AI is to build with it. The problem is, cramming it into your day to day work is hard.
It’s time to stop wondering about AI and get your hands dirty.
Our open Hack Weeks consist of:
- A 1:1 prep call with Tom or Jonny in advance of the week to understand your goals
- Four days focus on building with AI in whichever direction you want
- A structured approach with 10 hours of interactive live sessions
- A small (5-8 attendee) cohort to learn from and build with
- A Hack Weeks community ongoing after the week
- A free Hacker Hat
Read more about what we believe or learn more about how we run the week below.
What you’ll get out of the week
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Ship a thing
A working prototype, a digital twin, a PRD writer or feedback giver. Whatever matters to you and your work. The only requirement: make it real.
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Explore with others
You'll have a small group to share progress, blockers, and 'a-ha' moments. Learning together helps you find your way faster.
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Try the latest tools
From voice mode to prompt anatomy, we'll share what's working and help you experiment.
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Learn by doing
Real deadlines, peer momentum, and support from your hosts make this one of the fastest, stickiest ways to level up your AI literacy.
"Thank you so much for just putting together a great session, managing it really well, having some great conversations that weren't just related to the things we were building, but more broadly around AI"
Paul Avery, VP of Marketing, Hack Week #1
What can you build?
It’s completely up to you.
Whether you’re diving into vibecoding or exploring workflow-level improvements, there’s plenty you can build in just four days. Bring a problem from work, a process improvement, a side project or just a curiosity.
Some themes to give you inspiration:
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Hack your own productivity
Write marketing content faster, master your inbox, or automate your daily routine.
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Build an AI copilot for your team
Reduce busywork and cut friction with team level workflows and tools.
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Build your digital twin
Use custom GPTs or AI agents to create a second brain to help with decision making
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Prototype a new product
Use AI to vibe code a new product, service or feature in hours.
What you work on doesn’t need to even be ‘one thing’. You might choose to ship a few automations that make every day a bit smoother or reduce low value work.
Still stuck? Don’t worry, we’ll help you scope a meaningful project that fits your familiarity with AI, the tools you have access to and your ambition so you can hit the ground running on the first day.
"I loved the week — it was the kick up the butt that I needed to just open the tools and get on with it. Which ended up being much less intimidating that I somehow thought it was going to be."
Paula Buzzard, Chief Product Officer, Hack Week #1
Who’s this for?
While Hack Weeks is most suited to product and design folks, whatever your background we think you’ll get value from the accountability and the time and space to explore.
You don’t need any technical expertise. Just bring your creativity, curiosity and an open mind and we’ll explore together in a low-stakes environment.
Not in work at the moment? We’d love to have you. Focus on feeling confident talking about AI in your interviews, side projects or to inform your next role.
"I had been playing with AI tools a lot on my own before doing hack weeks but having a cohort of peers to share thoughts and learn together massively accelerated my learning. Ai is clearly going to be a big part everyone’s work and hack weeks is a great way to get started."
Tom Carrington Smith, Founder, Hack Week #0
What's the agenda?
The week is fully remote and takes place over four days.
Before the week
We’ll work with you to shape your project, sharpen your scope, and get clear on what success looks like.
During the week
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Kick-off workshop
Morning check-in
Morning check-in
Morning check-in
Group session:
Lift Off
Group session:
Zoom In
Group session:
Zoom Out
Group session:
Package Up
Demos!
Monday: Lift-off
- Kick off — A two-hour workshop to introduce ourselves, establish our collective AI knowledge and run through some exercises together to go deeper with our tools.
- Group session: Lift Off — Set the course for your week by sharing the scope of your project, choosing your approach, and identifying the tools, tactics, or questions that will unlock progress.
Tuesday: Zoom In
- Morning check-in on progress, help remove blockers and share reflections so far.
- Group session: Vibe coding deep dive — We’ll share what’s working and help you experiment.
Wednesday: Zoom Out
- Morning check-in on progress, help remove blockers and share reflections so far.
- Group session: Zoom Out — Reflect on the broader impact of your work including barriers to adoption, shifts in your role, and what your project reveals about the future of your craft.
Thursday: Package Up
- Everyone shares their screen and walks through their project + key takeaways.
- Group session: Package Up — Shape and share your work in a way others can understand and value whether that’s through a name, a brand, a story, or a compelling artifact.
- Demos: Hosts collect and group shared learnings into a recap for all participants.
There will also be async chat throughout the week for people to share learnings and ask for support as they go.
After the week
- You can stay in your group, and the Hack Weeks community, as you continue learning and building.
Who's running the week?
Great question. We’re Tom and Jonny, seasoned design and product leaders who’ve been experimenting with AI for years. You can read more about us here.
Product design leader, coach, and AI enthusiast with over 20 years of experience designing products and building people-centred teams. He’s led design in both New York and London at companies like BuzzFeed, Babylon Health, and most recently spent five years as Director of Design at Monzo. He’s a big believer in the power of AI to help humans do what they do best.
Founder and Designer. Jonny was employee #1 at Index backed Fintech startup Osper before helping to grow Deliveroo’s design team as the business scaled from 150-2000 employees. He went on to found Progression to support career and skill growth in technology teams, raising over $6m and selling the business in 2024. He’s a somewhat developer, automation nerd and has loved making things work since he was 4.
Who else will be there?
A crucial part of the Hack Week experience is a peer group to learn from.
We’ll aim for small groups of 5-8 people with similar backgrounds and ambitions (for example Product Designers, Cursor improvers or people who want to improve their daily workflows). In fact we’ll talk to you about your goals in advance so we can match you with a good group.
Your peer group will work closely together sharing learnings, support and motivation, both in group sessions and asynchronously through chat. We’ve found that the conversation and new friendships continue long after the Hack Week ends.
What time zones can I be in?
Our first Hack Weeks will be centred around GMT (London time) with morning and afternoon activities. If you’re outside of this time zone, please let us know and we’ll do our best to accommodate.
We plan to run Hack Weeks in other time zones soon.
How much time should I make available?
You’ll get the most value if this can be your main focus. That means 20+ hours across the four days. Of course, you can burn the midnight oil as much as you want beyond that!
Your hacking time can be done in the daytime or evening if you’re attending a Hack Week in a different time zone or around work commitments — but we strongly recommend attending the scheduled morning meetings and group sessions as much as possible. Sharing challenges with your group is as valuable as your solo building time.
So make sure your manager is comfortable with that time commitment, and clear your calendar as much as possible.
How do I persuade my boss?
Here’s a handy email template to use with your manager:
Subject: Joining an AI Hack Week
Hey [Manager’s Name],
I’d love to join this AI Hack Week to build practical skills that will directly benefit our team’s productivity and capabilities.
Possible explorations:
- Ship a working AI prototype relevant to our current projects
- Learn tools that can automate 5-10 hours of weekly repetitive work
- Return with specific AI implementation plan for our team [replace with your proposal!]
Time commitment: 4 days focused learning (20-25 hours) Cost: £499 + time investment ROI: Hoping for 5+ hours/week team time savings from my AI workflows
It’s being run by senior product people from Monzo and Deliveroo. Happy to share more details or have a quick call to discuss.
What do you think?
Thanks, [Your Name]
For managers
We’ve designed Hack Weeks to be a great experience for you and your team. Whether you’re looking to send one or two people to an open Hack Week or run a private Hack Week for your team, we’ve got you covered.
We know time is precious, so if you want to scope your attendees’ week to specific business needs, we’ll support that with specific guidance and resources.
We believe that even one or two AI-familiar people in your team will have a transformative effect on adoption.
Still not sure?
Just Book an intro call or head to our teams page to find out more.