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Pressure Cooker | Dublin Startup Hackathon

Event artwork for Pressure Cooker | Dublin Startup Hackathon

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About this event

What to expect

Pressure Cooker is a one-week startup hackathon in Dublin, challenging 10 teams to build, launch and validate a new company for a shot at €100,000 pre-seed investment.

Running during Dublin AI Week from 2–8 October 2026, this high-intensity competition is built around a simple goal: go from an researched idea to a live product with genuine market evidence in a matter of days. It is presented by Baseline with Give(a)Go.

From idea to evidence

The main build begins at 18:00 on Friday 2 October at Baseline and finishes there at 18:00 on Tuesday 6 October. During that window, every team must:

  • Build and ship a live product that somebody outside the team can use
  • Put it in front of its intended customers and ask them to use or buy it
  • Return with evidence such as sign-ups, active users or signed letters of intent
  • Iterate in response to real customer behaviour and feedback

Paid customers earn bonus points because the organisers see revenue as the clearest signal of demand. Teams will also post a short daily update in a shared WhatsApp group covering what they shipped, what they learnt and what comes next.

Who should apply?

Applications are open to teams of two to four founders, with every participant aged 18 by 7 October and available to commit for the full week. The format particularly suits people currently employed, between roles or building projects during evenings and weekends, but teams should combine the ability to ship with the ability to sell.

Entries must represent genuinely new companies: no product, customers, incorporation or funding may exist before 4 September 2026. Before the build begins, teams may interview prospective customers, research the market and prepare tools or accounts, but they cannot build the product or take money.

The strongest ideas will solve a specific problem the team understands first-hand, target customers who can make a quick buying decision and start with a narrow proposition that could lead to a much larger venture.

Selection, judging and investment…

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