BuildWeek //02 Jacksonville

Not a hackathon. Not a pitch night. One week to turn an idea into a real business, in Jacksonville, with the city behind you.

Something big is landing in Jacksonville this October. Build Week is a seven day competition where teams of builders, designers, students, and founders plan a product, ship it over a single weekend, and demo it live to the city on Proof Night. No slide decks. No hypotheticals. You show what you actually built.

This is the second Build Week. The first ran in Gainesville in April 2026 with the UF Warrington College of Business: ten teams competed, and two of them are still operating as real startups today. Now it comes to Jacksonville, bigger, with a stronger support system and a problem worth solving.

## How the week works

Planning Phase, October 19 to 22. Evenings only, capped at 10 hours, so you can keep your day job. Each night has one milestone: lock in your concept, name and logo, the problem and the customer, and your build plan. Every team works in a shared digital sandbox, so progress is tracked and visible.

Ship Phase, October 23 to 25. Planning closes Friday at 5 PM and the build begins. Saturday is a full build day. Sunday you submit by 11:59 PM. Technical experts are on call all weekend to help teams get unstuck.

Proof Night, October 26. A public event where every team demos what they made. Judges name category winners across Student, Pro, and Enhancement tracks, and a Grand Prize. Awards and funding are presented on the spot.

## The Mission Track: build the platform that brings cities to life

This year Build Week has a headline challenge. Kady Yellow, Jacksonville's VP of Placemaking, has spent years turning underused public spaces into places people love, across roughly fifteen cities. The problem is that the process lives in her head and in the people closest to her, and most programs do not survive once she leaves a city.

The Mission Track asks teams to build the technology layer that lets any city run her placemaking playbook without her physically being there: application intake, place profiles, onboarding, activation checklists, stewardship. It is a real problem with a real owner who wants to use what you build.

And here is the part that makes this different from every other weekend event: the winning Mission Track build does not die on a laptop. Duval Software, a Jacksonville engineering firm, takes it to full commercial buildout, and the winning team continues on as product owners. You are not competing for a trophy. You are competing for a seat at the table on a product that gets deployed.

## You are not doing this alone

Every team has direct access to a builder support system throughout the week:

• Real entrepreneurs who have built and run companies, acting as your captains
• Technical experts on call during the build weekend
• Product and operations mentors to help you define what you are shipping, who it is for, and how to talk about it
• Real attorneys specializing in incorporation, IP, and contracts, giving real answers on the spot

Advisor support continues after Build Week ends. That is rare for an event like this, and it is on purpose.

## Who should come

Software engineers, designers, and product people who are tired of side projects that never ship. Students from UNF, FSCJ, and anywhere else who want to build something real before graduation. Founders with an idea and no team. Operators who understand a customer and want to find their technical co-founder. If you have ever said "someone should build that," this is your week to be that someone.

You can come with a team or come solo and find one during kickoff.

## Why Jacksonville

Jacksonville is one of the largest cities in the country by land and population, with a deep talent pool and a real history of entrepreneurship. Build Week exists to create companies headquartered here that solve real problems, backed by a coalition of local organizations and community partners. This is about building the city's engine room.

## Details

• Dates: October 19 to 26, 2026
• Planning Phase: Mon to Thu evenings from 5 PM (10 hours max)
• Ship Phase: Fri Oct 23 at 5 PM through Sun Oct 25 at 11:59 PM
• Proof Night: Monday, October 26 (public, bring friends)
• Location: 1250 Shetter Ave. STE 4 Jacksonville Beach Fl. 32250
• Cost: FREE
• **Register: Here or at Buildweek.net**

Public and invite-only events run all week, so even if you are not competing, there are nights worth showing up for.

Together, let's go build it.

See you there!

Lucas Wyman
Founder
Duval Software
https://www.linkedin.com/in/overkillgaming/