Mechanics
Three jurors. Five instruments. An experiential validation loop whose final verdict belongs to no one on set.
The 4-act arc
E1 → E4
Form teams. Validate. Kill your own ideas.
E5 → E7
Sell. Recompose. Face the Ghosts.
E8 → E9
Field work. Data room. Investor ready.
E10 → E12
Demo Day. 48h. The market decides.
The 3 jurors
Each one wields a recurring power triggered every episode, and an exclusive power usable only once per season. An event.
⚙Juror
The field. Precision. The irrevocable.
Recurring power — The Verdict
At every jury session, one sentence per team. Public. Irrevocable. Posted on the Traction Board.
The Execution Card — 1×/season
Forced 48h field sprint imposed on a team lost in theory. Filmed continuously.
€Juror
The numbers. Not emotion.
Recurring power — The Financial Flash
Every episode from E3: 3 financial questions to 2 teams. Precise teams earn bonus Traction Points.
The Phantom Term Sheet — 1×/season
A sealed envelope with hypothetical investment terms. 10-minute public discussion.
◉Juror
The blind spot. The uncomfortable question.
Recurring power — The Impact Obligation
Every episode, one uncomfortable question to a single team. Without warning. Filed into the final Impact Score.
The ESG Key — 1×/season
Unlocks for an eliminated team or the Hidden Project direct access to a European impact fund.
Game instruments
01
InstrumentThe season's public memory.
The LED board permanently displays each team's metrics — transactions, NPS, purchase intent — alongside the jurors' irrevocable Verdicts. Everything is readable by the audience.
02
InstrumentThe market votes in real time.
During each pitch in front of a physical audience, the app captures individual willingness-to-pay in euros. The aggregated result is displayed live above the stage. No juror can override it.
03
Instrument48–72h sprints. Field cadence.
Every episode runs on a hypothesis → test → quantified debrief cycle. No slides. No promises. Raw data, photos, verbatims. Pivots allowed but costly.
04
InstrumentThe eliminated don't disappear.
With zero resources and zero coaching, they build in secret. Existence revealed at E5/E6. If their metrics beat the last-ranked team at E7, they take its place in the finals.
05
InstrumentThe market judges people too.
Every Buildathlon episode opens a 90-minute transfer window. Any team can submit a public offer in TP for a member of another team. Candidate veto is irrevocable; the People clause is shown on screen. At E6 the window becomes the Trade Deadline — TP cap lifted.
Economy of tension
E1
0
candidates
E1
0
duos
E2
0
teams
E3
0
teams
E5
0
teams
E6
0
teams
E7
0
finalists
E12
0
winners
“33 trajectories extinguished in 12 weeks. Each one becomes a story. That's the season's raw material.”