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Scale beyond yourself with the Founders at Work Build Labs

A Build Lab takes one scaling problem and solves it with a working AI system for your business. Each Lab is a short masterclass, then you build the AI system, and leave with it running. Afterwards, Build Clinics help you to keep building your system.

Secure your seat · 11 Nov How it works

How a Build Lab works

First register for a Lab. Then spend a half-day building your AI system. Attend two Build Clinics afterwards to keep the work moving. Then come back for the next Lab. Eight Labs, each building on the last.

About a week before

Prepare

About a week before, a Prep Kit lands in your inbox. It walks you through setting up your AI tools and gathering what you need, so Lab Day starts with you building, not doing admin.

Lab Day

Build

Jason Goldberg leads a half-day of hands-on building. You work on a real scaling problem in your own business and leave with a working AI system, not a set of notes. A Lab Kit and an AI Build Assistant work alongside you throughout.

The weeks after

Keep building

Use two Build Clinics in the weeks after the Lab to pick up where you left off so you can finish what you started, get unstuck, and take the system further into the business.

The Build Labs

We dive deep into solving one scaling problem per Lab, and you leave with one working AI system for your business each time. Each Lab below shows what scaling problem it takes on and what you leave with.

Disclaimer: the topics for Labs 2 to 8 may change as AI evolves.

Build Lab 1 · Registration open

Build your own apps with Lovable and Claude Code

Software got cheap. Your business has not caught up.

Lab Day 11 November 2026 · Johannesburg (limited seats) or online

The focus: AI collapsed the cost of building software. It did not teach you how to ship a working app and run it afterwards. Two set-ups: Lovable for simple apps, Claude Code for complex ones. For founders and leaders who have heard of vibe coding but haven’t yet shipped anything.
You will build: One simple app, built and deployed in Lovable. Then a repeatable app-building workspace in Claude Code, GitHub, Vercel and Supabase, and the start of a second app.
You leave with: One app live in Lovable, one started in Claude Code and finished over the next six weeks, with two Build Clinics to support you.

Secure your seatAttendance is free, but seats in the room are limited.

Build Labs 2 to 8

Coming soon

Seven more Labs follow through 2027, each building on the last. Dates, cities and topics will be announced here and in the monthly digest.

Get notified

Straight answers, before you decide

Who is this for?

Founders and leaders who are still the person their business cannot run without. Typically that is an owner-led South African business turning over somewhere between R8 million and R150 million, with a team of roughly 10 to 200 people, past the start-up stage and feeling the weight of scale. If you have used ChatGPT and you are serious about running the business differently, you have everything the day requires. Not for pre-revenue start-ups, corporate innovation teams or consultants.

Do I need to be technical?

No. If you have typed a question into ChatGPT, you have all the skill the day requires. The Lab Kit and the room do the technical part with you. You bring knowledge of your business.

What exactly do I leave with?

A working AI system on your business, on your laptop, by the time you leave. Plus the Lab Kit as your AI Build Assistant, and Build Clinics afterwards. Not a finished product in a day, and not the habit. The next steps are yours to build, with help.

Do I have to bank with FNB?

No. Founders at Work is open to any owner-led South African business that fits the size band, whichever bank you use.

Is it really free?

Attendance at Build Labs is free but limited for qualifying participants. You will need your own accounts for the tools we build with, and some need a paid plan.

What do I need to bring?

A laptop (not a tablet) and charger, the accounts set up from your Prep Kit and one real problem in your business. If your laptop is company-managed, check with IT that you can install software before the day.

What is the difference between the room and online?

Same build, same day. In the room you get hands-on help from a facilitator and our team, plus networking with the Founders at Work community. Online you follow the livestream and get support through the chat interface where our team will be available to answer your questions.

Will I be filmed or photographed?

Build Labs are livestreamed and recorded and a photographer covers the room.

What happens to the business information I put into the AI tools?

It goes into your own accounts with those providers, under their terms, not to Founders at Work. Don’t enter customers’ personal information or anything confidential your business rules don’t allow.

What are Build Clinics?

Two online sessions in the weeks after each Lab to finish your build and get unstuck.

Do I have to attend Lab 1 to join later Labs?

No. Each Lab builds on the last but stands on its own, so you can join any of them. Every Lab is recorded and the replay goes up on the Content Hub.

What’s the WhatsApp community and ScaleBot?

A community of founders and leaders, with an AI bot for questions between Labs. Your name and number are visible to other members. ScaleBot’s answers are AI-generated, so check anything important.