Training
Certification Leadership Frameworks Agentic for Business
Community Keynotes Retreat About Blog Book A Consultation
← All cohorts Melbourne Cohort

48 Hours from Idea to Operating Business

A residential AI venture build sprint for Melbourne entrepreneurs ready to stop talking and start building.

Melbourne · Jun 5 to 7, 2026 48 hours 30 of 30 seats available Reserve a seat →
▶
90 seconds with Dave Hajdu on what 48 hours can produce.
Founder video coming soon
The Promise
Arrive with a business idea. Leave with a live website, CRM, payment setup, AI agents, and a Mac mini configured as your private business command centre.
Past Cohorts

What Founders Walked Out With

"Walked in with a vague idea. Walked out with a live website, three working AI agents, and my first paying customer two weeks later. The pace was brutal in the best way."
DN
Dru Nguyen
Founder · Strategy consultancy
"I'd been telling myself I'd build my advisory product for two years. The 48 hours forced the issue. Booked five discovery calls in the first month and signed two."
JM
James Murray
Director · Accounting practice
"Worth every dollar. The Mac mini paid for itself the first week. My agents are running every morning before I'm awake, doing research and drafting outreach."
TK
TK Nguyen
Founder · E-commerce brand
The Offer

Every Participant Leaves With

This is not a workshop, not a course. It is a 48-hour founder build sprint, capped at 30 people, in 6 pods of 5, each with a dedicated AI Engineer for the full event.

✓A validated business model
✓Brand name, positioning, and offer
✓Live website and landing page
✓Stripe or payment flow configured
✓CRM pipeline set up
✓Lead magnet or sales funnel
✓AI sales agent
✓AI admin and research agent
✓AI content agent
Plus Mac mini pre-configured and ready on arrival, included with Founder + Mac mini and White Glove tiers.
Structure

30 Founders, 6 Pods, 2 Faculty

Two faculty instructors run the program content across all pods, teaching, facilitating, and driving each session. Every pod has one dedicated AI Engineer embedded for the full 48 hours, building alongside each founder so no one gets stuck.

Cohort Size
30
founders
Pods
6 × 5
small groups, full focus
Engineers
1 per pod
embedded for 48 hours
Your Faculty Lead

Who You'll Be Building With

Dave Hajdu, founder of AI Officer Institute
Faculty · Founder
Dave Hajdu
Dave founded the AI Officer Institute to help non-technical operators build AI-first businesses without first becoming engineers. He coaches founders across three countries, runs the Infinite Leverage cohorts, and writes about AI for business owners. Every Founder Seat includes a 1:1 pre-event call with him to scope your build.
More about Dave →
Program

Three Days, One Operating Business

Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon, 48 hours from arrival to demo day.

Day 01 · Friday
Idea to Commercial Offer
Fri Jun 5 · 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Arrival, founder introductions, AI literacy baseline
Idea selection, market and customer research, offer design and pricing
Brand positioning, customer avatar, landing page copy, domain selection
Founder hot seats over dinner
Day 02 · Saturday
Build the Business
Sat Jun 6 · 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Morning: website build sprint (Webflow, Framer, Shopify, Lovable, etc.)
Afternoon: CRM, lead capture, email flow, payments, booking
Agent build sprint: sales, onboarding, research, content, admin
Demo circle over dinner
Day 03 · Sunday
Deploy and Launch
Sun Jun 7 · 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Mac mini configuration: accounts, folders, sync, dashboards, API keys
30-day launch system: content calendar, sales scripts, ads test plan
Final Demo Day: each founder presents their business and 30-day plan
Pricing

Reserve Your Seat

Three tiers, all in Australian dollars, GST inclusive. Pick the level of support you want around the build, then complete checkout via Stripe.

Founder Seat
A$5,000
AUD incl GST
Full event access with embedded AI engineer support across the 48 hours.
Accommodation
All meals
Templates and prompt libraries
Full build support across website, agents, CRM, payments
1:1 pre-event call with Dave Hajdu
3-month AIO membership
Reserve Founder Seat
Founder + Mac mini
A$6,500
AUD incl GST
Everything in Founder Seat, plus a Mac mini pre-configured and ready on arrival.
Everything in Founder Seat
Mac mini pre-configured and ready on arrival
Agent dashboard, automations, API keys, security baselined
Cloud sync set up before you walk in
Reserve Founder + Mac mini
White Glove
A$12,000
AUD incl GST
Everything in Founder + Mac mini, plus a dedicated engineer for 30 days post-event to finish what you started.
Everything in Founder + Mac mini
Dedicated engineer, 10 hours per week for 30 days
Post-event 1:1 working sessions
Priority access to alumni network
Reserve White Glove
✓
Full refund up to 30 days before the event. All seats counted against the cohort cap of 30. Pay by card in AUD.
What's in the Price

Included and Not Included

Included
  • ✓Accommodation
  • ✓All meals
  • ✓Mac mini pre-configured (Founder + Mac mini and White Glove tiers)
  • ✓Build support across website, agents, CRM, payments
  • ✓Templates and prompt libraries
  • ✓1:1 pre-event call with Dave Hajdu
  • ✓3-month AIO membership
  • ✓30-day post-event group check-in
  • ✓Private alumni community
Not Included
  • ×Domain registration
  • ×Paid software subscriptions
  • ×Advertising spend
  • ×Ongoing API costs
  • ×Legal or accounting advice
  • ×Custom app development beyond event scope
FAQ

Common Questions

Is this just for tech founders?
No. The Melbourne cohort is built for established service-based business owners: consultants, allied health clinic owners, real estate professionals, mortgage brokers, accountants, trades, family business next-gen leaders. A tech background is not required. Engineers handle the build alongside you.
What if my idea isn't fully formed?
That's expected. Day 01 is dedicated to idea selection, market research, and offer design. You only need a working hypothesis and a willingness to ship. Your engineer and faculty will help you sharpen the angle.
What if I can't make the full 48 hours?
Full attendance across the programme is required. The cohort moves as a unit and the AI engineers are scheduled in pods. Partial attendance breaks the structure for the rest of your pod, so we ask you to block out the full window from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon.
How is this different from an accelerator or course?
It is not a workshop and not a course. It is a residential build sprint. You are not learning frameworks; you are shipping a working business in 48 hours with engineers building alongside you. You leave with a live website, CRM, payments, and AI agents running on your real data.
Can I bring my co-founder or team?
Each seat is for one founder. If you want two seats from the same business, contact us at hello@ai-officer.com and we'll arrange it.
What's the refund policy?
Full refund up to 30 days before the event. After that, your seat becomes non-refundable but is transferable to another founder you nominate.
Do I get the Mac mini at the Founder Seat tier?
No. The pre-configured Mac mini is included in the Founder + Mac mini and White Glove tiers only.
What does the White Glove tier add?
White Glove includes everything in Founder + Mac mini, plus a dedicated AI engineer for 10 hours per week for 30 days post-event, post-event 1:1 working sessions with Dave, and priority access to the alumni network. It is for founders who want to lock in continued engineering support to ship the next phase after the retreat.
Who This Is For

Established Operators with Money, Ideas, and No Time

Not the early-stage startup founder looking to raise. The person who has been saying "I need to build this" for two years.

EO members
Business owners doing A$1m to A$20m revenue
Consultants and coaches
Allied health clinic owners
Accountants and mortgage brokers
Real estate professionals
Family business next-gen leaders
Trades business owners
Niche e-commerce founders
What Businesses Work Here

Commercially Coherent, Buildable in 48 Hours

Best categories: expert consulting, AI-enhanced services, lead generation, health and wellness, niche e-commerce, local services, education, B2B advisory products, memberships and subscriptions, internal automation for an existing company.

Deep SaaS builds are out of scope for the first cohort. The goal is a live, testable, AI-enabled business asset ready for its first customers, not a finished software company.

Not Ready Yet?
Get the 48-hour build playbook
A free PDF walking through the 9 deliverables you'd ship at the retreat. Use it to design your own 48-hour sprint, or come back when you're ready to do it with us.
Thanks. Check your inbox shortly for the playbook and Melbourne cohort updates.
Sold Out

Join the Waitlist

The Melbourne cohort is full. Drop your details and we'll be in touch if a seat opens up, or when the next cohort opens for booking.

We'll email you if a seat opens, or when the next cohort goes live.
✓

You're on the list.

Thanks. We'll be in touch if a Melbourne seat opens up, or when the next cohort opens for booking.