Bootstrap — Hack Club YSWS

How it works

it's not complicated. most people just never start.

01 — Build

A real product. SaaS, hardware, game, CLI, Chrome extension — doesn't matter. It needs a live URL and an open source repo. No mockups. No "coming soon". Working software only.

01

02 — Get 5 real users

Not you. Not your mum. 5 real people who actually used it. Proof = a public analytics dashboard (Plausible, Umami, etc.) showing 5+ unique visitors + at least one screenshot of real engagement — a message, sign-up email, or review.

02

03 — Pitch it

Record a 2-minute video. Show the product working. Explain who it's for. Explain how it makes money. You don't need to be a good presenter. You just need to not be boring.

03

04 — Ship it

Submit via the Bootstrap site. We score it, post it to the leaderboard, and ship prizes within a week. You ship, we ship. If it's real, you get prizes. If it's slop, you don't. Pretty simple.

04

How you're scored

Live URL + Open Source Code

deployed & public repo — no exceptions

20 pts

Real Users (not you)

public analytics (5+ uniques) + screenshot of real engagement

25 pts

2-Min Pitch Quality

problem, solution, who it's for — and how it makes money

25 pts

Revenue Model

how would this make money? show us.

20 pts

Hackatime Hours

Hackatime (coding) or Lapse (hardware/design) — both work

10 pts

Pitch Deck optional

a slide deck (google slides, notion, anything) — problem, solution, market, why you

+15 pts

Total possible score

115 points

Prize tiers

Tier 1 · $75 budget

Funded

85–100 pts — you basically built a real company

$25 OpenAI credits
$25 Stripe credit
Porkbun domain voucher (1 year)
Railway hosting credit

Tier 2 · $60 budget

Series A

70–84 pts — solid ship, real traction

$25 OpenAI credits
$15 Stripe credit
$10 Porkbun domain voucher
$10 Vercel hosting credit

Tier 3 · $50 budget

Pre-seed

50–69 pts — shipped something, proved it works

$25 OpenAI credits
$15 Stripe credit
Porkbun domain voucher (1 year)

Tier 4 · $25 budget

✓ Bootstrapped

Shipped anything — you showed up. that's not nothing.

$15 OpenAI credits
$10 Stripe credit
Hack Club sticker pack

leaderboard · updated in real time

The Leaderboard.

Scored 0–100. Funded = 85+ · Series A = 70+ · Pre-seed = 50+ · Bootstrapped = <50

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partners

Bootstrap is partnered with the tools and platforms that actually matter when you're building something real.

Patch

Our marketing partner. Patch helps us reach teenage builders around the world.

joinpatch.org

want to partner?

Your company here.

We're open to tool and platform partnerships that genuinely help teenage builders.

12

free · no fluff

12 things worth
reading before you build.

YC essays. Real pitch decks. How money flows in software. How to get your first users. None of it is motivational garbage.

the reading list

not open yet · but you can submit for review

Built something?
Submit it now.

your project

Submit for review

Applications aren't officially open yet. But if you've already built something, send it in — we'll review it and have it ready to score when we launch.

Must be 19 or under · Open worldwide

not built yet?

I'm interested

—

signed up

Register your interest and we'll let you know when Bootstrap officially opens.

who made this

JM

I'm Johnathan.

I'm 18, from the west of Ireland. I've founded 3 companies — a for-profit games studio, a non-profit STEM club with 22 members, and a web agency building sites for local sports teams and schools. I competed at Ireland's national science fair with a computer vision project analysing referee bias across 400 matches.

I built Bootstrap because the best way to learn how to start a company is to just start one. Not read about it. Not watch a YouTube video. Build something, put it in front of a real person, and see what happens.

partner with us

Schools, companies, and organisations — if you want to back the next generation of teenage founders, get in touch.