I made the $100K Hackathon free after charging $99
I made a mistake. When Jack and I decided to organize this $100K Hackathon, my biggest concern was cheating. Unlike a regular hackathon, everyone participates from home. And because the winner is whoever makes the most PROFIT (not revenue), there are so many ways to manipulate the numbers. So I added a $99 entry fee. One thing I’ve learned from building businesses is that people tend to be more committed when they pay for something. I thought it would filter out spam, attract serious builders, and make the competition fairer for everyone. But I completely missed the other side. 3 years ago, I was a living with my apps. Today, I’m financially free. My life changed so much that somewhere along the way, I lost perspective on what $99 means to someone else. For someone in India, someone struggling to pay their bills, or someone trying to make their first dollar online, $99 can be a lot of money. And those are exactly the people I want to help! I’ve spent years sharing what I’ve learned, reviewing random people’s landing pages, and organizing free meetups around the world. Not because there’s money to make, but because I genuinely love seeing people build things and succeed. And somehow, I was so focused on keeping cheaters out that I didn’t realize I was also keeping genuine builders out. That’s my mistake. So I’ve decided to make the $100K Hackathon completely FREE :) Everyone who already paid got a full refund. I’m still worried about cheating. That problem hasn’t disappeared, and Jack and I will have to figure out better ways to verify profits and keep the leaderboard fair. But that’s our problem to solve. Thank you to everyone who shared their thoughts. Sometimes you need people to remind you of things you’ve forgotten. I genuinely hope this hackathon changes someone’s life. ❤️
Marc Lou@marclou · Nov 10, 2026Higgsfield gave me $100,000 to realize my dream:
A hackathon where participants build a real business, not just an app.
So... Introducing The $100K Hackathon:
🏴☠️ SHIP-OR-DIE.COM/100K-HACKATHON 🏴☠️
It starts on November 16, and you'll have 30 days to build a startup and make it profitable. The prizes:
🥇 $100,000
🥈 iPhone Duo
🥉 MacBook Neo
This is not a joke. The winner will get $100,000 in cash.
To win, you must:
1. Start a completely new business on Nov 16
2. Build a digital product (SaaS, directory, etc.)
3. Make the most profit (not revenue)
You can already register at $99. When the hackathon starts on Nov 16, you can still join for $149.
I'm running this with my dear friend @jackfriks, and we'll manually review each potential winner to make sure everything holds up.
See you on November 16, builders 🏴☠️🫡
@marclou · Nov 11, 2026
Sometimes I forget that hundreds of thousands of people are following what I do. A few years ago, I could make a decision, share a random thought, or say something stupid, and nobody would notice. Now everything has a much bigger impact. And I don’t think my brain has fully adapted to that yet. I’ve always tried to be as raw and authentic as possible on here. I share what I’m building, what I’m thinking, my wins, my failures, sometimes without thinking too much about how people will perceive it. That’s what I’ve always done, and I don’t want to lose that. But I’m also just a human who sometimes gets things wrong, even with good intentions. It’s a weird feeling trying to stay the same person while realizing that the things you say and do carry a lot more weight than they used to. But I can't complain! I'm incredibly grateful to be where I am today, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I guess I just have to learn how to navigate all of this while staying true to myself 🫂
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