Build the real thing or sell the ghost

Sam of ChiBrations entered the South Side Pitch competition with a live application already on both app stores, securing $13,500 in total prize money by demonstrating a functional tool that connected users to local gigs (AI & No-Code Exits Join 13,895+ builders…). This approach relies on a live product to answer judge queries and build trust, as the app’s repeating events feature proved to be the specific capability users could not live without.

Ryan Noon, Abhishek Agrawal, and Chris Park of Material Security took a different path by pitching four distinct business concepts to Netflix’s security team before building any of them, letting the market choose the direction for their billion-dollar company (🔘 Capital of One). Similarly, the founders of a fashion brand sold 197 jackets in 86 seconds before manufacturing a single unit, while another company generated $71,145 in revenue for a product that did not yet exist.

These strategies diverge on the role of the prototype versus the finished asset. ChiBrations leveraged a four-week no-code build to provide proof of value, whereas Material Security used the pitch process as a discovery mechanism to avoid building the wrong thing. Ultimately, both methods prioritize immediate market feedback, whether through a live app or a presold concept, to bypass the risk of developing features nobody wants.