Reasonable questions. Mostly reasonable answers.

Yes. Entry costs £0. No card, checkout or donation is required.

To help more people build and launch software businesses through focus, accountability and useful connections. Winning is nice. Making your first sale is pretty good too.

No. ShipOrCry is an independent community challenge. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by ShipOrDie.

Yes. There is no exclusivity requirement. Make sure you understand and follow each event’s separate rules.

The competition starts on 16 November 2026 at 17:00 UTC and ends on 16 December 2026 at 17:00 UTC, exactly 30 days later. Registration and preparation are open before kickoff.

A new software business: a SaaS, app, developer tool, API, AI product, software marketplace, directory or community platform. Courses, e-books, physical products, conventional e-commerce, agencies and consulting do not qualify for the ranked competition.

Preparation from 1 November 2026 is allowed. Before kickoff your product must have no customers, paying customers, trials, revenue or paid commitments. Existing revenue-generating products cannot enter the ranked competition.

Preparatory code, prototypes, designs and landing pages created within the permitted preparation window are allowed. Reusable libraries and tools do not make an existing business eligible. Ask for a review if your product’s history is unclear.

You can change features, scope, pricing, positioning and implementation as you learn. You cannot abandon the declared business and start an unrelated one. Your original name, description and intended audience remain locked.

Thirty days is enough time to test an idea properly if you stop starting again. The rule protects that focus while leaving room for normal product development.

Your first update is due 72 hours after official kickoff. Each valid update sets the next deadline 72 hours later. Say what you worked on, what progress you made and what is next. Submit on the website or through the authenticated MCP. Pre-event updates do not move competition deadlines.

Progress updates are visible to registered participants and authorised administrators. Your project appears on the public builders wall when you enter. Your email address is not public. Do not include secrets in your project description or check-ins.

You are disqualified from rankings and prizes. There is no standard grace period or ordinary reinstatement. You can stay in the community and keep posting. Only a demonstrable system or administrative error can receive a logged administrator correction.

The primary ranked winner is the eligible entrant with the highest verified net profit earned during the competition. Revenue, MRR, followers and commit counts are not the winning metric. Rankings remain provisional until verification.

Collected eligible revenue minus eligible business expenses, supported by records reviewed by the organiser. The detailed expense, currency, prepaid revenue, tie-break and verification methodology must be finalised and published before kickoff. Do not submit payment-provider secret keys.

No. There is no required payment provider and we do not ask for Stripe secret keys. Keep clear payment and expense records for manual verification.

Model Context Protocol gives compatible AI agents a structured way to call tools. ShipOrCry’s MCP is intended to expose the same project, update, deadline and discovery services used by the website.

Open the Agents page for the actual endpoint, secure authentication method and current testing status. Client support varies. Do not paste a permanent password or credential into a prompt.

A portable set of instructions that teaches an agent the ShipOrCry workflow: understand your project, prepare check-ins, check deadlines and find relevant help. The skill supplies guidance; authenticated MCP tools perform account actions.

Yes, through authenticated tools where supported. It should show you an accurate draft and obtain your approval before submitting. You remain responsible for checking the content and meeting the deadline.

Only if you separately authorise your coding agent to inspect it. Connecting ShipOrCry does not give the platform or other participants access to your repository. Never include secrets in an update.

Confirmed offers are matched against product category, platforms, stack, business model, challenges and supplier conditions. A match is a suggestion, not automatic redemption or a guarantee of eligibility.

No. We are seeking useful credits, discounts, tools and resources. Only confirmed, published offers are listed as available, with their own conditions and expiry dates.

No prize value or sponsor contribution is promised until confirmed and published with conditions. Possible recognition categories are separate from funded prizes.

Yes. You can follow the builders and join the community without entering a project. Every project declaration is a competition entry and must meet the entry rules. Disqualified entrants can remain in the community.

The initial ranked competition allows one entry per individual founder. Team support and any separate team category have not been confirmed. You can still join the community.

You can still finish with a launched product, customer feedback and useful people in your corner. There is no revenue guarantee or penalty for making no sales.

Use the supplier-support form to offer participant perks, software credits, resources, promotion or a winner prize. We agree conditions before publishing anything. No online payment is collected.

The organiser will verify results and share next steps. The ambition is a useful community beyond the event; continuing features, dates and benefits are not guaranteed.