12-Week Zero to One Build Curriculum + 90-Day Alumni Track
From founder clarity to Demo Day to sustained growth — a structured path to ship your product, acquire real users, generate revenue, and present an investment-ready company.
The Gap
The Philippines is aggressively positioning itself as a pivotal player in the Southeast Asian tech ecosystem. Manila's startup ecosystem generated $6.3 billion in value from mid-2022 to the end of 2024, marking a 35% annual growth rate. The country boasts approximately 1,200 startups, 65 incubators and accelerators, 55 venture capitalists, and 210 coworking spaces.
Yet the gap is clear: most Philippine accelerators follow a traditional three-month cohort model that prioritizes rapid pitching and fundraising over sustainable, long-term company building. The short-term focus leaves founders stranded once Demo Day ends.
Z1 Forge exists to close that gap.
We don't just prepare founders to pitch — we prepare them to ship, sell, and sustain.
By the end of 2025, roughly 85% of developers regularly use AI tools for coding. AI-assisted development cuts coding time by 50–70%. What used to require a 5-person dev team for 6 months can now be shipped by a single Hacker with AI-assisted tools in weeks.
Z1 Forge is built around that reality.
Four Pillars
Z1 Forge doesn't operate in isolation. It sits within Starting Block Ventures' four-pillar ecosystem, each reinforcing the others.
The 12-week build program. This curriculum. Takes founders from idea to shipped product with real users and revenue.
SBV’s investor-readiness platform. Z1 graduates submit final decks to pitch.sbv.one, connecting directly to SBV’s investor network across ASEAN and Greater China.
SBV’s mentor network spanning Fintech, Healthtech, SaaS, Climatetech, AI, and Consumer. Weekly 1-on-1 mentor access. In the trenches with founders throughout the program and beyond.
SBV’s virtual pitch and showcase platform. Demo Day runs through InSpace Pitch. Alumni continue presenting at quarterly InSpace showcases post-graduation.
Based in Makati, Philippines, with reach across ASEAN and Greater China.
Weekly Rhythm
Each week follows a consistent rhythm designed to maximize learning and execution.
1 Core Workshop
2–3 hrs
1 Tactical Build Session
Hands-on
1 Mentor Office Hour
1-on-1 via SBV Mentor
Weekly Milestone Review
Progress check
Peer Accountability Circle
Team sync
Team Structure
Every team operates with four roles. In small teams, one person may wear multiple hats — but every function must be covered.
Hacker
Hk
Builder + Code Owner. Uses AI-assisted and agentic engineering tools as force multipliers. Spec-Driven Development: Specify, Plan, Tasks, Implement. The Hacker doesn’t just code — they orchestrate AI agents.
Hustler
Hu
Seller + Business Lead. Owns revenue, partnerships, investor relations, and go-to-market. Understands GCash/Maya payment flows, local distribution channels, and the OFW/remittance economy.
Hipster
Hp
Brand + Growth Marketer. Owns brand, content, social proof, and user acquisition. Builds in public. Creates the narrative that compounds.
Hound
Hd
Researcher + Data Lead. Owns user research, analytics, competitive intelligence, and product-market fit measurement. The team’s truth-teller.
Local Context
Founders in Z1 Forge should understand the landscape they're building in.
GCash (94M+ registered users) and Maya are the dominant payment rails. PayMongo, Xendit, and Dragonpay are the go-to payment gateways. The Philippine e-commerce market is projected to grow from $24.53B (2024) to $75.59B by 2033.
Key local VCs: Foxmont Capital, Kickstart Ventures, IdeaSpace, Antler Philippines. The Innovative Startup Act’s 2030 Vision targets doubling Filipino startups, raising $10B in investments, and producing four unicorns.
DICT has 2.1B pesos in mobilized funds with a proposed budget of 18.9B pesos for 2026. DTI, DOST, and DICT all run grant and support programs. Regional offices and LGUs have underutilized budgets.
The most common reason for grant rejection is a Notice of Discrepancy from the tax office. A grant-ready company is first and foremost a compliant company. BIR and SEC compliance from Day 1.
Focus areas: payments, lending, digital wallets, logistics, and consumer marketplaces. Median age 25, ~350,000 STEM graduates annually. SBV focuses on Fintech, Healthtech, SaaS, Climatetech, AI, and Consumer.
Filipino founders are more comfortable pitching globally — English fluency is a real competitive edge for raising from regional and global investors.
Week by Week
12 Weekly Principles
Clarity, Validation, First Code
Ship Target
A live landing page collecting emails + working signup backend + first 50 waitlist signups from real people.
Hk
~25h
Hacker
Hu
~18h
Hustler
Hp
~15h
Hipster
Hd
~16h
Hound
Ship Target
Users can sign up, log in, see a personalized dashboard, and complete one meaningful action.
Hk
~28h
Hacker
Hu
~14h
Hustler
Hp
~14h
Hipster
Hd
~16h
Hound
Ship Target
The primary action users came for is working end-to-end. First 10+ beta users are actively using it.
Hk
~30h
Hacker
Hu
~16h
Hustler
Hp
~14h
Hipster
Hd
~16h
Hound
Ship Fast, Integrate Deep
Ship Target
Second key feature working and connected to Feature #1. Analytics events firing on all core actions.
Hk
~28h
Hacker
Hu
~14h
Hustler
Hp
~14h
Hipster
Hd
~16h
Hound
Ship Target
First third-party integration live and working for users.
Hk
~28h
Hacker
Hu
~14h
Hustler
Hp
~14h
Hipster
Hd
~16h
Hound
Ship Target
Second integration + automated email and in-app notifications. Users are coming back without being asked.
Hk
~30h
Hacker
Hu
~16h
Hustler
Hp
~16h
Hipster
Hd
~16h
Hound
Ship Target
New users reach “aha moment” in under 2 minutes. Product is launch-ready.
Hk
~26h
Hacker
Hu
~14h
Hustler
Hp
~16h
Hipster
Hd
~14h
Hound
Prove Demand & Revenue
Ship Target
Production-grade app: monitored, secure, zero critical bugs. Payment infrastructure live.
Hk
~35h
Hacker
Hu
~18h
Hustler
Hp
~14h
Hipster
Hd
~18h
Hound
Ship Target
100+ real signups, 20+ active users, first paying customers (or 20+ qualified leads for B2B), structured feedback data.
Hk
~30h
Hacker
Hu
~25h
Hustler
Hp
~20h
Hipster
Hd
~16h
Hound
Ship Target
Revenue growing, most-requested feature shipped, pitch deck v1 complete, 90-day roadmap drafted.
Hk
~28h
Hacker
Hu
~22h
Hustler
Hp
~18h
Hipster
Hd
~18h
Hound
Investment-Ready Narrative
Ship Target
Product freeze — all features locked, fully documented, production-ready. Pitch rehearsal completed.
Hk
~22h
Hacker
Hu
~20h
Hustler
Hp
~16h
Hipster
Hd
~16h
Hound
Ship Target
Demo Day: polished pitch, live demo, investor-ready package, graduation from Z1 Forge.
Hk
~18h
Hacker
Hu
~16h
Hustler
Hp
~14h
Hipster
Hd
~12h
Hound
Phase 5
Most Philippine accelerators leave founders stranded after Demo Day. SBV doesn't. The Alumni Track is built into Z1 Forge.
Weeks 13–16 · Scale what’s working. Kill what isn’t.
Weeks 17–20 · Turn manual processes into systems.
Weeks 21–24 · Raise capital, join another accelerator, or build toward profitability.
For Hackers
The Hacker's primary leverage in 2026 is AI-assisted and agentic engineering.
Best for deep reasoning, complex refactoring, and autonomous multi-file changes. Agent-first: you describe, AI drives, you review.
Best for flow and daily coding. IDE-first: you drive, AI assists. Supports up to eight agents working in parallel.
Strong alternative with Cascade for agentic workflows and deep context awareness. Middle ground between Cursor and Claude Code.
Write structured specs before prompting AI. The workflow is Specify, Plan, Tasks, Implement. AI-assisted development actually rewards good engineering practices more than traditional coding.
Modern tools let engineers manage fleets of autonomous coding agents working on separate branches. Each Hacker effectively becomes a team lead overseeing multiple AI streams. Budget $60–200/month for serious agentic work.
The Difference
What It Takes