What it is
HackAotearoa is a free co-working day for startup founders, indie hackers, designers and makers building their own thing. Every second Friday in Auckland: one full day, working alongside other people doing the same. No program, no curriculum, no pitching.
On any given Friday there's someone launching a website, someone wiring up an AI agent, someone chasing first customers, someone rewriting a pitch. Different projects, same fight.
- Momentum. A full day carved out to ship, next to people doing the same.
- Getting unstuck. Someone in the room has hit your problem before: pricing, landing pages, that 2pm bug.
- People who get it. Building your own thing is lonely. This is the fix.
80+ builders through the door since March.
The day
- 9:00
- doors open, coffee, grab a desk
- 9:30
- intros: who you are, what you're building, what you want to get done today
- 3:00
- demos: 5 minutes each, progress not polish
- 3:30
- wrap up, or keep working if you're in the zone
Questions
- Is this a hackathon?
- No. No shared challenge, no teams, no prize, nothing to prepare. Bring whatever you're already building, or just an idea and a laptop.
- Is this an incubator or accelerator?
- Also no. No equity, no program, no application, no demo day. An incubator takes a slice of your company. This takes a Friday.
- Do I need a startup?
- No. Founders, indie hackers, freelancers, side-project builders. If you're building your own thing, you're in.
- I'm not a developer. Is this for me?
- Yes. Designers, marketers, product people and writers are regulars. "Building" means making anything real: a landing page, a pitch, a first customer conversation.
- What's the catch?
- There isn't one. It's free, the venue is sponsored, and nobody is selling you anything.
About
HackAotearoa was started in Auckland in March 2026, with more cities coming soon.
If you want to run one where you are, email: james@hackaotearoa.nz.
Coming to the next one?
RSVP on Luma →