There is no fee to apply and no purchase is necessary. FROM0 is open to builders anywhere. Individuals and small teams may apply, and there is no minimum age. A parent, guardian or other authorized representative may need to consent before a younger participant can enter a particular agreement or receive certain support.
By applying, you agree to these rules, the Terms and the Privacy notice. Participation is unavailable where it would be unlawful or where FROM0 cannot reasonably operate the program.
Projects and applications
Each person or team may submit one project unless the organizers agree otherwise. An idea, prototype or early product may qualify. The intended result is working software that another person can use; unfinished source code on its own is not enough.
Applicants must own their submissions or have permission to use the code, assets, names and other material they include. Open-source software, third-party APIs and models are welcome when their licences and terms allow it.
Application review
Organizers and judges review eligible applications and decide which projects reach the public shortlist. Judges score each application from 1 to 10 on the criteria below. A judge with a conflict of interest does not score that application.
- Execution evidence and ability to execute — 30%
- Problem value — 25%
- Meaningful scope for 30 days — 20%
- Differentiation and approach — 15%
- Community contribution and building publicly — 10%
Public voting
Only published finalists can receive votes. During the voting window, one eligible authenticated account may vote once for one finalist. Sharing and referral links can help a project reach more people, but they never add voting weight.
Vote totals are hidden while voting is open by default. Organizers may pause the vote, investigate abuse and invalidate fraudulent or ineligible votes. Voter identities and private account details are not published.
Certifying the final three
The result is not published automatically when voting closes. An authorized organizer reviews the valid totals and certifies the result. The three projects with the strongest certified vote totals enter Cohort 01.
If projects are tied at the cutoff, their original application scores decide the place. If those scores are also tied, the judging panel records a decision using the same published criteria. The result is never chosen at random.
During the cohort
Selected builders have 30 days to develop a usable product and share short progress updates. Builders may change direction when the work or user feedback supports it. A good-faith attempt that does not succeed is not misconduct, but persistent unexplained absence may lead to removal.
Ownership and support
Builders keep their company, code and intellectual property. FROM0 does not require equity, exclusivity or an ownership transfer. Builders give FROM0 only the limited permission needed to display approved project information and Demo Day material.
Support will depend on what is available and useful. It may include product feedback, technical help, software, infrastructure or introductions. No particular resource or amount is guaranteed.
Participation does not guarantee funding, investment, employment, customers, revenue or business success. Any later commercial relationship would be optional and agreed separately.
Conduct and changes
Plagiarism, impersonation, fraud, vote manipulation, harassment, malicious software, illegal products and deceptive submissions can lead to removal. Participants remain responsible for their project's legality, security, licences, taxes and other obligations.
The organizers may make reasonable operational changes for safety, outages or circumstances outside their control. Material changes will be published. Questions can be sent to hello@from0.xyz.