Vibe-a-thon · Business Challenge Intake · June 22–23, 2026

Bring us the problem — we’ll bring the builders.

Local businesses

Bring the real challenges — repetitive workflows, customer questions, scheduling, reporting, translation, anything that slows your team down.

Step 2

Builders & workforce

Teams of students, builders, designers, and entrepreneurs use the latest AI tools to prototype working solutions during the Summit.

Step 3

Educators & mentors

Our colleges, instructors, and seasoned advisors guide the teams, develop local talent, and pass that knowledge back into the community.

Businesses → workforce → educators → back to businesses. Every cycle grows the region’s capacity to solve its own problems.

What kind of challenge should I submit?

Submit a real business or community problem that is specific enough for a team to prototype during the Summit. The best challenges involve repetitive tasks, customer questions, staff workflows, forms, scheduling, documents, data, communication, translation, reporting, or service delivery.

You do not need to know what the solution should be. You only need to understand the problem.

Teams build working software— an app, dashboard, automation, or script — around your problem.

Good submissions

“Our hotel staff answers the same 40 guest questions every day, often in multiple languages. We have the answers in PDFs, web pages, and staff notes, but nothing guests can use easily.”
“Our nonprofit receives intake forms by email and manually routes people to services. We want a simple way to summarize needs and suggest next steps.”

Less actionable

“We want an AI strategy.”
“We want an app.”

See challenge ideas by industry

Tourism, Hospitality, Resorts, Hotels & Short-Term Rentals
“What guest, visitor, booking, service, or staff workflow would you improve if you had a simple AI-powered tool?”
Restaurants, Bars, Cafes & Food Service
“What repetitive customer, kitchen, inventory, or staffing process takes too much time today?”
Retail, Boutiques, Galleries & Local Shops
“What would help you sell more, serve customers better, or reduce repetitive back-office work?”
Healthcare, Wellness, Senior Care & Medical Services
“What patient, client, scheduling, intake, or follow-up process could be made easier, faster, or clearer?”
Do not submit private health information. Use mock data or general workflows only.
Agriculture, Agribusiness, Food Production & AgTech
“What field, operations, water, labor, compliance, or supply-chain process is still too manual?”
Arts, Culture, Festivals, Events & Creative Businesses
“What would help you plan, promote, operate, or measure your event, exhibit, performance, or creative business?”
Real Estate, Construction, Architecture & Development
“What client, project, property, permit, vendor, or document workflow could be simplified?”
Energy, Sustainability, Water, Climate & Environmental Organizations
“What energy, water, sustainability, education, reporting, or customer workflow could benefit from better software or AI?”
Local Government, Civic Services, Nonprofits & Community Organizations
“What resident, client, volunteer, form, reporting, or outreach process could be made easier for the community?”
Education, Workforce, Students & Training
“What would help students, workers, employers, or training programs connect more effectively?”
Professional Services & Small Business Operations
“What repetitive client, document, communication, or administrative task slows your team down?”
IT, Software Development & Technology Services
“What internal tool, customer-facing feature, support workflow, or developer-productivity gap could a small AI build close?”
Other
“Tell us about your industry and the workflow you'd like to improve.”

About 5 minutes

Common questions

Still wondering about something?

Who can submit a challenge?

Any local business, nonprofit, public agency, school, or community organization in the Coachella Valley with a real problem worth prototyping. You do not need to be technical.

Do I need to know what the solution should be?

No. You only need to understand the problem. The teams bring the AI tools and the technical know-how — your job is to explain the workflow, the pain, and what good would look like.

How many challenges and Vibe-a-thoners will be hosted?

The exact number is to be determined — it depends on how many submissions we receive and how many Vibe-a-thoners (builders, students, designers, mentors) register to build. We will match accepted challenges with teams as registration firms up and confirm rosters before the Summit.

What happens if my challenge is selected?

We will reach out to confirm fit, ask for any supporting materials, and match you with a team of builders, students, designers, or mentors. See the time-commitment question below for what attendance looks like on Day 1 and Day 2.

Is there a cost to submit?

No. Submitting a challenge is free. To attend during the Vibe-a-thon you will need a Summit pass — get whichever one fits your role. Coachella Valley students attend free with valid ID.

What's the time commitment if I am selected?

Selected organizations participate live during the Summit (June 22–23, 2026). One person from your team must attend in person for the Vibe-a-thon kickoff (Day 1, ~1–2 PM) and the showcase + panel (Day 2, ~11 AM–noon) — about 2 hours minimum. We strongly recommend an additional 1–2 hours of availability on Day 1 afternoon for builder Q&A so the team can converge on the right solution.

What about sensitive or confidential information?

Do not share private customer, patient, financial, or employee data in your submission or with the team. Use mock examples or redacted samples. The form asks about sensitive information so we can match teams and set expectations appropriately.

Who owns the prototype?

You do. Prototypes built around your challenge belong to your organization. Public showcase visibility is up to you — the form asks whether you are comfortable demonstrating the prototype during the Summit showcase.

When is the deadline?

Submissions close at 5:00 PM Pacific on Friday, June 19, 2026 — three days before the Summit kicks off. We review on a rolling basis until then, so sooner is better: earlier submissions get more time to scope, gather materials, and prepare a strong working session.

Still have questions? Back to the Vibe-a-thon overview or email hello@palmspringstech.org.