SILICON LAKES AI

How it works

Eight steps from your first lesson to your own company.

The order matters. Each step gives you something real to carry into the next one. Nobody skips ahead, and nobody is left behind because they started later than someone else.

  1. 1

    Learn AI

    Foundations, models and tooling. How modern AI works and how to ship with it.

    • Week 1 · Talk to the machine5 lessons, about 225 min

      + Anthropic Academy: Claude 101 (free, official certificate)

  2. 2

    Build

    Weekly builds. Small, real, working software from the first week.

    • Week 2 · Build your first real tool5 lessons, about 225 min

      + Anthropic Academy: AI Fluency: Framework & Foundations (free, official certificate)

    • Week 3 · Make the computer work while you sleep5 lessons, about 225 min

      + Anthropic Academy: Claude Code (free, official certificate)

  3. 3

    Research & Experiment

    Test ideas, models and methods. Measure what works. Share what you learn.

    • Week 4 · Give it eyes, ears, and a voice5 lessons, about 225 min

      + Anthropic Academy: Building with the Claude Developer Platform (free, official certificate)

  4. 4

    Solve Real Problems

    Find problems inside real businesses and communities, then solve them.

  5. 5

    Create Products

    Turn a proven solution into a product people use, rely on and pay for.

    • Week 5 · Put it in people's pockets5 lessons, about 225 min

      + Anthropic Academy: Introduction to Model Context Protocol (MCP) (free, official certificate)

    • Week 6 · Get paid5 lessons, about 225 min
  6. 6

    Develop Founders

    Coaching, capital readiness and the operating skills to run a company.

    • Week 7 · Choose your door and pack for it5 lessons, about 225 min

      + Anthropic Academy: Agent Skills (free, official certificate)

  7. 7

    Launch Companies

    Spin out as an independent company with Silicon Lakes AI as a partner.

    • Week 8 · Launch week5 lessons, about 225 min
  8. 8

    Grow the Ecosystem

    Return as a mentor, partner or investor for the builders behind you.

A normal week

What it actually looks like

Nothing here is glamorous. It is a rhythm. The rhythm is what gets things built.

Two class evenings
We meet twice a week, in person, for about two hours. One evening is teaching and building together; the other is showing what you shipped and getting unstuck. Days are set per cohort.
Between classes
Short daily lessons from the current module, in your own time. Twenty to thirty minutes each. Then you build.
Builders Night
Open to anyone, including people not in the program. Three minutes each, live demo, no slides.
Weekend
Most people do their deeper work here. Interviews with real users, longer builds, the stuff that needs a few quiet hours.

Certificates

Official Anthropic certificates, earned as you go

Anthropic, the company that makes Claude, runs a free academy with short courses and gives an official certificate in your name for each one you finish. We build them into the program: most weeks assign one course to take alongside the lessons.

  • Week 1Claude 101
  • Week 2AI Fluency: Framework & Foundations
  • Week 3Claude Code
  • Week 4Building with the Claude Developer Platform
  • Week 5Introduction to Model Context Protocol (MCP)
  • Week 7Agent Skills

You leave with those certificates from Anthropic, plus a Silicon Lakes AI certificate of shipped work that lists the projects you actually built. The first proves you learned it. The second proves you can do it.

Questions people ask

Before you apply

I have never written code. Can I do this?
Yes. Most of our builders start with no technical background. The first module assumes nothing. AI tools have made it possible to build real software without years of training, and we teach you to use them properly.
How much time does it take?
Two class evenings a week, plus the daily lessons and your build time between them. Plan on the equivalent of a few evenings a week. Tell us honestly on the application how much time you have and we will tell you honestly whether it is enough.
Do I need my own idea?
No. Around stage four we send you out to find a real problem, often one a partner company or someone in the community brought to us. Good ideas come from listening, not from waiting to be inspired.
What happens if my project becomes a company?
We help you form it, find your first customers, and decide whether and when to raise money. Silicon Lakes AI may hold an agreed stake in the company, which we agree with you in writing before anything is formed. You keep control of your company.
Do I get a certificate?
Two kinds. As you go, you take short free courses from Anthropic Academy and earn official Anthropic certificates in your own name. At the end, Silicon Lakes AI gives you a certificate of shipped work that lists the projects you actually built and presented. Employers ask about the second one.
What does it cost?
We talk about this on the call, before you commit to anything. There are no surprises after you start.
Where and when is it?
Classes are in person, two evenings a week; each cohort has its own days and times. Lessons and your project workspace are online, so the building happens wherever you are.

Still reading? That is usually a good sign.

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