What I learn each week from building for the Comp

I've built folder systems for week 3 Competition (My first), Week 4 (Honorable Mention), Week 5 (I won) and currently finishing off Week 6 (I built one system, tested it and it didn't land), and each week I've learnt so much.

Having a specific system to build with a solid brief certainly makes it easier.

I've learnt about form and structure.

I've learnt more about what Claude and I are capable of doing (still so much more to learn).

i've learnt that even though I've never written a line of code myself before, and only started vibe coding about 2 months ago, when you apply the right structure, "anything" is possible (Even winning $500 in an ai building competition).

I've learn't that Iteration is key. Each week, (and actually every time I start building something) I use the lessons from my last build to update my methodology. Literally I will get Claude to write it into the files so we don't make the same mistakes (hopefully), and we iterate (adjust/build on) on what we did last time.

I've learnt to spend time in the planning phase, nutting out the details with my buddy Claude. Both last week (wk 5) and this week (wk 6) I actually rushed into building, and didn't spend enough time interrogating the planning phase. this meant that both weeks I built 2 specialists because i really wasn't happy with the 1st. essentially it just didn't fit the brief tightly enough. But this also helped me to understand the brief better, and also by understanding what wasn't right, it helped me get clarity on what I did want/need.

Each week, I feel like I am stretching my knowledge and understanding of what's possible, so much further.

if you're still unsure if it's worth entering the comp, I'd encourage you to do it. Not just for the possibility of winning (but it's a good motivator), but because you'll learn so much just by doing it. And of course, if you do want to win, you need to be a paid member of the community, which is definitely top value!

happy Building friends!

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