Toronto
In Person
Build AI that actually fits how your business works.
This Buildathon is designed for companies with a specific operational challenge to solve and who want to align AI with how their staff act, collaborate and reach decisions. Bring a specific workflow from your business and collaborate with designers and AI builders to turn it into a working proof-of-concept in real time.
What sets this experience apart is the starting point: understanding how the work happens before building anything. When systems are not designed around how people work, think, and relate, adoption can stall, trust is undermined, and value isn't delivered. A human-centered approach to AI ensures that what gets built aligns with your existing workflows, supports how your team makes decisions, and is something people will actually use.
Questions before applying?
Contact Vinicius Morandi, Trade & Growth Manager, WTC-T directly: vmorandi@bot.com
This is not a typical AI session. It's a fun, challenging, high-energy, hands-on experience designed to bridge the gap between intent and execution. Founded on decades of Rotman design thinking. This isn't a generic AI workshop, it's built on the discipline of human-centered design pioneered at Rotman's Business Design Initiative, applied here for the first time in a live build format for business leaders.
If you're serious about moving from AI interest to execution, then this is where you need to be. For many businesses, AI adoption means a ChatGPT subscription and a lot of trial and error. We've built something different: a hands-on evening to help you move from "we should probably do something about this" to "here's a working first step and a clear path forward."
- Skip the theory. Leave with a working proof-of-concept built around a real workflow from your business — not a demo, not a deck.
- Build it right the first time. A Senior Practitioner from Rotman's Business Design Initiative maps your workflow before anything is coded, so what gets built actually fits.
- Peer learning across industries. 10 companies, 10 real problems in the room. The final session brings everyone together to share what was built.
- Walk away with a clear next step. Not just a prototype — a concrete action you and your team can act on within two weeks.
- High energy, hands-on, and genuinely exciting. A live AI developer works in the room, in real time, with you shaping it. This is the kind of evening that changes how you think about what's possible.
A working agentic AI loop built around your workflow
A deeper understanding of how to apply agentic AI to real business problems
A human-centered framework for AI adoption
Concrete next steps to act on within two weeks
This is for leaders with a real problem to solve — not just a curiosity about AI.
This event is designed for SMBs in Southern Ontario with a specific operational workflow they want to improve. You'll bring two people: the business leader who owns the problem, and the operator who lives it day-to-day. No technical background required on either side.
The Buildathon works best when the problem involves multiple people, real friction, and decisions that still need a human in the loop. It's a strong fit if:
- Your workflows cross functions — sales hands off to ops, ops escalates to customer support, and information gets lost or re-explained at every handoff
- Every case is a little different — you have processes, but they bend constantly to accommodate exceptions or context a spreadsheet can't capture
- Your team is the product — client-facing, regulated, or high-stakes, you need AI to support your people, not replace them
- You've already patched things together — CRM workarounds, shared spreadsheets, manual steps between systems. You've made it work, but you know it shouldn't work this way
Eligible entrepreneurs must meet the following criteria:
- Small or medium-sized business (SME) with 15–500 full-time employees or annual revenues above $5M
- Registered business in Ontario with at least two years of operations and a scalable, revenue-generating model
- Open to all sectors, with priority for manufacturing, automotive, logistics, food & beverage, and other B2B industries
- Must bring a real operational or business problem to the session
- Participation required from a CEO/founder and an operations lead
- Willingness to engage in hands-on, collaborative work
Agenda
Evening schedule: Three phases. One collaborative live build.
The evening is structured to move from understanding to building to sharing — with your dedicated table team working on your problem the entire time.
Phase 1: Problem Framing (4:30 – 5:30 PM | 60 min)
The design practitioner assigned to your table facilitates a structured conversation about a real workflow — where it slows down, where decisions get complicated, where things fall apart between people. Nothing gets built until the work is understood.
Phase 2: Live Build (5:30 – 7:30 PM | 90 – 120 min)
The AI developer builds a working proof-of-concept in real time based on what was mapped — focused on one meaningful step in your workflow, not an end-to-end solution. That's intentional: getting one piece working well is what makes the rest buildable. You're in the room as it takes shape — redirecting, reacting, refining.
Break (15 – 30 min)
Phase 3: Demos & Reflections (8:00 – 9:00 PM | 45 min)
Each table presents what they built. Ten companies, ten real problems — hear what others worked on, reflect on feasibility and next steps, and leave with one concrete action to take within two weeks.
Your table team: Dedicated to your problem all evening.
- You + a colleague — The business leader who owns the problem and the operator who lives it day-to-day. No technical background required.
- Business Designer (Rotman BDI) — A Senior Practitioner facilitates the evening, ensuring the solution is grounded in how your people actually work, think, and decide.
- AI Developer (Human Feedback Foundation) — Builds a collaborative live agentic AI workflow around one meaningful step in your process.
- Additional Problem-Solvers (Rotman MBA students) — Fresh eyes and sharp business instincts. They ask the questions your team is too close to ask.
Speakers
Tickets & Registration
Apply to secure your spot.
Spots are limited to 10 companies. Each company brings two participants: a business leader and a colleague close to the operational problem. To apply, complete the short pre-screen form — it takes about 5 minutes and helps us match your problem with the right build team.
If accepted, a member of the WTC-T team will follow up to confirm your spot and send a payment link.
Questions before applying?
Contact Vinicius Morandi, Trade & Growth Manager, WTC-T directly: vmorandi@bot.com
Fees
- $149 (TRBOT members, WTC Alumni)
- $179 (Non-members)