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6 October to 20 November 2026, 11:59 PM MT. Tell us the problem, what works, and show us it running.
Friday 22 Jan 2027, afternoon, before the closing dinner · Whitefish, Montana
SkiSides 2027 · Lift
Bring what runs.
Leave with momentum.
Lift is the SkiSides demo program for applied AI and security projects that already work. Eight teams. Three prep sessions with advisors. Live on stage in Whitefish. Then a full episode of Prompt to Prod.
Apply to LiftOpen now · Closes 20 November 2026, 11:59 PM MT
001
Why Lift
Talks share findings.
Lift shows the work.
SkiSides talks are deliberately noncommercial: findings, methods and failures, never a pitch. That bar keeps the talk track honest, and it leaves no stage for the projects people in the room are actually shipping. Lift is that stage. Commercial intent is welcome here. Theatre is not.
002
How it works
Five steps.
One ride up.
Selection
Eight teams and two alternates, chosen by a small panel of practitioners, founders and investors. Decisions by 4 December 2026.
Prep
Three remote sessions, 11 Dec 2026 to 15 Jan 2027, plus one-on-one time with a matched advisor. We cut every demo down to the one thing it has to prove.
Demo
Friday 22 Jan 2027, afternoon, before the closing dinner. Six minutes live, four minutes of questions from the room. Software, not slides.
Episode
Every team gets a dedicated episode of Prompt to Prod, built from their demo and a longer conversation recorded after the conference.
003
Who should apply
Wide on stage.
Narrow on subject.
Open source maintainers
No company and no raise required. A working project and a real problem are enough.
Pre-seed teams
Building toward a company, with something people can use today.
Early-stage companies
Shipping product, still close enough to the work to show how it runs.
The subject is applied AI meeting security: offense, defense, and the infrastructure underneath.
004
The bar
It has to run.
Everything else is negotiable.
It runs
A live instance or a recording of the real thing. Mockups, decks and waitlists do not qualify.
It lands in six minutes
The core idea is visible on screen before the timer runs out.
It is new
An approach this room has not already seen.
It belongs here
Practitioners in the room would use it, or try to break it.
005
The application
Enough to see it.
Not a business plan.
- Project name, one line, and a link to the repo, product or paper
- Stage: open source, pre-seed or early stage
- The security problem, and who has it today
- What works now, and what does not yet
- A live instance or a two-minute recording of it running
- Your team, and who would present in Whitefish
- What you want from the room: advisors, design partners, users, hires, capital
006
What you get
Not a prize.
A head start.
- Advisors who have built and funded what you are building, before you go on stage.
- Six minutes in front of the practitioners, founders and investors SkiSides is built around.
- A full Prompt to Prod episode that reaches everyone who was not in the room.
007
Questions
Questions
01Can I submit to both the talk CFP and Lift?
Yes. Many strong demos come from teams with a strong talk. The two are reviewed separately.
02Do I need a company?
No. Open source projects compete on the same footing as funded teams.
03Do I have to be in Whitefish?
Yes. The demo is live and in person on Friday 22 Jan 2027, afternoon, before the closing dinner. Prep sessions are remote.
04What about my ticket?
Comped
05Will the demo be recorded?
Yes. Demos are filmed for SkiSides and for each team's Prompt to Prod episode. Consent is part of the application.
06What if the conference wifi fails?
Every team brings a recorded fallback of its own demo. We check this at the dress rehearsal.