11 days ago
Strong Submission Tips 📝
Hey Builder,
One thing that sets Build, Ship, Shape apart: your product feedback goes directly to the teams building Fire TV, Alexa+, Ring, and Bee. It's not an afterthought, it's a required part of every submission.
Make your feedback count. For every tool, API, or SDK you use, tell us what you used it for, what worked well, what needs work, how onboarding felt (zero to hello world), and whether you'd build with it again, and why. Be specific, "the docs were confusing" doesn't help anyone without naming the tool. This is your direct line to the people building these products, so don't skip it.
A few tips for a stronger submission:
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Name your project like a human, not an algorithm. Make it memorable, and make it mean something specific to what you actually built.
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Hide your API keys. Never put your API key directly in your code. Use environment variables or a .env file in your .gitignore, and check your repo before you submit.
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Make the required tool impossible to miss. Name your track's tool in your project description, add it to your Built With section, and call it out clearly in your demo video, not just a passing mention.
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Treat your video like a pitch, not a tutorial. You've got 3 minutes. Lead with the problem, show the solution working, and tell judges what problem it solves, who it's for, how it uses your track's tool, and what the working app actually does.
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You don't have to be a developer to win. Use tools like Bubble, Glide, Webflow, or Zapier, or pair with AI tools like Claude, Copilot, or Cursor. Your video and writeup matter just as much as the code.
We're about halfway through the submission period. Submissions close Friday, October 23 at 12:00 PM PT.
Good luck, we can't wait to see what you ship!