First Light
A three-month, project-based program. Start with a prompt. End with a thing. 100% remote. 100% free.
A three-month, project-based program. Start with a prompt. End with a thing. 100% remote. 100% free.
In the age of intelligence on tap, the nature of work has been redefined entirely. You’re not alone in staring around the job market and wondering if your skillset (formal or otherwise) matches what the world is looking for at this point in time.
First Light exists to help you fall in love with the problem.
Pick one of ours, or bring your own. The more real-world, the better.
“Build a simple air-quality sensor rig that reveals hidden pollution hotspots in your community.”
“Revamp a local business’s brand identity, then measure how it reshapes their customer experience.”
“Test a product idea in two weeks by launching a bare-bones online store to see if people actually buy what you’re selling.”
“Collect real voices from your city, transform them into compelling stories and data, then spark fresh conversations about community life.”
“Create a peer-to-peer skill exchange MVP, matching people’s talents on the fly to discover if there’s real demand for your platform.”
“Team up with a local nonprofit to solve their biggest roadblock, then design a quick digital solution that drives real social impact.”
One prompt, one mentor, one deadline. Here’s how the three months actually go.
Choose your prompt, meet your mentor, scope the thing down until it’s honestly finishable.
Heads down. Weekly mentor meetings, 1:1 check-ins, and the cohort keeping you honest.
Finish it, polish it, and show it to the whole network at Golden Hour — our end-of-program showing.
Everything you need to finish. Nothing you have to pay for.
Weekly meetings with people who do this for a living.
Multiple 1:1s across the program, so you’re never stuck for long.
A global cohort in five time zones. Someone is always awake.
Because falling in love with the problem shouldn’t start with a loan. First Light is free forever — not free-for-now, not free-with-a-catch.
In the short term, that’s a promise we keep on a ramen diet. In the long term, ✹School (paid, and fairly financed) and ✹Accelerator (our investment arm) pay the bills — so First Light never has to.
One honest email: who you are, which prompt pulls at you (or the one you’re bringing).
Start your emailA short call with someone from the team. No trick questions — we’re checking for curiosity, not credentials.
Cohorts start every few months. You’ll get a mentor, a prompt, and a deadline.
Three months later you have something finished — and probably your first Beam.
Unlike traditional schooling or tertiary education, Beams are our best-in-class badges of honor. They’re granted when the Sunbeam team feel you’ve reached a level of professional development and moral understanding that we’d feel comfortable with you representing our network.
A Beam earned here is your standing invitation to ✹Community.
Actually free. No fees, no loans, no “free trial.” School and the Accelerator keep the lights on so this never has to cost you anything.
No. Curiosity and three months of honest effort. That’s the whole entry bar.
Then you don’t finish — no penalty, no shame. But everything here is designed to get you across the line, and mentors are stubborn.
No. Beams are granted, not given out with attendance. Finishing well is how you earn one.
Projects from Sunbeam
Things we’ve already shipped. Proof we mean it.
artificial-praxis
A living world of customers that puts your real APIs under organic load.
whoismargiela
An atlas of the fashion world: houses, owners, lineage, gossip.
lantern
Apps that run on your own AI subscription. No keys, no bill.
map
Projection mapping in the browser. Light that reacts to the room.
quickmotion
Code-driven SVG motion, rendered as reusable video assets.
orgfork
A control room for designing and deploying agent organizations.
pls
An agent-native request library that makes HTTP calls replayable.
learn
A bilingual AI study space with real-time voice coaching.
invites
Beautiful event pages, invitations and RSVPs.
All live, all real — most of it open source at github.com/sunbeam-za.
