Startup Weekend • 54-hour MVP blueprint

WaterAfford DET

Detroit

Policy + Climate + Civic Tech

Find help, reduce shutoffs, improve policy feedback loops.

A plain-language assistance navigator plus anonymized trend dashboard highlighting affordability pain points and policy options.

Local fit: Housing and infrastructure repair, affordability, neighborhood-led redevelopment, and connectivity gaps—good for navigators, cooperative mobility, and blight-to-asset workflows.

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Core user stories

As a resident, I answer a few questions and get matched to assistance options and documents needed.
As a navigator/nonprofit, I track follow-ups and common blockers (documentation, eligibility).
As policymakers, we view anonymized trend stats to improve program design.

Clickable demo scope (what you build)

Eligibility wizard → recommended assistance plan (seeded).
Case tracker with reminders (no PII; demo accounts).
Anonymized trends dashboard (mock).

Team of four roles

Product & Policy Lead: Translate assistance programs into an eligibility wizard; define privacy stance and safe demo data.
UX / Frontend: Build the wizard and a case-tracker flow with reminders (demo).
Backend / Data: Store cases (demo), program rules, and trend metrics; generate anonymized dashboard.
Partnerships / Story / Ops: Validate with a navigator/nonprofit; craft ‘reduce shutoffs’ policy story; deploy.

54-hour build plan

Hours 0–6: Pick one user segment; do 5–8 quick interviews; lock the “one workflow” MVP.
Hours 6–24: Build the clickable flow end-to-end with stubbed data; draft the policy narrative.
Hours 24–40: Add one policy-ready output (brief/dashboard/export); tighten UX; seed data for 2–3 neighborhoods.
Hours 40–54: Polish demo script; add analytics mock; finalize pitch + one-page handout.

What to show in the final demo

The “happy path” (one user completes the core task in under 2 minutes).
One policy-ready output (a brief, dashboard view, or export).
One local proof point (seeded neighborhoods / agencies / partner types relevant to Detroit).

How it can earn revenue without becoming extractive

Revenue fit (values-aligned): sell a low-cost subscription to local governments/nonprofits, or charge implementation/support for pilots—avoid extractive fees on community participation.

Guardrails: publish scoring criteria, minimize data collection, and default to community ownership where possible (co-op/commons patterns).