First Finance-Athon · 19 August 2026
Register before 10 August. Teams of 4 finance students, free to enter. Evaluate cash flows, value firms, and rank on your own wealth-ladder. First prize: 300 EUR in AlphaForge credits.
Arena · Upcoming Sprints
The next forge fires soon. Claim your spot.
Live competitive sprints on briefs pulled from real deal flow. See the calendar, pick your theme, form a team, and build to the buzzer.
Why it matters
Some learning only happens under a deadline, with a clock running down.
You cannot get it from a lecture or a textbook. You get it by deciding, fast, with incomplete information, then defending the decision to someone who pushes back. That is the closest thing to a deal floor you can practise before you stand on one.
Sprints rotate through what is live on real desks: AI infrastructure and power financing, private credit versus banks, GP-led secondaries and continuation vehicles, carve-outs, and shareholder activism. You compete on the themes juniors are expected to know now.
Source: Knowledge / Emerging IB Topics
/It forces reps you would otherwise avoid.
A scoped weekend build makes you choose an approach, commit to assumptions, and ship something defensible.
/It puts you on current problems.
Not recycled cases: the same themes desks expect you to know now.
/It earns you visibility and prizes.
Sponsor eyes on the top submissions, a low-cost high-signal way for firms to assess skills.
/It gives you a team that sticks.
Team Builder pairs you with complementary builders before the clock starts.
What's inside
Everything you need to enter the next one.
Themes from live deal flow
Each sprint carries a deal theme and a short note on why it matters now, from AI-infrastructure financing to continuation vehicles. The problems are pulled from the flow, not invented.
Quarterly cadence
A Finance-Athon runs each quarter, tied to the earnings calendar, so there is always a next one to aim at.
The flow
Register, Team Builder, Brief drop, Build, Submit, Judge, Showcase. You always know where you are and what comes next.
Proof and credibility
The Arena's credibility is that you compete on problems firms are actually working. Sprint themes map directly to the must-know-now deal areas shaping live execution. That is precisely why sponsors watch: a sponsored challenge is a low-cost, high-signal skills assessment and an AI-forward employer-brand signal at once.
Source: Knowledge / Emerging IB Topics · Perplexity research, 2026
Straight answers
Before you ask.
When is the next one?
The first Finance-Athon is 19 August 2026, with registration before 10 August. Register now to lock your spot and receive the brief the moment it drops.
Is there an entry fee?
No. Finance-Athons are free to enter through your free account, in teams of 4 finance students.
I don't have a team.
That is what Team Builder is for. Solo entrants get matched with complementary builders before the buzzer.
What level are these?
Sprints are tiered by track, so newer builders are not thrown against seasoned finalists. You compete near your level and climb as you ship.
