AI Solopreneur Accelerator
Build an AI agent team to boost your business.
Australia's most practical AI accelerator for solo founders, consultants, freelancers and small business owners. Held in-person over six weeks.
Cohort 1: 21 July – 27 August 2026
$1,399 + GST
Sydney
Weekly sessions: Tuesdays
Weeks 1 + 6 – 1:00pm–6:00pm
Weeks 2–5 – 3:00pm–6:00pm
Graduation Showcase – 25 August
Melbourne
Weekly sessions: Wednesdays
Weeks 1 + 6 – 1:00pm–6:00pm
Weeks 2–5 – 3:00pm–6:00pm
Graduation Showcase – 26 August
Adelaide
Weekly sessions: Thursdays
Weeks 1 + 6 – 1:00pm–6:00pm
Weeks 2–5 – 3:00pm–6:00pm
Graduation Showcase – 27 August
The way we build businesses has changed
There has never been a better time to build a business on your own.
In just six years, the number of solo founders has grown by more than 50%. AI has changed what's possible. Today, one founder can achieve what previously required an entire team. The founders pulling ahead aren't simply using ChatGPT to write emails. They're building AI agent teams.
They have specialist AI teammates researching competitors, qualifying leads, writing marketing campaigns, answering customer enquiries, managing operations, analysing finances, supporting product development and helping make strategic decisions.
This isn't about replacing people, but giving every founder the leverage to build a much bigger business than they could alone.
That's exactly what you'll build during the AI Solopreneur Accelerator.
They're deploying AI agents to research markets, engage customers, create content, automate operations, accelerate product development, uncover opportunities, and scale their businesses faster than ever before.
This isn’t another AI course
You won't spend six weeks watching demonstrations or collecting prompts you'll never use. Every session is hands-on and live in person.
Every week you'll build working AI agents that solve a real business problem.
By graduation you'll have an AI team working across your business - and the confidence to continue building long after the accelerator finishes.
No coding experience is required. Everything is built using natural language and AI tools.
Built with Australia's leading AI organisations
The AI Solopreneur Accelerator is delivered alongside some of the organisations shaping the future of AI.
Our partners include:
MLAI - Technical delivery partner leading the AI implementation workshops.
Claude (Anthropic) - Learn directly from the team behind Claude and receive $500 in Anthropic API credits to build throughout the accelerator.
Gradient Institute - Australia's leader in responsible AI, ensuring participants build powerful AI systems safely and responsibly.
Stripe - AI for payments, e-commerce and business growth.
You'll also hear directly from founders who are already using AI agents inside their companies to grow faster.
What you'll build
By the end of the accelerator you'll have your own AI team working across your business. Including agents for:
- Sales
- Marketing
- Customer support
- Operations
- Finance
- Coding and development
- Project management
Rather than leaving with ideas, you'll leave with systems you can use immediately.
Overview of the program
Your six-week journey
Week 1: Foundations and coding agents (21–23 July)
Build the foundations for everything that follows.
You'll learn how AI agents work, set up your development environment, understand data and GitHub, and build your first coding agent using natural language.
Partners: MLAI + Claude (Anthropic)
You'll finish Week 1 with:
A working coding agent
Your AI development environment set up
Confidence in using AI for software development - even if you've never coded before.
Week 2: Board of Advisors and responsible AI (28–30 July)
Imagine having a board of advisors available 24 hours a day.
This week you'll build specialist AI advisors, coaches and project managers that challenge your thinking, generate ideas and help you make better business decisions.
You'll also learn the practical principles of responsible AI.
Partners: MLAI + Gradient Institute
You'll build:
Personalised AI agent advisors
Responsible AI framework
Week 3: Sales and customer support (4–6 August)
Growth starts with customers.
This week you'll build AI agents that generate leads, qualify prospects, support customers and automate parts of your sales process.
Partners: MLAI
You'll build:
Web lead conversion agent
Sales agent
Customer support workflows
Week 4: Marketing and visibility (11–13 August)
Learn how to market like you have an entire marketing team.
You'll build AI systems that create content, improve SEO, optimise for AI search (GEO/AEO) and automate marketing workflows.
Partners: MLAI
You'll build:
Marketing agent
SEO & GEO optimisation agent
AI content workflows
Week 5: Operations and Finance (17–19 August)
Create the operational backbone of your business.
Build agents that automate repetitive work, reconcile payments with Xero, organise knowledge and provide live business dashboards.
Partners: MLAI
You'll build:
Operations agent
Payments reconciliation workflows
AI dashboards
Knowledge management systems
Week 6: Liftoff - Personal brand, ECommerce and investors (25–27 August)
Turn everything you've built into a scalable business.
Learn how to build your personal brand, use AI for e-commerce growth, automate investor updates and present your AI business operating system at graduation.
Partners: MLAI + Stripe
You'll leave with:
- AI-powered business operating system
- Personal brand strategy
- Investor update agent
- Graduation showcase with the cohort
Over the program
In six weeks you'll receive:
- Weekly practical workshops
- Live build sessions
- Weekly implementation check-ins
- Slack community
- Direct mentor access
- Founder peer network
- Accountability to keep building between sessions
- Graduation showcase
- Access to Stone & Chalk's innovation community
Participants are encouraged to work from the Stone & Chalk hub throughout the program to immerse themselves in Australia's leading startup ecosystem and maximise collaboration opportunities.
Who should apply?
The AI Solopreneur Accelerator is for:
- Solo founders
- Startup founders
- Consultants
- Freelancers
- Agency owners
- Creators
- Coaches
- Professionals launching a business
- Existing small business owners wanting to scale with AI
If you're ready to build a business that grows through leverage, not just longer hours, this program is for you.
Scholarships
We believe everyone should have the opportunity to participate.
Scholarships and discounted places are available for participants from underrepresented backgrounds.
Please contact hello@stoneandchalk.com.au to discuss your circumstances.
If you are a current Stone & Chalk resident who would like to join, please email hello@stoneandchalk.com.au to discuss pricing.
Our partners
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this just another AI course?
This is a hands-on, interactive, cohort-centric experience. You'll build AI agents for your own business, guided by experts who use these tools every day.
The goal is to empower you with your AI agent team that continues working after the program ends.
Do I need technical skills?
The program is designed for a broad range of founders from non-tech and tech backgrounds.
Whether you are new to AI or have already experimented with AI tools, you'll receive guidance and support throughout the program.
Will sessions be recorded?
This is intentionally an in-person program.
The value comes from building alongside other founders, connecting with Australia’s best startup community, receiving live support, and implementing your systems in real time.
What happens between sessions?
Participants are encouraged to continue learning, building and connecting between sessions, but the majority of the work is completed during the workshops themselves, making the most of your valuable time.
What is the time commitment for this course?
We suggest 5 hours per week to get the foundational experience. However, for maximum benefit we highly recommend immersing yourself in the cohort learning environment and community for 3 days per week.
On top of the curated context, there are many community activities and events which will help accelerate your success. We highly encourage you to make the most of these over the 6 weeks.
Who are the facilitators?
Sessions will be delivered by AI practitioners, technology specialists, startup founders and business builders who actively use these systems in their own work.
Participants will also have access to a dedicated program manager and the broader Stone & Chalk community.
Do I need an existing business?
You don’t need to have an existing business. You can join with a startup idea, side project, MVP you want to launch, or established venture you want to scale.
Am I at the right stage?
Now is the perfect time to take action. If you've got an idea you're serious about, you’re at the right stage. You don't need a finished product or a customer list. You need the ambition to build – the program gives you the system to do it.
What do I leave with?
A working AI agent team empowering your GTM across sales, marketing, ops, customer support and development.
Do I need to come to every session?
This is an in-person program by design. The value is in building alongside other founders, getting live support, and leaving each session with something working. You get out what you put in.
Who are Stone & Chalk?
As a not-for-profit and a charity, we’re driven by an ambition to strengthen the innovation community across Australia.
We support the largest innovation community in Australia, with 550 startups and scaleups nationally. Across this community, we’re seeing AI-driven shifts in the operating and business models of startups, and we want to help everyone succeed in this context.
We’re also bringing together our broad network of partners, community and alumni to curate an event we know will be high value, and bring many different topics and experts all in one place.
Can I join Stone & Chalk afterwards?
Yes, you are welcome to apply to join the Stone & Chalk community.
