BUILD AI - Accelerate Your Business Idea from Concept to Market

Are you a microbusiness owner with big ambitions, but not quite sure how to take your idea or product to the next stage? is for you.

(Business Uplift, Innovation and Lean Development through Artificial Intelligence) for non-technical business owners is a fully funded programme created specifically for microbusinesses and SMEs who want to accelerate, grow, or commercialise what they are building.

Whether you're developing a new digital product or solution, refining an idea, or exploring smarter ways to scale, this programme gives you the practical tools, expert guidance, and hands-on support to move forward with confidence.

Across six practical, hands-on sessions (a mix of in-person and online), you’ll work along expert facilitators to:

• Create a clear, compelling value proposition that sets your business apart
• Prototype and refine your idea using real-world insight and smart system functionalities
• Build a working minimum viable product (MVP) using AI-assisted coding tools
• Connect APIs, integrations, and AI capabilities into your product
• Optimise your platform with authentication, search engine optimisation (SEO) and deploy your MVP
• Refine your pitch and prepare for funders, grants, or investment

Upon completion, you won't just have a slide deck. You'll have a functional MVP. You’ll be pitch-ready and equipped with everything you need to unlock opportunities whether that’s grant funding, investment, or routes to commercialisation.

What every participant receives:

• Six expert-led sessions - blending strategy, hands-on building, and commercialisation guidance
• Access to AI-assisted development platforms to build your MVP
• Dedicated support from facilitators at the Centre for Sustainable Innovation at the University of Salford and NoCodeLab.ai
• A pitch-ready MVP and revised value proposition by programme end

The fine print: This programme is fully funded, which means there’s no cost to you to attend. You’ll need to bring a laptop to the sessions and a clear product, idea or service that you want to work on. If you’re ready to push your business forward, accelerate your idea, or finally bring that product to market, this is your next step.

By registering you are expressing your interest in attending the programme. Your place is not confirmed until a member of the team has been in touch. By being accepted onto the programme, you're agreeing to attend all the sessions, full list of dates below.

You must send in your expression of interest by 5pm on 11 November 2026.

Meet your facilitators:

You'll be guided through the programme by a team combining academic expertise with hands-on experience building and scaling businesses with AI.

Dr Ann Mulhaney, Associate Professor for Change Management, Centre for Sustainable Innovation at the University of Salford

Dr Ann Mulhaney is the Associate Professor for Change Management at the Salford Business School’s Centre for Sustainable Innovation. Ann has both an academic and industry background working for both small and large businesses across the region.

Sara Simeone, Founder of . The UK’s leading Vibe Coding Accelerator and AI Growth Company

Sara Simeone is the Founder of NoCodeLab.ai, an educational and implementation company that democratises AI-assisted development for non-technical professionals. Based in Manchester, NoCodeLab.ai trained almost 2,000 professionals across Europe and Asia since May 2025. With over 20 years of digital transformation experience at organisations including WPP, Dentsu, and Vistaprint, Sara now focuses on empowering the next generation of builders. She serves as a Board Member for several organisations, including the Centre of Digital Innovation at Manchester Metropolitan University and MedieInstitutet in Sweden.

Deborah Cleary, Co-Founder,

Deborah Cleary is Co-Founder and Director of Growth at NoCodeLab.ai, one of the world's leading Vibe Coding Launchpad Accelerators based in Manchester. On a mission to leave no one behind in the AI age, NoCodeLab.ai empowers scale-stage founders, business leaders, product and operational teams, and dynamic start-up entrepreneurs to build real AI capability and launch functional products — no coding experience required. Since May 2025, they've trained almost 2,000 professionals globally.

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Greater Manchester Institute of Technology, 43 Crescent, Salford, United Kingdom

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