The Construct · A build weekend

There is no spoon

The Construct. A build weekend for women in business.

Bring a problem. Leave with a solution, a working build, and the confidence to make the next one yourself.

$750 + GST Founding cohort · $250 deposit secures your spot

Whangārei · Fri 31 July to Sun 2 August · Ten places only

Picture next Monday.

The thing you have been putting off for six months, the one that sits at the bottom of every to-do list, is just done. Not started. Not on a list. Done.

The quotes that take half your evening. The report you dread pulling together. The same client questions you answer over and over. The onboarding held together with sticky notes and good intentions.

Imagine driving home on Sunday thinking, I cannot believe that thing is finally sorted.

That is what The Construct is for. Not learning about AI. Solving the thing that has actually been slowing you down, and walking away able to do it again.

What it is

The Construct is a small, hands-on build weekend where women in business use AI to solve a real problem from their own work.

You do not arrive with a plan. You arrive with the problem. We help you work out what is actually possible, build the solution beside you, and you leave with something that works.

No theory. No watching someone else's demo. No going home with a notebook full of ideas you never get to. You leave with the thing built, and the skill to build the next one yourself.

Came to our first Follow the White Rabbit event? This is the part where you stop watching and start building. Did not make it? You are just as welcome. You do not need to have been there.

Why "The Construct"

In The Matrix, the Construct was the training space. The place you could load in, learn fast, try things, break things, and build what you needed before stepping back into the real world.

That is exactly what this weekend is.

A space to test, build, get it wrong, get it right, and leave stronger and more capable than you arrived. The stakes are low. The help is high. And what you build is real.

How the weekend works

First, we work out what is actually possible.

Before anyone builds anything, we look at your problem properly. Where the time really goes, what is worth solving, and what good would look like. Sometimes the thing you came to build is not the thing you need. We find that out first.

Then you build it, with us beside you.

You are on the keyboard. We are right there. That is deliberate, because the whole point is that you can do it again on Monday without us in the room.

You leave with it working.

Maybe not polished to the last detail, but real, and yours, with a clear plan for what to finish and what to build next.

Stay as long as you need and leave when yours is working. Some of you will nail it by early afternoon and head off happy. Some will stay to the end squeezing out every last bit. You are not paying for hours in a room. You are paying for the result and the help to get there.

You already have everything you need

You do not need a technical background. You do not need to know what AI can do. You do not need the perfect idea.

You need three things:

A real problem from your business
Your knowledge of how that business actually works
A paid Claude or ChatGPT account

That is it. Everything else, we figure out together. And if you are not sure which account to get or how to set it up, ask us when you book and we will sort it with you before the day.

On the day, just bring your laptop and charger. That is the one thing we cannot hand you in the room.

What you could walk away with

Not examples from Silicon Valley. The kinds of things women in businesses like yours actually need:

> A quoting assistant that drafts a quote from a few details, instead of half your evening
> A reporting workflow that turns your messy system exports into something you would actually send a client
> A Skill that reads long documents or contracts and pulls out what matters
> A content helper trained on your voice, so your posts sound like you and not like every other business in your industry
> An assistant that answers the client questions you keep re-typing
> A tidy onboarding flow for new clients
> Your business set up properly in AI, so everything you do after the weekend is faster

Pick the one that is costing you the most. We will help you build it.

What you leave with

The thing off your plate.

The problem you walked in with, handled. The time and headspace it gives back is the real win.

The skill to do it again without us.

This is the part that matters. You leave able to build the next one yourself. That is the difference between hiring help and gaining a capability you keep.

A room of women who get it.

You will borrow ideas from each other all weekend. Several of you will leave with things you did not know you needed.

Meet your hosts

You will have both of us in the room the whole weekend. Two of us for ten of you, the strategy and the build, the why and the how.

Lian Passmore

dreamstorm · AI strategist and builder

Lian founded dreamstorm and works at the meeting point of people, strategy and emerging technology. She is the one who helps you work out what is actually worth building, then builds it beside you. Her focus is helping women who have been left out of technology conversations find real confidence and agency.

Larissa Daly

123online · Digital transformation specialist

Larissa runs 123online and has spent years helping businesses simplify the complicated and build systems people actually want to use. Her superpower is turning technical ideas into plain, practical steps, so what you build on the weekend still makes sense back at your desk on Monday.

The details

Where: The 123online office at Okara, Whangārei. Coming from out of town? We have access to a local Airbnb that sleeps up to seven, so if you would rather not drive back and forth, you can come up, stay over, and build with us. It is an added cost on top of your place, and we will arrange it if there is enough interest from people travelling, so tell us when you book.
When: Friday 31 July to Sunday 2 August. We kick off Friday evening, around 5:30 to 6pm, and wrap up by 5pm on Sunday.
Size: Ten places only. Small on purpose, so you get real one-on-one help from both of us. One business can send two people, but it is priced per person.
Hosts: Lian and Larissa, both in the room all weekend. Two of us for ten of you. That ratio is the point: real one-on-one help, not a lecture.
Price: $750 + GST, founding cohort. A $250 deposit secures your spot, with the balance due before the weekend.

First in, first served.

Why $750

We'll be straight with you about the price, because you deserve that.

We looked at what comparable two-day AI workshops for women in business are charging in New Zealand. Most of them sit comfortably above this, usually in Auckland, often with less hands-on time than you'll get with the two of us in a room of ten.

We're in Whangārei, and we want this to be accessible, both to the women here and to the ones travelling to us. This is also our founding cohort, the very first time we've run it, and your honest feedback is part of what makes it worth it for us.

So we've landed on $750 + GST for these first ten seats. We expect the price to go up from here. But for this first one, this felt like the right place to land.

Travelling to us?

We are opening The Construct up across Auckland and Whangārei, so some of you will be coming a fair way. To make that easier, we have access to a local Airbnb that sleeps up to seven.

If enough of you are travelling and want it, we will arrange the accommodation, at an additional cost on top of your place, so you can come up, settle in, and build with us over the two days rather than rushing back. Mention it when you book and we will sort the details with you.

Not sure if it is for you?

You do not have to have it figured out before you come. That is the whole point of the help.

Have a chat with us first.

Not sure it is the right fit, or whether you are ready? Talk to us before you book. We will be honest about whether the weekend is your right next step.

Bring more than one problem.

You do not need the perfect single idea. Bring a few. Part of the weekend is us helping you choose which one is worth building.

Need a hand before the day?

Help getting set up, choosing your account, or just talking through your problem. We are here. Nobody arrives stuck.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a technical background? +

No. None at all. If you can run your business, you can do this. We handle the technical side. You bring the knowledge of how your work actually happens, and that is the part that matters.

I am a bit of a beginner. Will it go over my head? +

This is a small room with two of us in it, so you are never left behind. We meet you where you are and work at your pace. You do not need to arrive knowing what a prompt is. You need to arrive with a problem and a willingness to have a go.

What if I do not know what to build? +

That is normal, and it is fine. You do not need the perfect idea. Bring a few things that slow you down, and part of the weekend is us helping you work out which one is worth building. Plenty of people arrive knowing only that something is eating their time. That is enough.

What do I actually leave with? +

Something that works, built for a real problem in your business, plus the skill to run it and build the next one yourself. Not a notebook of ideas. Not a demo you watched someone else do. A real thing, and the confidence to keep going.

Why do I need a paid AI account? +

The builds need the full version, not the free tier. It is around NZD $30 a month and you can cancel any time. If you are not sure which one to get, ask us when you book and we will sort it with you before the day, so nobody arrives stuck.

What about privacy and my client data? +

A fair question, and an important one. If your problem involves sensitive or client information, bring it anyway. Showing you how to work with AI safely, and what to keep out of it, is part of what the weekend is for.

Will my business be too different for this to work? +

We have built this around the problems real Northland businesses actually have: quoting, admin, reporting, content, onboarding. Whether you are a tradie, a maker, a coach, a consultant or a café, if there is a task eating your time, there is something here to build.

Is this just for women? +

Yes. The Construct is built for and around women in business. That is who it is for.

Where is it, and what if I am travelling? +

The 123online office at Okara, Whangārei. We are opening it up across Auckland and Whangārei, so some of you will travel. We have access to a local Airbnb that sleeps up to seven, so if enough of you are travelling and want it, we will arrange accommodation at an additional cost on top of your place. Tell us when you book and we will sort the details with you.

Is food provided? +

We put on snacks and kai on the Friday evening, and coffee and tea are on tap right through the weekend. Beyond that you sort your own meals, but you will not go hungry. There is a full kitchen at the venue, and we are close to the supermarket and plenty of food options.

How is this different from The Download? +

The Download is a 90-minute online session where you watch us work and see what is possible. The Construct is where you build your own thing, in person, over two days, with us beside you. The Download shows you. The Construct builds it.

What does it cost, and how do I hold my spot? +

$750 + GST for the two days, founding cohort. A $250 deposit secures your seat, with the balance due before the weekend. Ten places only, first in, first served.

What payment options do you have? +

A $250 deposit secures your seat, and the balance is due before the workshop begins. We use Stripe, so you have plenty of ways to pay, including card, Apple Pay and Afterpay. If paying before the workshop date is a worry, please do not let that stop you. Get in touch for a conversation and we will work something out.

What is your refund policy? +

Life happens, so talk to us first. Here is the short version. Your deposit is refundable minus any payment processing fees, like Stripe, depending on how you paid. If something comes up and you give us 21 days notice or more before the weekend, we can refund you, because that gives us time to offer the seat to someone else. Inside 21 days, when we are unlikely to fill your place, we refund 50%. Either way, you can transfer your seat to a future weekend if that option is available. Get in touch and we will work something out with you rather than have you lose your spot quietly.

What if not enough people sign up? +

The Construct runs with a minimum of five. We are confident we will get there, but if for any reason we do not, your deposit comes straight back in full, no fuss, and we will talk to you about the next available date. You are never out of pocket for us not running it.

Do I get any support after the weekend? +

Yes. For two weeks after the weekend you will have a group chat with Larissa and Lian. It is async, so there is no scheduled call to make. Drop your question in any time and we will answer during normal business hours. If you get stuck putting your build to work back in the real world, we are still there.

Stop waiting for someone else to fix it.

You have got the problem. You have got the knowledge. All that is missing is the time, the room, and two people who will build it with you.

That is the weekend.

Ten places · First in, first served

Sign me up

$750 + GST · $250 deposit secures your spot

Tell us a little about you and the problem you would bring. There is nothing to pay yet. Once you sign up we will get in contact with you with further info, including deposit and invoice options to lock in your spot.

You belong in the future.

You took the red pill.