April 7th Pop-up Hackathon: AI Agent Skills [Nerds Like Me]
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April 7th Pop-up Hackathon: AI Agent Skills

Apr
07
Tuesday
Tuesday, April 7th, 2026 • 7:15PM to 9:30PM (CDT)
Address Info
Available on RSVP acceptance

Event Ended

This event has already taken place.

Gallery Survey Recap
Attendees 28+ registered
We’d love to have you join attendees from AbbVie, BMO, and Mesirow, including an open-source creator of a major CLI search tool and a product leader holding three patents, who bring deep expertise in SQL, data science, and SaaS.

Nerds Like Me: The AI Agent Skills Hackathon

Less talk. More code. Let’s build.

(Photo) A group of people are gathered in a brewery taproom, listening to a man give a presentation. Several audience members have laptops open on tables in front of them. Text: BROKEN TEE BREWING COMPANY, PILS, BLACKBERRY ORANGE, SINGLE HOP IPA, SUPERDELIC, SCHWARZBIER, LIGHT LAGER, TRIPEL, HARD SELTZER, ABV 5.2, 8.5, 7.1, 5.0, 4.8, 4.7, WINE, CHARDONNAY, PINOT NOIR, CAB SAUV, SAUV BLANC, RIGHT BEE CIDER, N/A BEERS, CORE PRODUCTS, SPARKLING WATER, ARNOLD PALMER, 10 OZ, 16 OZ, Viper, CITRA, EXIT, OPEN group presentation or meeting | indoor brewery taproom | presenter, audience, laptops, menu board, dartboard, industrial ceiling | candid | Colors: #f2f2f2, #333333, #8b5a2b Note: The image is a real-life photograph capturing a candid scene of people in an indoor environment.

We’re done discussing AI agents in the abstract. Following our recent OpenClaw meetup, we are pivoting hard from theory to practice. This is a hands-on, roll-up-your-sleeves working session entirely focused on building and deploying modular AI capabilities.

(Banner) A vibrant digital illustration promoting an 'AI Agent Skills Hackathon,' featuring a group of diverse people coding on laptops in a futuristic, neon-lit workspace. Text: HACKATHON: BUILD AI AGENT SKILLS. AI Agent Skills AI AGENT SKILLS HACKATHON BUILD. INNOVATE. DEPLOY. EMPOWERING AI AGENTS TO LEARN & EXCEL. #AIAgentHackathon #MeetupEvent #CodeForFuture Modern, futuristic, and vibrant with high-contrast neon lighting. | Colors: #0a0e29, #00d4ff, #ff8c00, #ffffff Note: The image is a promotional graphic designed for an event, featuring prominent headlines, taglines, and hashtags typical of a digital banner.

The Mental Model: The Chef & The Recipe
Think of a general-purpose AI agent as the Chef-it knows how to cook.
An AI Skill is the Recipe-a modular, reusable package of instructions, scripts, and domain expertise that tells the chef exactly how to execute a specific dish. Whether it’s analyzing a legal contract, managing cloud infrastructure, or enforcing brand guidelines, a skill turns a generic bot into a specialist.

(Photo) A man is giving a presentation from a laptop to a seated audience in a room with exposed brick walls and industrial lighting. Text: DEAL OR NO DEAL, EXIT presentation | indoor | exposed brick walls, industrial ceiling pipes, audience on benches, presenter with laptop, TV screen display | candid | Colors: #8B4513, #333333, #E0E0E0 Note: The image is a real-life photograph capturing a candid scene of a presentation in an indoor environment.

The Logistics

Date: Tuesday, April 7th

Time: 7:15 PM to 9:30 PM

Location: Highwood, IL (Exact venue shared after RSVP)

Warning: Bring your laptop. This is an active build session, not a passive listen-and-leave meetup.

(Photo) A man is giving a presentation to a group of people in an indoor space with exposed brick walls, while a large screen displays code. Text: PLANT DADDY, EXIT presentation | indoor | speaker, audience, TV screen with code, exposed brick wall, industrial lighting | candid | Colors: #b58e6d, #2b2b2b, #968165, #dcdcdc Note: The image is a photograph capturing a real-life scene involving people, interior architecture, and electronic devices.

What This Session Is

This is a focused hackathon designed to move you beyond experimentation and into structured, portable implementations.

You’ll work solo or in small groups to design skills that:
  • Execute discrete, well-defined tasks flawlessly
  • Plug seamlessly into agent frameworks like OpenClaw and Claude
  • Act as Legos-reusable across different environments and workflows
  • Serve as the foundation for complex, multi-step agent systems

The Blueprint: What You Will Build

During the session, you will move through a rapid build cycle:
  1. Identify a narrowly scoped, real-world problem or tedious task.
  2. Design the corresponding agent skill (the “recipe”).
  3. Implement & Test the capability until it works.
  4. Demo your progress, approaches, and outcomes to the group.

Need inspiration? Think workflow automation, data retrieval/transformation, API-driven actions, or hyper-specific domain assistants.

(Photo) A group of people are gathered in an indoor space with brick walls, watching a presentation on a wall-mounted TV screen. A man stands at the front, pointing toward the screen as he speaks to the audience. Text: EXIT, Documentation, Getting Started, Introduction, 2 people, indoor presentation | indoor, bar or cafe | brick walls, wall-mounted TV, group of men, presenter pointing, laptops | candid | Colors: #8b7d6b, #2c2c2c, #f5f5f5, #a6937c Note: This is a candid photograph capturing a real-world event with people in an indoor environment.

Hackathon Prep Kit

To hit the ground running, familiarize yourself with the ecosystem beforehand. (No deep expertise required, but familiarity with APIs or scripting will give you an edge.)

(Photo) A man gives a presentation about an 'AI Wingman' app to a small audience in a room with exposed brick walls and a casual atmosphere. Text: Your AI Wingman is Ready PLANT DADDY EXIT people at a presentation | indoor, likely a cafe, bar, or co-working space | exposed brick wall, wall-mounted TV screen, audience members with laptops, casual attire | candid | Colors: #8B735B, #2B2B2B, #E5E5E5 Note: The image is a captured photograph of a real-world event featuring people, an indoor setting, and physical objects.

Who Should Attend

You belong here if you prefer building over observing:
  • Engineers and developers working with AI systems
  • Product leaders architecting agent-based solutions
  • Data and analytics practitioners tired of manual workflows
  • Technically curious operators looking to apply AI to their daily grind

(Photo) A group of people are gathered in a cafe or bar-like setting, many of whom are using laptops and engaged in discussions, suggesting a tech meetup or co-working event. Text: WINE CHARDONNAY PINOT NOIR CAB SAV SAUV BLANC EIGHT BEE BEER MIX BEERS SODA PRODUCTS SPARKLING WATER ARNOLD PALMER OPEN 12 CITIES people | indoor | Multiple people with laptops in a social, tech-oriented atmosphere. | candid | Colors: #E6E1D3, #3B3B3B, #8B4513 Note: The image is a real-life photograph capturing a candid scene of people in an indoor environment.

The Loot (What You Walk Away With)

By 9:30 PM, you won’t just have new ideas-you’ll have artifacts:
  • At least one functional AI agent skill you built yourself
  • A battle-tested mental model for structuring reusable capabilities
  • Exposure to emerging patterns in agent interoperability
  • Practical experience in a high-density, collaborative build environment

Sponsorship

We are looking for partners to help fuel the builders. Providing drinks, food, or space directly enhances the collaborative vibe of the event. Sponsors get acknowledged during the event and in follow-up comms.

[Interested? Reach out directly to Jonathan.]

What You Can Do Right Now
  1. Secure your spot: RSVP Here
  2. Share this with other builders who are tired of theoretical AI talks.
  3. Bring an idea: Come with a specific problem, workflow, or annoyance you want an agent to solve.

Looking forward to seeing returning faces and new builders alike. Let’s make something work.

Jonathan Shertok
Organizer, Nerds Like Me

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