01
Plan
Decide what ships next and write it down before any code.
The Ladder House · ECR, Chennai · 20 seats
Move in. Build for six weeks. Demo it live.
A 6-week, offline, live-in cohort in a villa on Chennai's East Coast Road. 20 builders move in, senior engineers help you every day, and in week 6 you demo a real product, live.
Dec 1, 2026 – Jan 11, 2027 · Applications close Nov 22, 2026, or when all 20 seats fill
ECR · after dark
- 6 weeksOffline and live-in, like a hacker house
- 20 seatsOne cohort, one villa
- ECR, ChennaiA villa on the East Coast Road
- Week 6Demo day: a real product, live
The six weeks
Plan, build, break, ship. Then demo it.
No recorded lectures. Every day you build, and every week runs the same loop, until week 6, when you demo it.
02
Build
Build it, every day, with senior engineers in the room.
03
Break
Push on it until it fails, then find out why.
04
Ship
Put it live, show what changed, and go round again.
- Week 1Plan · build · break · ship
- Week 2Plan · build · break · ship
- Week 3Plan · build · break · ship
- Week 4Plan · build · break · ship
- Week 5Plan · build · break · ship
- Week 6Demo day
A day in the house
You wake up where you build.
The same shape every day. Senior engineers and professionals are in the house with you every day, helping wherever you're stuck.
- 01Plan the dayPick what you'll get done today, and what done looks like.
- 02BuildHeads down on your product, with senior engineers a desk away.
- 03Break itTest it, review it, and try to make it fail before a user does.
- 04Ship itPush it live and show the house what changed.
Who it's for
Builders, not spectators.
20 seats, for people who want to build something real and can give it six weeks in Chennai.
01
Students and freshers
You want a real product you built and can explain, not another tutorial project.
02
Working developers
You want six focused weeks to build something of your own with AI, alongside other builders.
03
Non-tech founders
You have a product in mind and want to build it yourself, with engineers on hand every day.
04
Anyone who can move in
Something else? If you can live in Chennai for six weeks and want to ship, apply.
Your instructor
Taught by an engineer who ships AI systems.
Manoj Prabhakar is the engineer behind MMS, Airix, GeoTrack and Astromila at Michi Studios. He uses Claude Code, Cursor and ChatGPT every day to build and run software that real businesses depend on.
He teaches because AI can write code, but most people can't ship it. Ladder Academy teaches the part that matters: planning, reviewing and deploying work you understand.
~ · whoami
$ whoami manoj prabhakar · engineer · michi studios $ ls ~/shipped mms/ airix/ geotrack/ astromila/
- MMS30+ module operations platform, 1.9M+ leads, in production
- Airixbuilt at Michi Studios
- GeoTrackbuilt at Michi Studios
- Astromilabuilt at Michi Studios
The fee
One fee. Stay included.
Your stay at the villa and your meals are included. You pay only after you're selected.
Per seat · stay + meals
₹89,999
Early bird · first 10 seats
₹74,999
- dates
- Dec 1, 2026 – Jan 11, 2027
- seats
- 20
- apply by
- Nov 22, 2026
How applying works
Apply, talk, move in.
Apply
Tell us who you are and what you want to build in six weeks. It takes a few minutes.
Short call
We reach out on WhatsApp and set up a short call to talk through your idea.
Seat confirmed
If it's a fit, your seat is confirmed. 20 seats in all.
Pay
You pay only after you're selected. The villa is booked once the cohort fills.
Applications close Nov 22, 2026, or when all 20 seats fill, whichever comes first.
Apply for a seat
20 seats. One villa.
Tell us what you want to build. The team reaches out on WhatsApp for a short call; if it's a fit, your seat is confirmed.
- when
- Dec 1, 2026 – Jan 11, 2027
- where
- villa on ECR, Chennai
- closes
- Nov 22, 2026 or when full
- fee
- ₹89,999 · early bird ₹74,999
FAQ
The house, answered.
Anything else, ask us on the call after you apply.
What is the Ladder House?
A 6-week, offline, live-in cohort, like a hacker house. We rent a villa on Chennai's East Coast Road, 20 builders move in, and you build every day.
When is it?
Dec 1, 2026 – Jan 11, 2027. Demo day is in week 6. Applications close Nov 22, 2026, or when all 20 seats fill, whichever comes first.
How much does it cost?
₹89,999 per seat, including your stay at the villa and meals. The first 10 seats are ₹74,999 (early bird).
When do I pay?
Only after you're selected: you apply, we have a short call, your seat is confirmed, and then you pay.
Where exactly is the villa?
On Chennai's East Coast Road (ECR). The villa is booked once the cohort fills.
Are there recorded lectures?
No. There are no recorded lectures. You build every day: plan, build, break, ship.
Who will help me?
Senior engineers and professionals are in the house, helping builders every day. It's led by Manoj Prabhakar, the same engineer who teaches every Ladder Academy program.
What do I leave with?
In week 6 you demo a real product, live, on demo day.