How One Student Built the SF Effect in Madison

This post was written by Armaan Jain, founder of Priority and Priority Labs. The views expressed are his own.

For years, the narrative around building something has been the same: leave. Go to SF. Go to NYC. Go anywhere but here. All the talented people in every other city pack up and move to one of two places because that's where the energy is.

But the real SF effect isn't about geography. It's about density. It's about the belief that the people next to you are building things that matter. And here's what I realized: every city has the talent. The founders, engineers, artists, musicians, and creators are everywhere. They're just scattered, stuck in their own buildings, their own majors, their own circles. Everyone's growing, but there's no shared ecosystem.

So I decided to start with UW-Madison, with the people around me, and see what would happen if we built 'it' ourselves. That's why I created Priority Labs, the in-person extension of Priority, the productivity app I'm building to help people follow through on what matters.

Priority Labs is a 9-day sprint for student founders, creators, engineers, and musicians, a place for anyone building anything. The first cohort ran April 10-19, 2026, with 16 students from UW-Madison. 

The only thing everyone had in common was that they cared about what they were making. No prizes. No competition. No lectures. There was only one rule, and it was simple: show up every morning at 7 AM, work, and share your story at a final showcase hosted by StartingBlock Madison.

The same day I thought of the idea, I committed to it, and it terrified me. I had less than a month to plan it, and people told me that students wouldn’t want to do it or that I didn’t have time to set it up. I'd never run anything like this before, and I thought, “Why would anyone trust ME to lead this?” I wasn't sure anyone would show up.

But people did, and what happened surprised me.

One student started a new personal brand, and within days, was interviewing the CEO of Vortex Optics. Some built their first apps and prepared for pitch competitions. Another hit the road to perform original music with her band. Someone ran their first marathon. And a lot more. All of this happened because of who was in the room.

Unlike pitch competitions or hackathons, people weren't competing against each other or building for an award. So, the energy in the room was about commitment and working with people who were only there because they actually cared about their idea. And what made it work was the variety of disciplines. That variety kept everyone grounded, excited, and surrounded by different perspectives. 

The format itself was extremely simple but intentional. Each day started at 7 am with accountability: everyone stood up in front of the group, shared what they'd done the day before, and committed to what they'd do that day. Then I told them to get to work and collaborate however they wanted, and what surprised me was that people chose to talk to people doing completely different things. 

As you can imagine, getting college students to wake up at 7 AM every day for 9 days is hard. But people kept showing up. And that’s the part I didn't fully understand when I designed this: support & accountability from other real people that you have a connection with is 10x better than self-discipline.

Those 9 days felt like 30, but soon, it was showcase day, the most nerve-wracking day of my college life, and I’m not kidding. I felt like I owed it to everyone to make this successful.

And slowly, people arrived. And soon, 12 people showed up at StartingBlock to share what they'd built with their friends, family, and the broader community. One of my friends even said it was the first time he sat through presentations without being bored, which made my day.

If you'd asked me a month before whether I was capable of putting this together, I would have said no. Watching the cohort present, I felt genuine happiness after a long time, for the community we built and the progress everyone made. 

On paper, my approach was flawed. 7 am mornings outside with college students. People from completely different backgrounds. No competition. This goes against all of the other programs on campus. But what I ended up building was one of the most action-oriented groups of people I’ve seen at UW-Madison.

Then it ended. And here's the part I'm still thinking about.

For 9 days, something happened that I couldn't have created on my own. The morning routines, the mutual accountability, the contagious momentum, worked. But on day 10, the cohort dispersed. Soon, people went back to their lives. The energy faded the way it always does after intense experiences. How could I keep that action oriented energy alive?

That's the question I'm trying to answer with Priority.

Priority Labs proved that people change because of the people around them, not because of better task management. The reason Priority Labs worked is that everyone in the room was becoming someone, and was doing it with others. Priority is built around the same idea: every habit you complete, every commitment you follow through on, is evidence of who you're becoming.

The app isn't a replacement for what happened at Priority Labs, but it's the closest thing I know how to build right now. You can see what we’re building at Priority at www.joinpriority.app and what the inaugural cohort built on the Labs page.

Finally, we’re running Cohort 2 in Fall 2026. If you want to be part of building this as a mentor, a connection, or just by spreading the word, please reach out. We'd love your help making the next cohort even better.

To everyone who showed up to Cohort 1, to Beth Ott and StartingBlock Madison for hosting and supporting us, and to my team at Priority who helped make it happen: thank you, from the bottom of my heart. You proved something we needed to see proven. Now we know it works. The only question is how big this can get and how many people we can help.