Vibe coding in Riyadh: five UX lessons from the Outliers VC buildathon

Last week I had the privilege of judging the Outliers VC Buildathon in Riyadh. It was an evening where young entrepreneurs and coders had 90 minutes to conceive, build and pitch new app ideas.

Here are a few of the things they came up with: a way of connecting skilled workers looking for a visa sponsor. Dynamic, user-friendly and interactive fusion cuisine techniques. Finding the best barbershop in town with the shortest queue. A comprehensive system to control all your farming stock inventory. Hungry at home with a group: discover the best local restaurant for your assembled friends.

My job, along with my fellow judge Rayouf Alhumedhi, was to assess the best efforts of the assembled group and hand out a set of prizes for the best ideas, those which were most well presented, clearly designed or applied a catchy, wry sense of humour that had us wanting more.

In particular I was fascinated that, despite the app marketplace seeming to be swamped, or perhaps even saturated with product, there are still great ideas to be found, developed and pitched to a ready marketplace. What really impressed me at the Outliers Buildathon was the way that the teams considered under-served groups in society and thought about solving the problems or pain-points that continue to cause frustrations in our everyday lives – learning UX lessons along the way.

Simplicity and clarity cuts to the chase

When you run a business, there’s a lot of talk about having an ‘elevator pitch,’ the ability to set out what you do and your point of difference in a few crisp words. This was essentially the task at the Buildathon as each team had to stand up and set out their ideas. It was telling that a softer approach to a pitch worked well in each case. People want charm and a sense of who you are – as well as your brilliant new idea, ideally without the hard sell. Still, given under two minutes to explain and their idea meant that our Riyadh vibe coders had to really focus.

What struck me as I watched the teams make their presentations was how quickly enthusiasm and charm overcame any shortcomings in language or a developing ability to speak in public. Great ideas make up for a lot. My other initial observation was how swiftly I wanted to figure out what they were going to show us before anything had been said. What was the name of the project, their proto-logo, that was appearing top left of their product? Could I figure out what this was going to do right away?

The fact is that in 90 minutes, delivering functionality, user journey and ensuring you have a product that actually works is going to be the baseline achievement. Creating a truly sophisticated UX design is secondary when nailing more ideas and possibilities for your product. But therein came a really satisfying observation. Devoid of unnecessary trims, what surprised me was how pleasing a stripped-back, essentially ‘wireframe’ concept actually was. Could there be a real lesson for all of us talking to our potential clients: strip things back, give everyone space, focus on delivery.

Giving users humour creates connection

At the beginning of the session, Rayouf urged our vibe coders to be inventive but also playful. The session wasn’t intended to necessarily deliver the next VC-ready app, but rather offer our teams the opportunity to explore and answer a question. The idea was to offer the attendees an enjoyable evening and the atmosphere and laughter really helped the process. I believe that in these lighter moments we can find real inspiration. Take for instance the contributor who built what he called, ‘a more human social media’ where true emotions, frustrations or bad days could be recorded. This antidote to being superficial charmed us and ended up being one of the evening’s winners.

The other takeaway here for me was the way in which a sense of humour and whipsmart oneliners can elevate even the simplest idea. One of our teams created a ‘task tracker’ for someone with ADHD. The app timed how long you had spent on a single endeavour and offered responses that varied from the wry or warm all the way to sarcastic depending on your levels of success at sticking to the task at hand. It was such a great lesson in the way in which sharp (even at times close to the bone) messaging written in a single tone of voice wins out against flat, lifeless AI text.

Evolving this thinking, it could be that concepts which may seem unserious on the face of it could have great real-world use. One of my favourite ideas that the teams threw out was the idea of a barber shop app where queues and waiting times at each shop on a live map were blended with journey times from where you were. This ultimately led to a booking system. In a society where barbershops and beard trimmers are inherent to the culture, this deftly thought through app blended charm and usability.

Perhaps this snappy blend of wit and cultural nous is the best example of how a quick, iterative session like the Outliers Buildathon can have real use for businesses looking for the next big ideas.

Five UX lessons for vibe coders from the Outliers Buildathon

1. Start simple, stay simple, avoid overdesign. Sometimes your final design doesn’t need to be a million miles from the wireframes you begin with.
2. The best ideas are born from play. Experimentation takes many forms and throwing around silly or initially seemingly pointless projects can lead to unexpected and productive end results.
3. Keep your wits about you. Good, witty copy engages users and keeps them coming back for more.
4. Keep your ambition sky-high, but your feet on the ground. Understanding people’s everyday needs and pain-points, especially in underserved communities, leads to real, applicable product.
5. Pitching with personality goes a long way. When ‘selling in’ your idea, keeping grounded in reality and talking with a natural approach beats all-polish-no-substance.

I’d particularly like to thank Outliers VC for inviting me to be a part of the 2026 Buildathon and my fellow judge, the fantastic Rayouf Alhumedhi, for being such an inspiring partner in this project.

Our work with Outliers VC

Outliers Venture Capital is a globally-minded VC firm investing in founders across the MENA region and the U.S. Since we started collaborating in 2024, we’ve created three major projects together: the main Outliers website; every aspect of the Outliers Summit in Riyadh in October 2025 and most recently the launch of the Outliers Fellowship, a flagship program dedicated to identifying and empowering the next generation of entrepreneurial leaders.

More of our work with Outliers VC

Visit the Outliers VC website

More of our branding and web design work for clients in the Middle East

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Editor’s note: Men and women took part in the event. The photographs shown here include only male participants, out of respect for local privacy norms in the KSA.