Mike Hale MagicBlock has launched Forge, a VIP builder program that pairs Solana founders with the MagicBlock team one-on-one to turn working products into scalable businesses, and the first cohort, Epoch 01, is open for applications now. It bundles weekly engineering mentorship, go-to-market support, and your first 100+ users into a single program, with the top teams fast-tracked to MagicBlock's in-person Hacker House.
If you're a founder shipping on Solana and stuck at the jump from "it works" to "it grows," this is aimed squarely at you.
What is MagicBlock Forge?
Forge is a hands-on program where MagicBlock's team works directly with founders to grow their products into sustainable businesses. It's not a passive grant or a Discord role. You get recurring, scheduled time with the people who build the infrastructure you're building on.
Forge is for ambitious founders building differentiated products with the conviction to turn them into real businesses. The bar is a product, not just an idea.
To qualify, you need one of two things:
A working app live on Solana mainnet that already uses MagicBlock
A strong intent to integrate MagicBlock into what you're building
That second path matters. You don't have to be integrated on day one, but you do need a genuine plan to build on MagicBlock rather than a maybe.
What do you get in the program?
The support is split across engineering and growth, which is the combination most early teams are missing. Here's what's included:
1:1 engineering mentorship every week. Direct, recurring technical guidance from the MagicBlock team.
Go-to-market and ecosystem growth support. Help with the part founders usually figure out alone.
Your first 100+ users within a month via MagicBlock Quests, the program's user-acquisition engine.
VIP access across the Solana ecosystem, meaning warm introductions and standing rather than cold outreach.
That early access to real users is key. Distribution is the hardest problem for most early Solana apps, and Forge treats it as a deliverable, not a hope.
The MonkeFoundry partnership
Forge is running in partnership with MonkeFoundry, the official incubator of MonkeDAO, as a featured partner. Selected builders get priority access to MonkeFoundry's program on top of Forge itself.
There's also a stage attached. Chosen teams get the chance to present at MonkeFoundry's Demo Day at Solana Breakpoint in London, which puts your product in front of the ecosystem at one of its biggest annual gatherings.
How do you reach the Hacker House?
Top teams in Forge are fast-tracked to MagicBlock's IRL Hacker House, where the support turns in-person: intensive hands-on time, 1:1 mentorship, and fundraising opportunities.
To see what that looks like in practice, look at the last one. Ten teams spent 10 days in Dubai shipping alongside the MagicBlock team, refining their pitch, and walking into Breakpoint with momentum.
How to apply
Applications for Epoch 01 are open now. If you have a working app on Solana mainnet with MagicBlock, or a serious intent to integrate, submit through the Forge application page. Cohort spots are limited, so earlier is better than later.
Who is MagicBlock?
MagicBlock builds high-performance infrastructure for real-time, fully onchain apps and games on Solana. Its core technology, Ephemeral Rollups, lets developers scale performance and latency without fragmenting their onchain state. With Forge, MagicBlock is adding a builder program on top of that tooling with mentorship, users, and ecosystem access to grow.