my turbin3 experience · thejourneyman

Application

Solana felt familiar but distant, and I wanted to learn what it takes to build in a real ecosystem. I'd been trying different programs to see which one clicked, and Turbin3 felt worth the attempt. So I applied.

Acceptance and onboarding

The acceptance email came out of nowhere on August 12, 2026, with one catch. I had to pass a 48-hour prerequisite challenge first, in an ecosystem I barely knew.

The Turbin3 acceptance email, announcing orientation and the 48-hour Pre-Reqs Challenge

So I watched every video I could find on Solana and Anchor, and I mean every video. One idea stuck.

A program is stateless executable bytecode, and accounts hold everything else.

My prerequisite became a vault program that makes a CPI to the Turbin3 registration program on devnet. Rust already felt comfortable, so Anchor wasn't much of a jump.

Overwhelming knowledge and gradual progression

Five weeks of lectures, three days a week, with constant assignments. The first weeks were overwhelming, but it got easier. We went from accounts, programs and transactions to vaults, an escrow and an AMM, then SPL tokens, NFTs, Token-2022 extensions and confidential transfers.

Capstone LOI and approach

The capstone is proof of work. It starts with a Letter of Intent (LOI) covering the product, its requirements, competitors and constraints. Then you red-team it against an AI that picks it apart, keep what holds up and fix the rest. It tests whether an idea has real substance.

Enrichment week

A highlight. Founders and developers from Triton One, the Solana Foundation, Superteam and others talked about what they're building, the job market and what showing up really means now that LLMs raise the bar.

Capstone project and demo day

Our capstone was FrostPass, onchain ticketing that stops scalping. Tickets stay frozen in the holder's wallet, every resale goes through the program with a price cap, a resale limit and a royalty for the organiser, and entry needs a fresh signature from the current owner.

We had about two weeks, so we got the protocol design right first. FrostPass shipped on devnet with 15 tests and a terminal app for every role, and we presented first on demo day. Working with Sohum and Diaa was great. Everyone owned their part and delivered.

Takeaways

Turbin3 welcomes every background and level, from web2 natives to non-devs. It's a space to share your work, ask questions, make mistakes and get corrected, with plenty of banter and real accountability.

Thank you to Nate, Andreia, Prince, Shrinath, Glacier, Meowy and Varma. I'm proud to be part of the Turbin3 family.