UNSW Student Spotlight: Meet Guy Simons - Winner of the No Code AI Challenge

Students

5 Dec

By William Nguyen

3 min read · December 3, 2025

This month, we’re spotlighting Guy Simons, a first-year Commerce and Computer Science student who just took out first place in our No-Code AI Challenge.

At only 20, Guy is already building products with AI, experimenting with entrepreneurship and discovering what’s possible inside the UNSW Founders community.

We sat down with Guy for a quick chat with Sam Brew, UNSW’s Chief Student Entrepreneur, to hear how he turned a random scroll on Instagram into a winning startup idea.

This Q&A is part of our Student Spotlight series, where we share honest stories from UNSW students turning ideas into something real.

You’re the winner of our No-Code AI Challenge. Can you tell us a bit about the competition?

The challenge required us to build a startup idea using only AI tools. No coding experience, just creativity and the ability to learn fast.

What was the biggest thing you learned from the experience?

Definitely the power of AI tools. It’s crazy how you can take an idea and use AI to build a fully functioning app or prototype that you can actually pitch.

Tell us more about your product.

My app is Vaulted, a social savings app designed mainly for Gen Z. It gamifies saving by adding accountability, time locks and social features so your friends can keep you on track.

Where did that idea come from?

Honestly, from real life. My mates and I all struggle with saving and avoiding random impulse buys. I thought if you add a lock and some accountability, maybe we’d all hang onto our savings a bit longer.

Join the next challenge

UNSW Founders programs are open to all current students, staff, researchers and alumni, whether you’re in first year like Guy or deep into your degree.

If you’re curious about entrepreneurship or want to start building with AI, check out what’s on via our events.

Have a student founder story to share? Email founders@unsw.edu.au

William Nguyen - Author

Events & Communications

William is the guy behind the posts at UNSW Founders. He’s currently studying Education and Media Arts at UNSW, with a soft spot for storytelling that helps students back themselves - whether it’s launching a side hustle, starting a business or just figuring out what’s next. Outside of work, he’s usually at a concert, listening to jazz, eating his weight in seafood or making TikToks (for fun and research). Fun fact: he can turn literally anything into a LinkedIn post.

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