Questions
Everything we can answer today.
These are the same answers Dahlia gives on this site. Where the founders have not decided something, it says so instead of guessing.
Current cohort is full. Started October 25, 2026. A free pilot for five members over seven weeks. Sundays 2:00–3:30 PM ET on Zoom. Talk with a founder about a future cohort; its date, format and price are not announced.
The program
What the free pilot is, who is in the room, and who runs it.
- What is The Pit?
- A free pilot for five women, run by co-founders Alicia Dahling and Leslie Ali Walker. Each woman gets a focused turn on her own project, with the full support of the crew. She keeps 100% ownership of it.The program
- Who is the program for?
- The first group is a free pilot for five women, guided by Alicia Dahling and Leslie Ali Walker. You don't need to be a founder or own a business. You do need a real project you want to move forward, like a website, a workflow or an idea still in your notes.
- How many people are in a cohort?
- Five women in the free pilot, plus the two co-founders, Alicia and Leslie.
- How does the pilot run?
- Seven weeks. Sundays 2:00–3:30 PM ET on Zoom. Started October 25, 2026. Week 1: meet the crew and spend about 20 minutes setting up your own Dahlia with guided help. Bring a laptop. Weeks 2–7: each member gets a focused turn on her own project with the full crew. Week 7 also wraps up and prepares demos. Up to 30 minutes of agreed work between sessions. A final demo is planned at Willa's Built by Willa event. No date is confirmed.
- Who runs it?
- Alicia Dahling and Leslie Ali Walker founded The Pit and run every meeting.Meet the founders
How the room works
Your focused turn, the method the crew uses, and what members do for each other.
- What is a hot seat?
- A focused turn on your own project. You bring the real work, say what kind of input you want, and the crew gives your project its full support. Every member gets one.How the crew works
- What do Shape, Build and Test mean?
- Shape is defining the goal and the next real step. Build is making progress you can show. Test is putting the work in front of people and learning from it. The crew helps at each stage when you invite it.
- What does the crew do for each other?
- Members give practical, invited input and make small promises with dates to each other. Plan on up to 30 minutes of agreed work between sessions for the time you spend on agreed contributions between meetings.
- What results will I get?
- No program can promise a finished product or income in a pilot, and the founders don't. What you get is a focused turn with the crew's full attention on your project, invited input, and dated commitments you choose.
Joining
How a seat starts and what comes after the free pilot.
- How do I apply?
- Start with a conversation with Alicia or Leslie. Ask for one here, or reach them any other way. After you talk, the founder sends you a personal application link for your email address. Talking with Dahlia or using voice is never required.Application
- How much does it cost?
- The first group is a free pilot, so there is no charge. A founder can talk through anything else with you.
- When does it start?
- Seven weeks. Sundays 2:00–3:30 PM ET on Zoom. Started October 25, 2026.
- Can my organization bring this to our team?
- Yes, the founders talk with organizations about referrals, private cohorts and commissioned programs.For organizations
Dahlia and the software
The guide on this site, and the workspace members use.
- Who are you?
- I'm Dahlia, the virtual program guide for The Pit. I'm not a person. I share prepared program information and can pass your request to a founder.
- Is there an app or a desktop Dahlia?
- Members have a private workspace in the browser with optional private voice notes. Founders cannot hear or read them. Raw audio stays private until the pilot ends on December 6, 2026. It is deleted on December 7. Your transcript stays until you delete it. A native desktop companion is not available yet.
Still want to ask a person?
Dates and whether a seat suits your project are founder conversations. Send Alicia and Leslie a short note and one of them replies.