6 teams. 24 hours of brainstorming, concept designing and keyboard clacking. Round-the-clock food, drinks, snacks, mentors and music. Game room and the rooftop as the main relax hotspots. Occasional group sneak-out to BAM-C parties.
It was spectacular.
The enthusiasm and drive kept us going full speed ahead, and the homely atmosphere made it so each one of us felt comfortable enough to nap when necessary. Blankets were everywhere, no external guests allowed (unless they were bringing good spirits or food), and the house rules were super basic.
The teams consisted of regional musicians, designers, developers and economists. They were not expected to write full technical specifications and create fully functioning prototypes, but elaborate business plans with clear goals and usability flow. What they came up with exceeded everyone’s expectations and pleased the judges immensely.
bWave took the third place.
The team consisted of 4 very young, very talented and motivated individuals. They presented us with a futuristic gadget, a.k.a. ‘bWave headset’, that uses specialized sensors to detect brain waves and define the user’s mood. It then chooses a tune to play accordingly. Interestingly, in the feedback survey
bWave was voted first place by other contestants! We hope they won’t stop there, and that we will see bWave with own 3D headphones in the shops around the world.
Circ took the second place.
This freshly assembled team of people who met for the first time at the hackathon came up with such a useful and worthy idea; an app that in just a few steps allows music lovers to share information on which genre music is being played at the caf/pub/club they’re currently in. This idea could drastically improve the nightlife and give business owners useful insights.
Saund won the game.
They made a cultural product that works on the ‘Tinder’ swipe principle. The app users get to listen to different local artists of whichever city they’re currently in, and then rate them. Their feedback then gets used to rank the artists, allowing quality bands a fair chance to be recognized and shine, while the users enjoy beautiful new sounds. This is cheap to make and simple app and we hope we see it used in the cities around the globe!
Organizing a hackathon and participating in one is a great challenge that is worth every invested minute of effort. It takes a particular will, high energy, and belief in your team. It gives back new friendships, knowledge, and an awesome experience to store in your luggage of memories. We look forward to seeing our hackathon contestants grow and giving a helping hand along the way!
