Are you ready to collaborate with other entrepreneurial individuals and be part of a tech-ready ecosystem?
Attend this Hackathon to help us showcase the tech talent in Tennessee and learn from like-minded individuals.
Registration closes 8 March, 2022
Challenge Themes
Healthy People 2030 sets data-driven objectives to improve health and well-being over the next decade in the United States. One of their goals is to “create social, physical, and economic environments that promote attaining the full potential for health and well-being for all.” The Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) are the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. They have a major impact on people’s health, well-being, and quality of life, as well as also contributing to wide health disparities and inequities.
Participation
Hackathons are not just for programmers. In order for a group to succeed, it is most ideal to have a mix of people from diverse backgrounds and skillsets. We call it the 'Minimum Viable Team' - the smallest team required to achieve a specific purpose. Many startups use this formula to create their first teams. We encourage anyone wanting to to land their next role at a tech organization, or anyone passionate about helping the underserved communities in Tennessee to come and join us!

Hipster
The creative genius
You may have experience in User Experience, Design, Research, Marketing, and wants everything to be aesthically pleasing!

Hacker
The avid builder
You may have experience in being a software developer, solutions architect, engineer, analyst, data scientist, and loves solving problems.

Hustler
The business guru
You may have experience in Strategy, Sales, Business Development, HR, Project Management, Finance, and is definitely a go-getter!
What will happen?
Throughout the weekend, you will be faced with a series of activities to help you develop your solution for the judges. The outcome will be a pitch (video explaining why you worked on this) and a prototype (demonstration of the key feature you developed over the weekend). Many people go to Hackathons because it's about the 'tech', but we define that as the following steps of a Hackathon:
1
Team Formation
Network to find your team mates. We'll have activities to help you through this process.
2
Empathy Mapping
Ask questions to your ideal customers. We'll have mentors who will give you feedback.
3
Customer Engagement
Create a really quick version of your solution and test it with your customers.
4
Hacking!!
Using the feedback, create your demo and presentation to pitch to our experienced judges.
Agenda
The event is online, with the option for you to attend in-person at the Amazon Nashville office. If you come in, you must have proof of vaccination. You need to develop the following over the weekend
- A feature for an existing business (working function)
- OR develop a new technology solution (new business idea from scratch)
Key attendance to sessions include the below - compulsory attendance. There will be 3 x workshops and we expect you to sent 1 x team member to attend.
Information Session / Workshop
Thursday from 5:30-7pm
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An introduction to the Hackathon
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Technology Upskilling Workshop
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Hackathon Tips and Tricks
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Networking
Opening Keynote
Saturday, from 9-10am
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Keynote Speaker
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Hackathon Logistics and Process
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Challenge Statements revealed
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Team Registration
Final Showcase
Sunday from 3-5pm
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Participants to present their demo and presentations (5 min each)
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Judges to determine winners
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What's next for Hackathon
Prizes
Our panel of judges will be assessing the teams based on the criteria:
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Desirability: Why the customer will use it, and feedback received from research and customer interactions
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Feasibility: How you worked together as a team to create the prototype / feature that you are demonstrating
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Viability: What you will do to acquire customers so that you will have different revenue streams
What you'll show the judges:
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A Pitch: A 2 minute video explaining the customer pain point, why you came up with your solution, and how you will be approaching potential customers
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A Prototype: A 2 minute demonstration of at least one feature of your proposed working solution. It can be a feature for an existing business, or something completely new!
Participants have an opportunity to be rewarded with:
$1000 USD Monetary Prize Pool awarded to winning teams
1:1 Mentoring with recognized leaders in tech to help your career journey
Access to like minded individuals and the tech communities groups
FAQs
What is a Hackathon?
Hackathons are NOT just for programmers. They require collaboration to achieve desirable, feasible, and viable solutions. A Hackathon is a short, pressurized competition where a group come together to design, develop, and demonstrate their ideas on center stage! Usually at the start we give you context about a problem/challenge statement, and then it's up to you to come up with creative ideas! We expect your teams to develop a rough Minimum Viable Product so you can pitch your idea and show the judges what you've come up with on the Sunday afternoon. Read more here.
Who can participate in a Hackathon?
Anyone with an open mindset can participate. Because this is a Hackathon focused around software development and launching business ideas, we need a mix of business, design, technical, creative and industry experts to form teams.
I am under 21 years. Can I participate?
We are sorry but this event is for individuals who are over 21 years only.
Do I need to form a team before we join the Hackathon?
No, we will be giving you time at the start of the Hackathon to network and meet other people. Teams should be between 2-4 members. We encourage you to bring your friends!
What do I need to bring to the Hackathon?
Bring your laptop and charger, notepads and pens, an open mindset and positive attitude!
What does my ticket include?
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An unforgettable opportunity formulate an idea and create a product
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Learn and upgrade your knowledge bank with new skills and tools
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Access to the Tennessee tech ecosystem (including meeting others in tech, introductions to companies, mentors, and advisors)
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If you participate online, UberEats voucher to order yourself a meal on Saturday
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If you participate in-person, meals on Saturday - lunch and dinner, Sunday - breakfast and lunch
Who owns the Intellectual Property of the solution at the Hackathon?
We don't own anything, you do! We also abide by the Hack Code of Conduct
Need help?
Speakers, Mentors and Helpers
The benefits of going to a Hackathon is that you can learn new skills about entrepreneurship, design thinking, and technologies that you can bring back into your day-to-day life. Our mentors can help you throughout the Hackathon.
Judges
Industry experts who will be evaluating the video presentations. They will be asking questions after the video presentations to the teams to help determine the winners.
Bryan Heckman
Director, Center for the Study of Social Determinants of Health
Meharry Medical College
Veronica Mallett
President, Meharry Medical College Ventures
Jay Billings
Principal Engineer
Amazon
Scott T Massey
President
GPSS Global Services