HackATL is the largest business hackathon in the southeast, and round 3 is quickly approaching. Not so sure about this whole hackathon thing? Check out this recap of last year’s event to get you pumped about HackATL 2015. If this year is anything like last year, you won’t want to miss it.
HackATL 2014, held in Emory’s Goziueta Business School, gave hackers 48 hours to build a business in the hopes of winning a grand prize of $6,000. On the final day of the competition, participants presented their ideas to judges and received valuable feedback. In addition to the competition, attendees also received top-notch workshops and inspiration from some of the industry’s most influential speakers including Kat Cole, CEO of Cinnabon; Tyler Droll and Brooks Buffington, founders of Yik Yak; and Dominique Barfield, founder of BroTips. The keynote speech was given on the first night by Sanjay Parekh, founder of Startup Riot and founder and former CEO of Digital Envoy. In a fitting message, he encouraged attendees to “dream big.” The event came to a close with Kat Cole’s speech about her long journey from Hooters girl to CEO.
Last year’s event raised over $100,000 in prizes and had over 1,200 participants, a huge increase from 2013’s population of 420. Some of the teams continued enhancing their business model with the local Emory Accelerator program. Ask any of the former participants and they’ll tell you it’s a great chance to dive into the business world and gain real experience for your future endeavors.
The first place team, Impulse, pitched an app that would display special retail deals of overstocked or promoted items from partner stores in 30-second displays; think Tinder for shoppers. Check out the rest of last year’s winners:
- Grand prize: Impulse
- Second place (non-tech): U4GotUrBaby
- Second place (tech): Digital Sixth
- Third place (non-tech): SafeLink
- Third place (tech): Pulse
- Best open-source hack: iNPHO!
- Best pebble hack: Pendulum
- Best social enterprise (hacking with heart award): Dubbling
- Best Microsoft hack (first place): Open Sesame;
- Best Microsoft hack (second place): Pegboard
Now that you’ve got the scoop on HackATL 2014, it’s time to get ready for HackATL 2015. Stay tuned. We’ll have more for you about this October event as it quickly approaches.
