Hack Midwest offers coders freedom through 24-hour app creation competition
April 6, 2018 | Bobby Burch
Technologists are often surprised by what they’re able to accomplish when they work together in a competitive format, Mike Gelphman said.
That’s part of the reason Hack Midwest is returning this summer with the objective to inspire more techies to embrace their imagination, said Gelphman, founder of the competition, as well as KCITP, an area tech professionals group.
“The mission is to get people to create more — there’s a freedom that comes from that,” Gelphman said. “It is where they realize their own potential and what they’re truly capable of.”
One of Kansas City’s largest coding competitions, Hack Midwest challenges about 300 techies to build a mobile- or web-based app in 24 hours for a chance at winning a variety of prizes. A panel of judges will review the apps, judging on creativity, user interface originality and usefulness.
Prizes include an Amazon Alexa device, drones, tech gadgets, $500 in Ethereum cryptocurrency and more.
Hack Midwest can also serve as a first step on the road of entrepreneurship, Gelphman said. Some participants have gone on to launch companies from their projects, he added.
“When you get a bunch of smart, motivated people who love what they do in the same room, you never know what could be built,” Gelphman said. “You’ll get a chance to connect with other passionate developers and make connections that last a lifetime, and you’ll get to demonstrate your skills, get feedback on your ideas.”
Applications to compete in the July 21 competition open April 16.
Learn more about the competition with the video below.
2018 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
New FCC chairman Ajit Pai is familiar with KC startup community
A native Kansan that recently visited with the area’s entrepreneurial community will now head the Federal Communications Commission. President Donald Trump selected Ajit Pai, the senior Republican on the FCC to lead the commission, which regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. “I am deeply grateful to the President of…
Need for speed: Mozilla awards $101K to local gigabit projects
The Mozilla Gigabit Community Fund announced it will award a total of $101,000 to fund six local projects that use gigabit technology to impact learning. The Gigabit Community Fund is a national partnership between the National Science Foundation, US Ignite and Mozilla. Locally, the fund partners with KC Digital Drive, whose goal is to leverage…
Firebrand Ventures joins $6.85M round in Des Moines startup
Continuing a streak of investments, Kansas City-based Firebrand Ventures joined a sizable investment in an Iowa-based payments processing startup. Firebrand joined six other venture funds in a $6.85 million funding round in Des Moines-based Dwolla, which builds applications that facilitate bank transfers, manages customers and verifies bank accounts. The round was led by Union Square…
Challenging the notion of ‘entitled millennials,’ Rise Fast empowers young people
When the economy took a turn for the worst in 2008, many millennials saw their parents and grandparents laid off by companies they’d been loyal to for years. Eze Redwood said that although it’s easy to gloss over the impact that traumatic events have on a generation’s psyche, young professionals carry the weight of this…