ATDC Weekend Hackathon

ATDC hosted their first annual hackathon this past weekend. Since ATDC is Atlanta's oldest startup incubator, they wanted to innovate the traditional hackathon approach.

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ATDC Hack

 

ATDC hosted their first annual hackathon this past weekend. Since ATDC is Atlanta's oldest startup incubator, they wanted to innovate the traditional hackathon approach.

Startups across the city applied to be part of the August 28th through 30th hackathon. There were eight startups and approximately 80 hackers who joined the different startup teams. On Friday, the eight startups pitched their ideas to the hackers. Saturday and Sunday were hacking days, with the teams crafting and creating solutions. Monday was an off-day when the teams could create and finalize their presentations.

Tuesday evening marked the end of the hackathon. The 8 teams pitched the problems they were tackling and offered the solutions they worked on through the weekend.

 

First Performance is an Atlanta startup organized in 2013 and is a top innovator in the financial services industry. As a startup in the financial sector, First Performance was looking for innovations in security. The team worked all weekend to create a way to protect credit card numbers in online transactions.

Florence Healthcare is an Atlanta healthcare startup. They entered the hackathon looking for a way to improve the clinical trial process. At the hackathon, the Florence Healthcare team created an app that integrated with their current software to better connected the doctors, patients, clinical trials.

Kanga is an Atlanta startup that depends on crowd-sourced labor to thrive. Kanga joined the ATDC Hackathon to help innovate a way to streamline the hiring process. As crowd-sourcing labor startups (Kanga, Uber, Lyft, etc) gain steam across the country, Kanga wanted a way to make it easier for people to find openings and apply to be part of these companies.

 

Amplify 4 Good is an Atlanta startup that gives back and supports the local Atlanta non-profit community. At the hackathon, Amplify 4 Good was searching for an innovative approach to better service more non-profits. The solution offered was an app that would allow non-profits to easily connect with talented volunteers and innovators wanting to give back.

Synapp.io is an Atlanta startup wanting to help reduce credit card fraud for e-commerce companies. The Synapp.io team created an app that would allow e-commerce businesses to better identify suspicious or high-risk transactions, so the merchants can confirm that the purchase is valid. This will allow companies to better protect themselves and offer more protection to their customers.

GroundFloor is a Raleigh startup that has recently expanded into Atlanta. GroundFloor is a real estate mirco-lending platform. The GroundFloor team joined the hackathon looking for a way better connect the borrowers and investors in GroundFloor. The interactive app that was created over the weekend allows borrowers to easily share updates with their investors.

Rescour is an Atlanta startup that wanted to build a property management tool. The Rescour team created an app that would make searching for an apartment easier. The app would offer real-time data for apartment pricing. Complexes could input their pricing and users would also input their current rent prices, allowing apartment hunters to see what's happening in their area.

Cognosos is an Atlanta startup that is taking the Internet of Things to new levels. Cognosos offers Sensing as a Service and the Cognosos team worked throughout the weekend to create a mobile app to continue that goal. They created an asset location service that would allow clients to use long-lasting sensors for mobile asset location.

 

All the 8 teams worked tirelessly throughout the weekend to create viable solutions for their startups. Nine hackers were awarded $25 gift cards and the Cognosos team was awarded the Up All Night prize.

Since the hackers were all innovating for startups, the top three prizes were all cash prizes. The third place prize was $150 in cash and was awarded to the Rescour team. Second place was $300 and that was won by the GroundFloor team. First place was $500 and Florence Healthcare took the prize.

Overall, it was an exciting and successful hackathon. The teams worked tirelessly through the weekend to create viable solutions for the 8 startups. This hackathon built a firm foundation for the startups to continue the created applications and help grow the startups.