Yesterday, we launched as part of the . Both are focused on upending the orthodoxes of finance and banking. Both hope to find new opportunities through , and both are part of a bigger quest to find new ways to incentivize hackers to not just their code , but also their entrepreneurial instincts.
We think, with a more flexible structure and new expectations, the hackathon model can be rethought to create not just interesting tech and product builds, but strong signals from ideas and people worth investing in.
So we’re piloting something new. We call it Nights & Weekends.
So what is it?
A remote-first buildathon for hackers and entrepreneurs.
We’ve always believed the competitive advantage of building a decentralized company comes from creating greater access outside of the typical concentrations. So we’re focusing on building a remote, and virtual, system to make sure people with the ambition to make something can participate, wherever they are.
Longer duration for better signals.
We think the point of early products are signals. Traditional hackathons tend to run in a couple short days or evenings, and the most you can get to is a quick build or a quick pitch. We want to see what happens when you give participants the time and expectation of finding real experts, real communities with the problems they’re trying to solve, and getting real feedback.
Our pilot will last 15 days, but we’ll explore longer cycles, with the intention of giving hackers the space to not just build, but test and validate the market.
A program of support and collaboration.
Finally, Consensys Labs will be running daily office hours, open to all participants, to help them move forward, and connect to the right people at the right times. We think a hackathon can be part sprint, part jam session, and part accelerator. At each stage, the Labs team will be available to support everything from idea generation to expert interviews, design, research, and growth. We think creating more collisions between people and expertise will create better outcomes for all.
The Ethereal Hackathon has already kicked off, but it’s not too late to get started. It runs from April 15th to April 30th, just ahead of the on May 10–11. Hackathon winners will be invited to join us in New York to present their winning work live in front of 600+ guests interested in building the future of the internet.
If you’re somebody who can’t help but build, and wants to find new solutions to old orthodoxies through Web3, we’d love to meet you. Check out ConsenSys’ Labs , and join the to follow along!
Published at Tue, 16 Apr 2019 22:07:33 +0000
