HackOut the Future in Austin

HackOut is the nation’s premiere LGBT-oriented hackathon presented by StartOut.  We are looking for individuals or teams that want to change the way we think by hacking a new demo in an exciting, 24-hour, overnight competition. It’s a great way to meet new friends, other entrepreneurs, investors and incubators. Developers, programmers, coders and geeks of all kinds will have access to incredible mentors from leading companies. StartOut is deeply grateful to its HackOut 2015 sponsors, which include Atlassian, Blacklight Solutions, Curious Cat Company, Google, Hirestarter, Jones-Spross PLLC, oSTEM, reQwip, Mary Shea, Chris Sinton, Social Edge, Spredfast, Stripe,  and WP Engine. Rackspace is also donating more than $24,000 in cloud computing services to the winning teams. The first-place winning team will receive a cash prize as well as an invitation to present at Demo Day in New York City on February 24. (Travel expenses would the responsibility of the members of the winning team.)

Hackathons are excellent ways to merge entrepreneurial spirit with computer programming prowess and product design sensibilities. Students, hackers, programmers, product marketers, and other web enthusiasts can form small teams to create new ventures during the hackathon. Individuals with all levels of experience are welcome to participate, and any viable business idea can form the basis for participants’ projects.

When:

Saturday, February 21, 2015, starting at 9am through Sunday, February 22, 2015, at 4 pm The hacking period will be a 24-hour block from noon on Saturday straight through to noon on Sunday.

Where:

Tech Ranch, 8920 Business Park Drive, Suite 250 (Floor 2), Austin, Texas 787 

Student Travel Sponsorships

Limited student travel scholarships were available. Please register for HackOut and then submit a brief email describing your background, entrepreneurial aspirations, and travel needs to hackout@startout.org. Applications were due by 5:00 pm Central, January 31st, 2015.

$26,500 in prizes

1. Sign up for HackOut at http://startout.org/events/hackout-austin-2015.
2. Limited student travel scholarships are available. Please register for HackOut and then submit a brief email describing your background, entrepreneurial aspirations, and travel needs to hackout@startout.org. Applications are due by 5:00 pm Central, January 31, 2015.
3. Register for a free account on Challenge Post (www.challengepost.com).
4. Construct your demo according to the rules below and complete your submission on Challenge Post by 12:00 pm CST on Sunday, February 22, 2015.

• Originality
  Is it an amazing new product?
• Technical Difficulty
  Is the submission technically interesting or difficult? Were there real technical challenges to surmount?
• Design
  Is the user interface gorgeous, easy to use, and fast?
• Commercial Viability
  To what degree does this business idea have potential to become a viable business?