The San Francisco Techcrunch Disrupt Hackathon is the weekend of September 25th and 26th. It’s shaping up to be even bigger than our NYC event, which drew more than 300 hackers. One of the projects from last May, GroupMe, even ended up getting funded. You could be next.
If you haven’t already made plans to attend a fun weekend of caffeine and code, we’re going to tempt you with 7 reasons to show up.
1. Scratch an itch. It’s amazing how many awesome new technologies there are to explore. Most of us don’t have the excuse or opportunity to fit them into our fulltime work. What better way to try something out then to dive in and build it! Sir Edmund Hillary said he climbed Mount Everest because it was there. What’s stopping you?
2. Network. This event is chock full of talented folks who are experienced, supportive and creative. We can’t think of a better place to meet new techies who share your obsessions. They can help you build something, introduce you to high caliber talent or set the stage for an exciting new career opportunity. While we do not require your hack to work 100%, you must at least try to make it work. We do not allow powerpoint presentations or existing projects (i.e., startups.)
3. Demo or die. It’s exciting and nerve racking to share an idea with others. It’s also informative. Time to get off the couch and find out the truth about that garage project fantasy. Get on stage and demo your hack to a roomfull of folks interested in hearing from you and providing feedback! Who knows, maybe someone will reach out and help you take it to the next level—it’s happened before!
4. Workshops. On Saturday, we’ll be hosting API Workshops and presentations from some of the industry’s biggest players – BitTorrent, CityGrid, eBay, Facebook, Google, Groupon, Microsoft, Paypal, SimpleGeo, Twitter, and Yahoo! It’s a great opportunity to connect with these companies, learn about their APIs and maybe even impress your future boss.
5. Meet the judges. We’ve carefully selected judges who we know provide great feedback. We’ve rounded out the group to provide multiple tech perspectives to your project: code jockeys, entrepreneurs, designers and VCs. The experience and mindshare they bring can help you hone your idea. We’re excited to announce the following judges: Brett Bullington. Cyan Bannister, Bradley Horowitz, Dean Hovey, Michael Marquez, Christopher Poole, Joshua Schachter and Mike Schroepfer