Gabe Lozano, CEO and co-founder of St. Louis-based social media startup, LockerDome, wanted a hackathon where everyone was on the same playing field going after the same endgame. Startup Weekend has always done its part for entrepreneurs, but he saw a gap.
So he decided to fill that gap, starting with the first GlobalHack event this Friday. It’ll cost you only $2 for three meals and a chance at $50,000 in cash.
GlobalHack 1 will kick off Friday at 6 p.m. in St. Louis’ Union Station and run through Sunday at 5 p.m.—just in time to watch the Super Bowl. Teams of 1 to 10 will be language-agnostic project that is to integrate with SalesForce. Full details of the project will be revealed an hour before the event to keep everyone on the same footing, but there are ways to prep spelled out on the GlobalHack website.
The winner has the chance at $50,000, or if they would like to keep their work, the money goes to second place. It’s a format Lozano hopes will provide clear results and one he hopes to put on quarterly.
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As he ramps up for the first iteration, Silicon Prairie News asked for more on why entrepreneurs should be in St. Louis this weekend:
Silicon Prairie News: What did you see lacking in the entrepreneurial community that led to GlobalHack?
Gabe Lozano: I’m pitched 5-10 times each week on “the next billion-dollar idea.” Truthfully, I’m tired of listening to ideas that will never be built. I’m equally tired of cities aimlessly directing resources at mentorship programs and business plan competitions, which tend to put more emphasis on ideas than execution. We don’t need more ideas. We need more people building products that actually go to market. Billion-dollar companies are built by executing; it all starts with putting a product in a customer’s hands. GlobalHack is one of multiple ways that my colleagues and I are doing our part to address this problem.
SPN: How else does LockerDome engage in the St. Louis community and why is it important to the team?
GL: On the last Friday of each month we host Code Until Dawn, which is a free-form hackathon. Anyone is welcome. We speak publicly at events at least once per month to all walks of life on entrepreneurship, the St. Louis startup scene and how others can get involved. We meet weekly with aspiring entrepreneurs. At LockerDome, we’re not only incredibly passionate about building a great company, but we also care deeply about positively impacting the world around us.
SPN: You mention it’s not like Startup Weekend. Why did you go the route you did?
GL: I’m intrigued by the idea of a 48-hour binge with a real customer in mind. Many products never find a real, paying customer. I’m equally intrigued by putting all teams on an equal playing field and seeing who can actually produce. In just 48 hours you’ll know who solved the customer problem the best, as the “customer” will hand the winning team a $50,000 check. Nonetheless, the format is an experiment and we will likely try multiple formats during 2014.
SPN: Any more hints on what everyone will be working on?
GL: Nope. You’ll need to show up on January 31st at Union Station in St. Louis to find out.
SPN: Will teams need to be well-versed in SalesForce1?
GL: No, but they should come in with a basic knowledge of how to integrate an app with Salesforce. We will be posting some additional resources on globalhack.org prior to the event. In the meantime, you can get an overview at developer.salesforce.com.
SPN: You have a second event tentatively lined up for May. Can you expound on the grander vision for GlobalHack?
GL: Over the long term, we believe GlobalHack will help increase deal flow in St. Louis by positively impacting the three areas that make up a great ecosystem: great talent, high density and a product-centric culture. We plan to host quarterly hackathons that give away at least $50,000 in cash at each hackathon. Additionally, we’re aiming to host an annual product competition and conference, as opposed to a business-plan competition, where we will invite 25-50 teams from around the globe to St. Louis to compete for $1 million in cash.
Credits: Gabe Lozano photo from LinkedIn.
