Venture Enginepowered hackathon on March 11
Sri Lanka’s pioneering entrepreneurship programme Venture Engine will be hosting a briefing and hackathon open to all interested parties on Friday, March 11, 2016, at 4:00 p.m., at the Lankan Angel Network Incubation Centre, Colombo 4.
The 24-hour hackathon, which follows the March 11 briefing, provides a non-stop interaction wherein potential start-ups with viable business ideas can meet and interact intensely and continuously. It is noteworthy that the participants will have access to technical and business mentors from a variety of different disciplines.
Hosted at the Dialog Axiata, 15th Floor, Auditorium - a safe and secure setting, away from the noise and interruptions common to the external world, the session allows the focus to always be maintained on driving early-stage ideas, from concept to prototype, over a relatively short period.
Unlike a typical, solely technology-focused hack-day, this hackathon, powered by Venture Engine, is willing to evaluate and accept any business idea, helping to shape it into a viable business plan aided by mentors giving advice on entrepreneurship, financing, marketing, etc.
An additional benefit of taking part in this hackathon is participants securing a highly advantageous head start in turning their ideas into more concrete business plans, enabling their ideas to be more fully formed when they eventually submit them for consideration at Venture Engine. Kicking off in 2012 with the innovative Hikkahack, a hackathon held at a beach resort in popular tourist hotspot Hikkaduwa, Venture Enginepowered hackathons have been held every year since, with the result being about 10 shortlisted business plans absorbed into Venture Engine each year, often from a pool of dozens applying to take part in each hackathon, giving these teams an early start in the programme.
Commenting, Blue Ocean Ventures Co-founder Prajeeth Balasubramanium said, “Not sure what to do with that business idea, come visit us on Friday, March 11, and find out how you can transform your idea into a viable business plan. If your idea is good enough, you can get accepted into our Hackathon or even learn how to be more successful in the Venture Engine programme itself.” Conceptualised by Blue Ocean Ventures, in collaboration with the Indian Angel Network, Venture Engine is supported by strategic partner Lankan Angel Network and platinum sponsors Expolanka Holdings, Orion City, Dialog and Aavishkaar, which is powered by KFW, a German government-owned development bank.