This is just the beginning

OK, time to make a summary. One day without checking my email account after the Hackathon is enough to get my energy and strength back :)

Yes, about the Hackathon. For me - personally - it was the first event organized from a different seat - not as a person from an incubator, accelerator, STP or a VC. This time I was corporate (well I am now, but still, always with a startup heart inside).

So let's go into details.

Team

Yes, always the most important factor. What makes me proud is that in the Hackathon engaged more than 30 people from the Bank. And by that I don't mean only marketing and communications (btw thx guys for an amazing job). People from various business lines, of a different age and background engaged, not because their superiors told them to but because they wanted. Some of them took their kids with themselves to spend the weekend with us. For me this is a sign of a certain change inside the company. Some may call it a change of the culture. I’d just say that I don’t believe in a digital change or transformation without any change in people’s behavior and attitude. We got it. I see it. I feel it and I really believe that with those people we can start building great things. Thank you once again. I’m happy to be one of you, I mean it :)

Relations

For me an event is always an excuse to meet new people & share new ideas or plans. The Hackathon did it all. We have a plan. We don’t want to make another (sic!) revolution or community (whatever you call it, it’s already there, and there’s no point of trying to do something “new” just to call it “ours”). But yes, we want to be present. We want to join and I really believe we have a lot to offer and we want to offer more. We’ve started to gather great minds around the Bank, with wide knowledge, insights & a will to achieve more than probably is possible from the first glimpse. Well, we love challenges & we’re team players. The Hackathon is just the beginning for us. If you’d like to join us, let me know. I’d be happy to talk to you.

Startups

As always while organizing such an event there were fast action returns (for example one of the teams got stuck in the Middle East), but we gathered teams from Ukraine, Georgia, United Kingdom, Latvia and ofc Poland.

• Spendee – young but so dedicated and focused. I really appreciate you guys, and your commitment. I really hope we’ll talk more soon.
• DiPocket – combining banking and fighting with financial exclusion or you may call it a monetization of the corporate social responsibility. For me also a proof that the idea of hackathons is far more than engaging for students or pure startups. More experienced teams & businessmen bring a great value inside.
• Money Friend – great team with a promising concept. You’ve got a fan inside the Bank. I wonder what the future brings for you after MIT Enterprise Europe Forum Poland. Fingers crossed!
• Wandlee - @Igor we want to see more of you next time.
• bNesis – great knowledge and skills concerning PSD2.
• limitless – awarded “The Most Promising Startup” by the VC (Innovation Nest, eXperior Venture Fund, bValue – thx for joining us). @Sara is looking for an investor and a developer on board so do not hesitate to contact her.
• UnifiedApi - @Piotr for sure we have to continue talking.
• Querona – the winner of the second Polish edition of BNP International Hackathon and – again – a proof that strong technical insight always defends itself.
• OptioAi – our Georgian team with great pitching skills. Let us know guys of what happens next.
• WeSavvy – this could be a solution interesting for those of you who are interested in #insuretech. If yes, let @Tomasz know.
• nPowered – if you’re looking for a solutions concerning shared expenses, definitely you should talk to @Marcin
• place.me – if enriched by financial data it could be a great support for trade networks aiming to expand.
• Cyber Productivity – automated accounting. A great solution for those who cannot find their invoices in the old systems.
• Lendguru - we'd be happy to see your pitch soon!

Partners & mentors

The Heart Warsaw, Microsoft & Mastercard, Intel & Samsung thank you for all your support and engagement. We’ll continue the cooperation, that’s for sure :)

Special thanks to all of great people who devoted their time to support us and the teams: Magda, Grzegorz, Karol, Sara, Jakub, Jarek, Kamil, Joanna, Adam, Diana, Tomasz, Jarek, Pawe?, Marzena, Marcin, Maciek, Krzysztof, Aglae, Thibaut, Dorota and many more.

I also strongly recommend Digital Knowledge Village as a venue spot & Masterbrand team as event support. Well done!