Participate in a 48-hour Hackathon

Frits Pieper
November 30 2017

Last weekend (24-26 November) a Hackathon was organised at the Brightlands Smart Services Campus in Heerlen. The theme was mobility as a smart service. With 85 participants, teams were formed who all tried to create a product and a business plan in 48 hours to make mobility easier, smarter and better in the future. As a car rental company, this was of course incredibly interesting for me to experience.

Friday evening we will hear 4 pitches from organizations (CBS, Provincie Limburg, Q-park and Trendsportal) that stimulate us to come up with new ideas about mobility. All participants must form teams of 5 to 6 people. Each team has until Sunday afternoon 15:00 PM to translate a smart idea into a business plan.

Plenty of ideas

That will be a long Friday night. Lots of discussions about what kind of product we are going to propose. The wildest ideas will pass by.

Flying cars?

Asphalting all railways?

Close city centers to all cars?

Getting people out of their social isolation (everyone is staring at their smartphones these days)?

Better/different transport for the elderly or for young people?

Thinking of single-seater cars?

Create an app that advises us on the best way to travel?

Should we as humans continue to transport ourselves – surely we will soon be able to communicate via VR (virtual reality)?

As an old guy among all the young people, I feel myself getting young again because of all the fantastic suggestions. As it gets later, coaches regularly come in and urge us to come up with an idea quickly. The deadline is Sunday afternoon at 15:00 PM – no stick no pitch. But hey, Sunday afternoon still seems a long way off – we still have plenty of time. Or so we think.

PAMM is born

I don't remember if it's still Friday night or already Saturday morning, But we're moving on.

We humans are creatures of habit. We usually take the transport we always take. If you have a car, you take it of course. If you don't have a car, you take public transport. But is that always the smartest choice?

We are going to create a personal assistant that will help us make better choices. Our smartphone already knows so much about us: what our agenda looks like, what the weather will be like tomorrow, which buses or trains will be running (or not). Our assistant will give us advice on how to travel smarter.

It won't be an app - that's sooo old fashioned. No, we're going for a real PA.

And so PAMM was born. Our personal assistant in mobility management.

Digital.

And smart.

Traveling becomes fun, and also cheaper and easier.

Camping

Now it is definitely Saturday morning and I am quite tired. My teammates are still young and just keep going.

On the 6th floor there is a camping set up. With throw-up tents. That is easy, better than putting them together again. And the airbed was already inflated. Great service here!

Falling asleep is hard. All sorts of ideas are running through my head. How are we going to continue tomorrow?

Furthermore, there seems to be an air conditioner malfunctioning somewhere – an annoying rattling noise is keeping me awake at night.

After a few hours of sleep, the campsite wakes up again. Time for a good breakfast. Where is the rest of my team? Kevin has been up half the night to put together a mega mind map for our idea PAMM. Quintin has tried out the VR games extensively. Tom and Debby have gone home, but are also present early.

Inspiration

We start Saturday with an inspiring workshop by Arjen van Berkum, Chief Disruption Officer.

Are we making a product that people want to or a product that people need? Most of the problems in our society are wil-problems: I want to have, have, have. And if we don't see it ourselves, then advertising tells us. This world needs more products that people need. If you think you have come up with a good product, try killing your idea like a true pessimist.

Look, that's a nice way to continue working on your new product... Try to kill your own idea!

But it is valuable. During the break I speak to another participant who tells me: I left the workshop halfway through - I prefer to stick to my own idea. Well.

Business plan

Sprint 2 begins. We need a business plan for our product. Fortunately, a business plan is no longer a 50-page document these days, but a diagram. On this canvas, you stick Post-its that answer questions such as:

  • What value does your product deliver to your customer?
  • Through which channels does your product reach your customer?
  • Which partners will you look for for your business?
  • what are your costs?
  • how are you going to make money?

Our business model canvas is being put together.

But we're not there yet. We also need a mock-up to show how our idea will work. And we need to prepare a pitch that will be held on Sunday afternoon to convince the jury how great a product we've come up with. And of course, the pitch needs a presentation.

On the advice of the coaches who regularly visit us, we are going to divide the tasks. Otherwise we will never meet the deadline.

Just before the deadline

Kevin is going to put together the mock-up, helped by Quintin. I'm already starting the pitch. It can't last longer than 5 minutes, and it has to convince the jury that our idea is fantastic.

What would the other teams have come up with? Unfortunately, we don't have time for a bit of espionage. Although, Debby knows a few people from another team, she's going to visit. Tom already starts the presentation.

We work until late Saturday night, and suddenly it becomes Sunday morning. We are not the only team working so late. In fact, it seems that we stop earlier than the rest. Time for a game, a beer and some relaxation.

On Sunday, the tension really builds. At 15:00 PM, the stick with the presentation has to be handed in. But that can only happen once the pitch is finished. Oh yes, there is also a workshop on pitching. Who is going to that? The mock-up has to be finished too, because that is part of the presentation. What house style should our PAMM have: red, green or blue? Or is yellow more beautiful?

I am standing at the campsite, above the skyline of Heerlen, practicing our pitch. I get a text message from Kevin. Our team is the first to hand in the presentation. A good or a bad omen?

The pitch

On Sunday afternoon, all teams will present their new application. Pitches of 5 minutes, followed by 5 minutes of Q&A from the jury. Everything will be broadcast live on the Facebook page of Hack4smartservices.

It's great to hear what solutions have been devised. A carpool service for travellers in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. A platform that allows trucks to platoon better (less fuel consumption by driving close behind each other). An application to increase social welfare by travelling together more.

On behalf of team PAMM I may pitch about the birth of our digital assistant. The pitch goes quite well, the questions of the jury are difficult. It is not easy to convey an idea that you have been working on for 48 hours, and to answer all questions about it.

After the jury's deliberations, the winners will be announced. Emerce wrote an article about it on Monday. Too bad, no prize for us.

I had a great weekend. Talked to many people, heard many ideas. Brightlands and my teammates Tom, Debby, Kevin and Quintin, thank you!


What is your idea about smart mobility? Will we still be driving our own cars in 20 years? How will our infrastructure change? Feel free to write your reaction! 

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