First “Change4Future” hackathon proved it: a crisis is the best time to act
You would think this quarantine would slow us down on working towards a better world — we challenge you to think again!
Any crisis is the best time to start working on your social business idea. A brand new, inspiring business program “Change4Future” powered by ChangeMakers’ON, has already been launched in May and only last weekend over thirty selected teams were offered an opportunity to be consulted individually by experts of different fields in a three-day online hackathon.
The main goal of “Change4future” is to offer help for change-makers to develop sustainable and commercially viable social businesses. Meanwhile, during “Change4Future” hackathon this weekend all teams were given plenty of tips on their specific business ideas and consulted on how to make the development of a minimum value product (MVP) process much easier. As many as 12 teams have made it to the next stage and are already happily packing their bags to continue moving towards their goals in the social business accelerator.
All the experts, guests, and participants from all over the world were invited to stay safely at home and take part in “Change4Future” hackathon with the help of modern technologies. “Today is the best time to act for anyone who has a big heart and a sharp mind. For those who care not only about their own wealth but also about the prosperity of our planet and its people. Not so long ago social businesses were still viewed more like volunteer work or just another “do-good” idea with no real profit. Today we can already see businesses, that have a purpose and react to important problems of our society and environment, being taken more and more seriously. I believe that soon social business will not only be a meaningful but also a fashionable thing to do. And that the eyes of investors will settle on social innovators and social businesses more often, as a result changing positions with the traditional business. The future belongs to social innovators — it is what we and the World is talking about.” — says Simona Šimulytė, founder and visionnaire of “ChangeMakers’ON”.
While tuning in an online hackathon from the coziness of your home might sound quite relaxing, the participants were offered an intense and highly educational program consisting of online trainings, practical work with mentors, individual hours with experts, and much more. “It was our honor to present to 34 teams from around the world on measuring Social Impact: discussing with them why innovators often opt out of this crucial process, its importance, adapting a methodology for measurement & sharing achievements with the world”, — said Aviv & Omer Hochbaum, the creators of “BeCause” agency and experts in “Change4Future” hackathon.
Lectors Justas Šidlauskas (“Dear Deer”) and Jurgita Ribinskaite-Glatzer („Reach for Change“) also captured the full attention of hackathon’s participants as they spoke about social business management and presentation for investors. Meanwhile, one of the final and the most heart-warming moment of the event was brought by Jurgis Didžiulis (social activist, artist, musician), who not only congratulated hackathon’s participants with a highly motivational speech but also performed a live concert!
Overall, more than 50 experts from all over the world joined forces to share their knowledge for the better future of social business. They were introduced to teams who are working to solve mental health issues, increase accessibility of green energy, make education equally accessible, and many other issues — who knows which innovative idea will be the one to shine in the nearest future? There is no doubt that everyone who joined us during the “Change4Future” hackathon is determined to change the world for the better in their own way.
“Change4Future” says a huge thank you to “ESET”, “PaySera”, “30 — Out Of Office”, “Asus” and “Google for NonProfits” for making this hackathon possible!
Have any questions? Do you want to participate? Contact us! https://www.facebook.com/change4futurenow
https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersON
