Global Hunger Hack

I spent the entirety of the past weekend at a hackathon for my course — and I can only say that it’s been insanely exhilarating.

Here’s what we did: we were given 3 days to come up with a solution to global hunger — be it food insecurity, malnutrition, or even just preventing food waste. In teams, we were then tasked to turn our solution into a minimum-viable startup, create business plans, and at the end, pitch to a panel of judges.

Our team focused on malnutrition; that is, giving the right nutrients to the disadvantaged. It felt like a daunting task to begin with, but we were up for the challenge. We spent the next 48 hours with amazing people, collaborating on a brand, products, and a strategy — one I’ll perhaps blog about in the near future. We worked through the night — and finally, at the end of it all, our team’s founder, Elle Phillips, presented the pitch.

And we won.

To be specific, we were part of three teams that were awarded. Each of those three get the chance to run their startup through an accelerator program. It’s humbling to win such a fantastic opportunity. (Plus, we’ve hit the news, baby).

All in all, it’s been a great experience — one I’ll never forget. Little did I know what I was going into the week before, and now, I’m officially part of a startup. (Which you can check out here!) It’s because of this, I’m more excited for what my course has got in store for this year.