Tag Archives: Ultrahack

How to build a successful hackathon team

Do you want to build a successful hackathon team? Meet five Ultrahack teams and learn how it’s done! Hackathons are often considered as a playground for developers, but even the most brilliant execution is not enough: the concept and how you validate your solution are equally important. And without a proper pitch, the judges and investors might not to see the …

Read More »

The “death month” of Helsinki is boon for startups

November weekend in Helsinki for most of us doesn’t sound like the time of our lives – it’s dark, cold and windy in the seaside city. To make matters worse, the Finnish word for November, Marraskuu, by it’s etymological meaning means the month of death, marras origin from the same word family as Latins mors and French’s mort, death – …

Read More »

Personal data in the spotlight at Ultrahack MyData hackathon

Two weeks ago in the basement of Helsinki’s historic Kulttuuritalo (designed by Alvar Aalto and opened in 1958) a packed crowd took part in the Ultrahack MyData Hackathon kickoff, marking the start of the 48 hour intensive effort. Around eighty selected hackers from more than twenty teams gathered. A handful had traveled to Helsinki from Estonia, Norway, Netherlands, Austria, Germany …

Read More »

Highlights from a hot tech week in Helsinki

Helsinki in the beginning of June was quite literally the hot-bed of start-up and investment activity in the Nordics. The beautiful 25°C weather complemented the hot new innovative solutions on display. Several events created the perfect melting-pot with which to showcase Finnish and Nordic talent to a wider audience of international visitors. Several key events took place during the week …

Read More »

Ultrahack organizes a hackathon of 1 million euros

Ultrahack 2016, which launched at the beginning of June, invites participants to compete for more than 1 million euro investments plus other significant prizes. The investments will be awarded by Nestholma in cooperation with Ultrahack, surpassing previous investments in hackathons in Finland. The best teams have also an opportunity to meet FiBAN (Finnish Business Angels Network) investors after the finals. …

Read More »

Turning garbage into good

In May 2015, Adrien Vetterli came up with an idea sparked by a recently viral story from the Netherlands where a man decided to clean trash along a polluted waterway bit by bit, every day on his way to work. Collecting garbage from natural areas wasn’t anything new to him as he had participated in environmental reporting efforts in his …

Read More »

3 interesting ideas from Ultrahack 2015

NordicStartupBits.com

Ultrahack took place from 6- 8th November in Helsinki in anticipation of the massive startup conference Slush, and is one of the biggest hackathons in Europe. Hackers from around Europe (and even some from the US) developed their ideas over one long weekend, before presenting them to investors in hopes of getting them off the ground, or in some cases, …

Read More »

Routes solves complex travel planning

The Norwegian startup Routes uses user-generated routes to solve the problem of complex travel planning. We met Routes at Oslo Innovation Week, where the founders pitched to investors and tried to grow their audience at the Afterwork Startup event at the newly relaunched co-working space MESH. “We started out with testing the concept on an event in Oslo, a popular …

Read More »

5 reasons to visit Ultrahack 2016

NordicStartupBits.com

Running from the airport to the bus, trying to find my way over to a place called Bruno, using Google maps in desperation trying to find to this place. Finally arriving, sweaty, tired and confused — But I made it. I made it to Ultrahack 2015. Let me give you 5 good reasons to go to Helsinki in November. 1.  First of …

Read More »

Cooperative urban planning platform Butterfly Effect takes home grand prize at Ultrahack

The grand prize at Ultrahack 2015 went to the Butterfly Effect Project, who participated in the Civic Tech Track sponsored by Forum Virium. The project aims to enhance the way cities handle urban planning, by creating a platform for citizen involvement. The team, led by Natalia Remee, an architect by training from Northern Mexico, came from diverse backgrounds and nationalities:  …

Read More »

In Helsinki, developers volunteer for startups

Wouldn’t it be great to have skilled developers volunteering to hack on your startup? Sounds like a dream? It might. but that’s exactly what’s going on at Ultrahack this weekend. Almost 400 developers are gathered in Helsinki for Ultrahack, part of Slush Hacks, to hack this weekend. Most of them have their on their startups, but some extraordinary people are …

Read More »

How the auto industry is being disrupted

Mobile phones have changed the way people experience the world. People daily use digital interfaces, as software has become  integrated into the products we use in our lives and work. By extension, people now have certain expectations for a UI (user interface), where the interaction between humans and machines occurs. But how does this affect the traditional industries? Olli Laiho …

Read More »

Food startups to watch

In 2014, Fortune Magazine  broke down how hot the food industry is among venture capitalists. In in 2013 alone, VCs had allocated $2.8 billion into food-related startups. Various factors, including sustainability, health, and digitalization, influence the food industry, making it increasingly diversified and interesting. Fascinating concepts and services are evolving around food. EntoCube, PlateCulture and EpicFoods are among the startups …

Read More »

6 Reasons to Join Slush Ultrahack 2015

Ultrahack is part of Europe’s biggest hackathon leading up to the annual Slush conference. You can join with your pre-existing software or start from scratch during the online pre-game period lasting until October 30th or join the 48 hour hackathon taking place in Helsinki on November 6-8. Here are six reasons to join Ultrahack: Ultrahack has top notch industry players to provide never-before-published …

Read More »

Announcing: Recruiting at Slush 2015

Slush 2015 will, for the first time ever, feature a Recruiting Area. The focus is to eventually make recruiting an as important part of the event for startups as funding and media coverage are today. The ability to build and grow the team is crucial for flourishing the next generation of world-conquering companies. This year’s Slush will include an unprecedented …

Read More »

Biohacker’s Recipe for Kick-Ass Coffee

In preparation for Slush x Ultrahack on the 6th through 8th of November, we talk with author, CEO, and Biohacker Teemu Arina. This article was originally posted on HYBE. He explains to Hybe: “Biohacking is the art and science of optimising your health and performance with the help of technological and biological tools.” “Food to me is a form of …

Read More »

Posti challenges you to create an e-commerce solution at Ultrahack

In preparation for Slush x Ultrahack on the 6th through 8th of November, Mikko Järvilehto, Ultrahack Executive Producer and CEO of Futuretournaments, interviews a series developers and partners for different challenge tracks.  Today, we talk with Jaakko Kaidesoja of the Finnish Postal Service, Posti. By Mikko Järvilehto & Niilo Korkiakoski Has your company partnered with other hackathons in the past …

Read More »

A.I. powered shop clerks are taking over

In preparation for Slush x Ultrahack on the 6th through 8th of November, Mikko Järvilehto, Ultrahack Executive Producer and CEO of Futuretournaments, interviews a series developers and partners for different challenge tracks.  Today, he talks with Teemu Kinos, inventor of SOSHO. By Mikko Järvilehto & Niilo Korkiakoski AI powered shop clerks are taking over.  So thinks Teemu Kinos, the inventor …

Read More »

Returning to Slush: Game Analytics, Gizlo, Plumbr & Usetrace

Fall has arrived and Slush 2015 is approaching with over 500 startups already registered to the event. As well as promising newcomers, several young ventures are back after attending Slush in previous years. Next up are fours startups that are making their return to Slush during November 11-12th. Meet Game Analytics, Gizlo, Plumbr and Usetrace — four startups that deserve a …

Read More »

Peter Green brings you the vibe of all Nordic startup events at once!

Last week he visited us at the Founders House in Copenhagen to talk about Ultrahack, part of SlushHacks, the biggest European hackathon happening in Helsinki this November. In addition, he told us about an even bigger startup event called Slush.   “Each time I travel to different (Nordic) cities, I try to visit few co-working spaces. This time I was in …

Read More »