Today on January 25, 2025, the University of Waterloo will be hosting a unique 24-hour hackathon blending business innovation with technological development. The event was organized by members of the Waterloo Google Developer Student Club (GDSC) and has been months in the making. Danny Yang, Gen Ichihashi, and Nathan Chung are the visionaries behind the hackathon, and they were willing to share the story behind the event’s creation, challenges, and vision with Imprint.

Their journey began nearly a year ago when Chung proposed a long-term project which involved teams of students working on different projects to transform their ideas into marketable products. As discussions evolved, the team decided to shift gears toward a hackathon. This pivot wasn’t just about hosting another tech competition—it aimed to combine business acumen with technological expertise, reflecting an emerging trend in the industry that the organizers were seeing in the computer science field. “There’s going to be less demand for traditional programming developers in the future,” Yang explained. “Instead, we’re seeing a rise in roles that merge development skills with AI knowledge and business understanding. Our hackathon reflects that shift.”

Planning the hackathon was no small feat. From securing funding to logistics, the team faced numerous hurdles. “Finding a location, securing sponsors, and organizing an event of this scale was a big challenge,” Ichihashi admitted. The team learned quickly, leaning on connections, mentorship, and countless hours of research. Sponsors were a critical component of the event’s success, but getting them was difficult considering it was the hackathon’s first iteration and companies were unsure about its… “We reached out to over 2,300 potential sponsors,” Ichihashi shared. “In the end, our connections were key. Companies like Sun Life, AWS, Google, Wealthsimple, and others provided the financial and material support we needed.”

Yet despite these sponsorships, the team still faced challenges from limited funding. Thus, they often had to find creative ways to save costs. When printing the shirts that they would be handing out at the hackathon, they ordered plain black T-shirts themselves and printed the logo onto “400 T-shirts ourselves,” Yang laughed, recalling the experience. “It was time-consuming, [and only saved about a dollar per shirt], but [it was] a great bonding activity for the team.”

The unique hackathon diverges from traditional formats by integrating elements of both hackathons and case competitions. Organizers drew inspiration from both, shaping an event tailored to students passionate about entrepreneurship and innovation. The uniqueness of the event was undoubtedly a factor in the large number of applications that poured in, with over 800 students vying for 300 participant spots. “Due to funding restraints, we had to limit attendance, but we prioritized quality over quantity,” Yang explained. Unlike some hackathons, this event exclusively targets undergraduate students, ensuring that projects align with their needs and capabilities.

The algorithm used to select participants, named Gravel, was made by a group of students at MIT and uses statistics to determine the students best suited for the hackathon. “[Basically, the algorithm will] compare the previous applicant they saw with the next applicant and they just say which one they like better, and then we iterate that through multiple members,…and after we filter that.” The rubric and criteria that the team used to determine this “fit” included applicants’ GitHub, Linkedin, as well as their answers to three creative-type questions.

The judging process for the hackathon itself also breaks the traditional format, as it is designed to simulate the experience of launching a startup. “Our software team has developed a custom stock simulator application from scratch,” says Yang. “This app features a leaderboard and interactive graphs showing the virtual “funding” each project secures. During judging, every project will function as a startup company, and the judges will act as venture capitalists.” On judging day, participants will pitch their projects to the judges, who assess the ideas based on potential, creativity, and execution. Afterwards, these judges will be able to allocate portions of their “funds” to the projects they believe have the most promise. The stock simulator tracks these allocations, and the project with the highest amount of “investment” at the end wins.

In addition to the general track for judging, there will be sponsored tracks and recreational tracks to cater to participants with different goals. Whether participants are here to compete seriously or just have fun, this judging system creates an exciting, startup-like environment that fosters engagement and innovation.

The hackathon will bring together 300 participants, 70 organizers, and multiple industry partners for a high-energy event. Participants will tackle challenges designed to bridge business and tech, competing for cash prizes and professional recognition. The team does express the hope that the hackathon will become an annual tradition. “We’re laying the groundwork for something bigger,” Ichihashi said. “If this event succeeds, we’ll have a solid reputation to build on in the years to come.”