This past weekend was crazy.

I’ve run various hackathons and events — from Startup Weekends to hardware design competitions — throughout the last 4 years. But putting together a quality weekend-long competition, completely online, seemed nearly impossible.

I was doubtful that there would be any real teamwork or that people would be able to work together despite the time differences.

Calm before the storm — preparing for the hackathon

2 weeks prior to the kickoff — through some help from organizations including Techstars — we pinpointed potential technological challenges and redesigned the competition to create an innovative and inclusive online atmosphere.

We trained ourselves to learn the ins and outs of tools including Zoom and Discord, and I have to admit as an engineer — this was very much a humbling experience.

Challenging my preconceptions on remote work and online hackathons

Being “virtual” did not stop hustlers from building or teams from bonding. In fact, being online brought major perks like the opportunity of working real-time with innovators living in completely different parts of the world.

Let’s dive deep into what went down this weekend.

Friday: Kickoff & Team Formation

Just registered. Looking for a great weekend!

My friend from Saudi Arabia messaged me just a couple of hours before kickoff on Friday. I was stoked with the reality that we were about to have a global movement where entrepreneurs, designers, and engineers all over the world would get together to turn mere ideas into tangible businesses.

The weekend started with an inspirational talk from our principal sponsor Maersk, one of the largest shipping companies in the world headquartered in Denmark.

Then we covered some housekeeping rules and went straight into idea pitches. We had 15 participants give 1 minute elevator pitches, and we created an environment through Google Hangouts where everyone could freely network and learn more about the ideas pitched. We were so proud of the inclusiveness participants had shown in the team formation process.

6 teams were finalized by the end of Friday, and the groups buckled down right away to start working on their ideas.

Some teams took longer to form, but we assured them throughout the night that as long as they continued reaching out and waiting for new members to join the Discord Channel — the dream team would be built.

Saturday: Work, Work, Work!

This day was for teams to grind out their business model, dive deep into market research, and consult one-on-one with entrepreneurs, investors, and other experts as mentors. The organizing team had also set up several workshops for teams to take advantage of.

The Mentors:

• Lorenzo Kim — expert in the impact scene, runs an accelerator and an investment fund for social impact projects.
• Seungwoo Hong — tech wiz, blockchain developer, full stack and back and forth.
• Monica Kang — teaching the world to be creative again. Amazing speaker and pitch mentor, helping your business tell its story.
• Eunse Lee — MD of Techstars Korea, bringing the global startup community to Korea.
• Francisco Betancourt — business management expert of North East Asia, knows the ins-and-outs of the logistics and distribution scene.
• Haewon Rah— network engagement manager for Techstars Korea, experienced in social impact and VC.
• Sabrina Weymiens & Emelie Stark — shedding the light on corporate innovation, logistics, distribution and corporate support for startups.
• Amarit Charoenphan — THE connector for Asia. Brains behind Hubba Thailand and Techsauce.

This is when teams really refined their ideas. Some made major pivots, and others had a chance to narrow down their solutions to what deemed feasible.

I had been concerned that the challenge with time differences across members of a team would be a mountain to climb. There were teams that were comprised of members in three different continents, and this obstacle initially brought up my question on whether it was an effective idea to extend the event invitation to people outside South Korea.

To my surprise, this problem was solved organically on Saturday. Teams started using tools like Doodle Poll to schedule meetings and took advantage of other online resources to overcome any language and cultural barriers. Some participants even pointed out that working online has, in fact, helped them work more efficiently.

Sunday: Final Pitches!

This was the day everyone had been waiting for. 6 teams each gave a 5-minute pitch with another 5 minutes for any questions from judges.

We had three winners — best teamwork, most creative, and best post COVID-19 solution. To make the competition a bit feisty, we decided to award in-kind prizes including free consulting sessions with Maersk that would help the winning teams move forward with their ideas.

Best Teamwork — Insurevite: Enabling insurance customer to connect and transact with their insurers via messaging apps. Representative: David Yeng.

Best Creativity — Humanly: Connecting unemployed youth with early retired elders to both create side income. Representative: Judy Lim.

Best Post COVID-19 Solution — Follow Chef: building a platform to connect celebrity chefs (including famous YouTubers) and the food market. Representative: Olivia Kim.

We wrapped up the event with some networking time, and the first Startup Weekend Seoul — Remote Edition had ended successfully.

What We Could Do Better Next Time

For the most part, participants enjoyed the event and appreciated the chance to work with people online. But creating an innovative atmosphere where everyone is fully engaged is really tough to do through conference calls. Some people have brought up the idea of having a set schedule for networking sessions and ice breakers, and we definitely want to include that for our next Startup Weekend.

28 Participants. 10 Nationalities. 15 Ideas. 6 Teams. 3 Awards.

We’re happy with the participant turnout and the quality of the pitches, but what we’re really proud of is that we were able to provide life-changing entrepreneurial opportunities to people even in the midst of a global pandemic.

Startup Weekends have impacted people’s lives in several different ways. For many, the hackathon is an opportunity to learn something new and meet like-minded people. For some, it’s a major life turning point for an entrepreneurial journey. We can’t be sure how this Startup Weekend has influenced and will impact the participants’ lives, but I’m inspired to see that even COVID-19 couldn’t stop entrepreneurs from building this weekend.

I — along with participants, mentors, judges, and the rest of the organizing team — had so much fun this weekend. Whether it’s virtual again or not, I can’t wait for the next Startup Weekend Seoul :)

To stay connected to Seoul’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, join Seoul Startups community or follow Startup Weekend Seoul’s Facebook page.