Tariq Bokhari, Executive Director of the Carolina Fintech Hub and Charlotte City-Councilman, announcing the final results of the CFH Fall Hackathon during the Southeast Fintech Venture Conference.
The technology industry has never followed the rules, so why would they take a traditional approach when it comes to finding qualified candidates? Instead of filtering through thousands of resumes from recent college graduates, fintech and insurtech industry leaders–Bank of America, Wells Fargo, EY, Ally, Cognizant, Aflac, AIG, and BB&T–are following a different roadmap
Ever heard of a hackathon?
This fall, Carolina Fintech Hub teamed up with seven of the top universities in North Carolina–Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Charlotte, Davidson, Wake Forest, App State, and NC State–to put their top business and technology students through the ultimate interview process. Take a problem, find a team, identify a solution, build a product, and pitch your proposal to a panel of industry experts. Not challenging enough for you? Well, you’ve only got 48 hours, and that’s just the first round. Oh, and did we mention the winner gets $10,000?
Over 150 students applied to present their proposal, fourteen teams made it to the second round, and only three teams made the finals. From there, the finalists condensed their submission to three minutes and presented on stage at the Southeast Fintech Ventures Conference, the largest gathering of venture capitalists in North Carolina.
Curious what a submission looks like? You can see the finals for yourself here. Congratulations to the team “WADS” from UNC-Charlotte for grabbing first place!
Not only did the champion team walk away with $10,000, but they’ve decided to move forward with their idea and pursue it as a business venture. The remaining finalists have also begun conversations with hackathon sponsor companies to be placed into internships and full-time opportunities. The message seems to be clear, college students looking for a pathway into fintech have their eye on the Carolina Fintech Hub Hackathon.
The champion team “WADS” from UNC-Charlotte accepting their first place prizes.
If you’re a college student who wants to participate in future hackathon events, make sure to follow Carolina Fintech Hub on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, or go to www.carolinafintechhub.org and sign up for our newsletter. We offer a hackathon each spring and fall, so look out for new opportunities starting in January!
