20 Over 20: One Of The Coolest Hackathons We’ve Heard About

Starting now and culminating with a four day hackathon beginning at noon on Thursday, September 19th, the 20 Over 20 hackathon is looking to solve problems that have been lingering, unsolved for the last twenty years.

The hackathon was jointly created by Dialexa (www.dialexa.com) and Dallas Venture Partners (http://dallasventurepartners.com/). Co-CEO and founder of Dialexa, Mark Haidar told Nibletz: “With all the technology we’ve seen in the internet age over the last 20, years there are still problems out there that can be solved.”

That’s what they intend to do during the hackathon. Dialexa is already solving big problems ranging from surveillance at a Nigerian naval base to GPS tracking to building 3D tooth models from 2D scans. All problems that Haidar’s company has solved with technology.

Do you have a problem that’s been nagging at you that could be solved with technology? You can submit that problem now, here. On the evening of Wednesday September 18th, the 20 Over 20 team will select the 20 Over 20 Problems. From there, the preselected teams will have 18 hours to decide which of the problems they want to solve. If you submitted a problem and your problem is selected, you’ll receive a $20 gift card.

If you choose to participate on one of the teams, you’ll be competing for a $10,000 cash prize, winner takes all. The teams will work from noon on September 19th through 4pm on September 22. Each team will have 20 minutes to present their solution and 10 minutes for Q&A. The winning team will be incorporated free of charge by law firm Strasburger and Price. The prize money will be a $10,000 common stock equity investment for 2% to DVP.

Teams will be judged on four criteria:

How well does the idea solve the problem that was identified?
What level of disruption of innovation does the idea bring to the problem’s market?
Current operational functionality.
Technical feasibility of product roadmap

Stay tuned to Nibletz for more information on 20 Over 20. You can submit a problem and register a team here at the20over20.com

Dallas Area Gets New Angel Network In TECH Fort Worth’s CowTown Angels

TECH Fort Worth, an early stage business incubator and huge start up resource in Fort Worth Texas has just announced the formation of CowTown Angels.

The new angel network consists of angel investors from across the region. Angel investors are those who invest in startups in exchange for stock in the company. It’s a high risk investment for some and in order to be an accredited investor the “angel” typically has a net worth of $1 million dollars outside of their residence.

The Dallas Fort Worth area (DFW) is crawling with millionaires who’ve made money in oil, traditional industry and tech. Angel networks are cropping up across the country with the fundamental goal of injecting startups with the early stage capital they need to bring their products to market. The hope is that these startups will generate a return on the investment and grow to bring new jobs and money into the area.

TECH Fort Worth will take the applications and vet startups ahead of monthly scheduled pitch meetings. From their the angels discuss the opportunities presented and then they can invest in them individually, in groups or together depending on the need and fit of the business.

“We know angel investors in our community, and we meet lots of companies who need startup capital,” said Darlene Ryan, Executive Director of TECH Fort Worth. “By providing an organized and efficient way for them to meet each other and discuss business, we hope to help more of these companies establish strong roots here, grow here and create jobs here.”

“It’s a natural extension of what TECH Fort Worth does for the local technology business community,” said Brent Sorrells, the incubator’s Director of Programs. “In our other programs, we coach and mentor entrepreneurs building companies based on technologies such as medical devices, data and energy, and we help them prepare their presentations to put their best foot forward. We’re excited to be able to offer this new program to connect the angel investors and entrepreneurs. It’s all about creating more jobs and wealth in our community.”

Linkage:

Check out TECH Fort Worth here

Check out CowTown Angels here

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Texas Startup Competition Is Back Fort Worth Business Assistance Center Annonuces

A popular Forth Worth area business plan competition is back for it’s second year. The Fort Worth Business Assistance Center announced today that founding sponsors Capital One Bank, The Alternative Board and Sales Mastery Consultants (Sandler Training) have teamed up to put on the contest which has over $40,000 in cash and business services prizes.

The competition is open to all BAC clients and Tarrant County businesses and startups. After the initial application process (going on now through September 19th), 25 teams will be selected as the competitors in the event. These 25 companies will receive 8 hours in professional training, valued at $1,000. this includes two 3-hour training sessions with valuable information from Accion (Cash Flow), Texas Christian University’s Center for Professional Communication (Effective Presentations), Whitley Penn (The Importance of Financials), and a panel discussion from business leaders on effective marketing and sales. The preliminary round will also include a minimum of two hours of one-on-one business counseling with counselors from the BAC and competition partners the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) for Enterprise Excellence, SCORE of Fort Worth, and Tarrant SBDC.

After the preliminary round the three strongest business plans will be selected as finalists and will advance to the final round. The final competition will be combines with an awards ceremony which will be held November 15th at the Texas Christian University.

The winners of the 2011 competition were Ikerd Consulting, Positive Influences and Cleves Research and their Cluso product.

If you’re in the Fort Worth area (Tarrant County) now’s the time to apply at the link below.

Linkage:

Apply here

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