For the 1st time ever, the Department of Homeland Security, Commerce Department, State Department and the US Chamber of Commerce have come together with the Tech Community in Chicago in order to develop API's which will allow entrepreneurs to develop software solutions in order to simplify the importing/exporting process. These API solutions will allow entrepreneurs such as those using Etsy/E-bay/Indiegogo to get their products across the border and buyers to receive their purchases much more quickly.

Eligibility

All participants must be a citizen or legal resident at the time of their participation and submission of their eligible solution.

All participants must form a team either prior to the event or at the event itself

All participants teams must have their own computer/laptop

Note:

All project presentations must be uploaded to the Devport Cross Border Hackathon Portal/Website in order to be considered for judging as part of a team’s submission. North of 41 reserves the right to verify eligibility and to adjudicate any dispute at any time. If you are entering as part of a company or on behalf of your employer, these rules are binding on you individually, and / or your employer. If you are acting within the scope of your employment, as an employee, contractor, or agent of another party, you warrant that such party has full knowledge of your actions and has consented thereto, including your potential receipt of a prize. You further warrant that your actions do not violate your employer’s or company’s policies and procedures. Only works created between the start time and end time of each entrant’s selected host city are eligible for prizes.

Requirements

All submissions must be uploaded to the Devpost Cross-Border Hackathon portal in order to be judged and for consideration of the prizes. More than one submission per person/team is not permitted.

• For a submission to be eligible, the submission must be filed electronically to the Cross Border Hackathon, by the posted end time;

• Each entrant/participant listed on a submission must have an RSVP with the selected city;

• It is highly recommended that all submissions include a demonstration or screen shots of the app / or solution;

• Submissions must be entirely the original work of the entrant(s) - whether it is an individual or team;

• Submissions must not contain any advertisement or solicitation;

• Submissions must not contain anything that is or may be construed as: (i) threatening, harassing, degrading or hateful; (ii) defamatory; (iii) fraudulent or tortious; (iv) obscene, indecent or otherwise objectionable; or (v) protected by copyright, trademark or other proprietary right without the express prior consent of the owner of such right;

• Submissions must not contain any material that would give rise to criminal or civil liability or that encourages conduct that constitutes a criminal offense; and

• Submissions must otherwise comply in all respects with these Rules and the Policies.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$2,500 in prizes
Grand Prize
1 winner

1 Grand Prize winning team will receive a cheque in the amount of $2500.00

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

How to enter

All entrants must be registered in either Chicago or Toronto.

Entrants may only be registered with one city and can only have one submission. Each entrant/participant must have RSVP’d prior to the event.  You will receive a confirmation email that you have registered for the event.  We ask that if you do register, that you actually show up in order for us to have a proper head count for food etc. over the weekend.

At the hackathon, you team will be required to set up an account on Devpost for your project so that it can be uploaded to the Devpost Cross-Border Hackathon portal in order to be judged and for consideration of the prizes.

More than one submission per person/team is not permitted.

Note: Participants must comply in all respects with these Rules and the Policies. North of 41 and their representatives will have no responsibility for, and will have the right to refuse at its sole and absolute discretion, any entries that have been altered, tampered with, misdirected, incomplete, non-conforming, corrupt, lost, late, or ineligible, whether due to Internet or e-mail server failure or otherwise. Proof of transmission of an submission shall not constitute proof of receipt. It is each entrant’s responsibility to keep North of 41 and their representatives informed of any changes to entrant’s contact or other information during the hackathon.

Judges

Dan Ujczo

Dan Ujczo
Dickinson Wright

Judging Criteria

  • Ability To Clearly Articulate What Your App Does (33%)
    You must explain in a clear and concise manner: • What does your app do? • What makes it unique? • What is your target market? • Who is your customer? • What is your roll-out strategy?
  • Originality Of Idea (33%)
    Have you taken the proper steps to ensure your idea is original? Think of Customer Validation as ‘evidence’ to back up the core structure of your Business Model.The more unique your concept, the more your project will be utilized by end users.
  • Technically Challenging Implementation (33%)
    The nitty gritty: what has your team been able to actually build over the weekend? Getting as far as possible in the development of your product/prototype helps give Judges a tangible vision of what the final product could be.

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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