TIK's Tech Finance themed Hackathon

Interested in Finance?  Interested in Tech?  

The finance industry may have been resistant to the rapid, technology-driven changes that have turned other industries upside-down and inside out, but it can’t afford to be that anymore. Every area of financial services is being disrupted by new players in the digital space and this could change the way that we, as customers, live our lives and do business.

Following the success of our last event, we're organising another hack weekend!  Come along to our finance-themed hackathon where you’ll be fed, watered, (hugged, if absolutely necessary), and sheltered from the elements, while you pitch your ideas, attract skilled team-mates, design your product, build a working prototype and present to a select panel of judges.

Our event aims to have the right mix of software developers, designers, data lovers and daring-doers (hustlers fueled with wild passion and sheer determination).  This hackathon will suit those who enjoy designing or building software products, making sense of and manipulating data, and using business savvy.

It will be intense (there might be tears) but it will be fun.  There will be friends to be made and prizes to be won. And who knows, perhaps there will be the birth of the next billion-dollar (sorry, pound) startup to come out of Scotland!  

What sort of ideas should be pitched / fit within the FinTech theme?

Product ideas could cover the following areas plus much more:

• Financial inclusion: products for with the unbanked
• Online rewards: make these relevant and simplify signups
• Financial education/literacy: tool to enhance knowledge and skills
• Personal finance: tools to make financial mgnt easier
• Hyperlocal transactions: helping small businesses and retailers improve digital payments
• Cyber-security
• Blockchain
• Alternative lending
• Plus lots more

What changes would you like to see in the finance industry?  Can you think of processes that could be made more efficient, secure, transparent and inexpensive? These links offer information about how tech is changing financial services and may help you come up with ideas that you’d like to work on or pitch at the event.

1. Disrupting traditional finance: https://mathewsvincent.wordpress.com/2015/11/09/fintech-disrupting-traditional-financial-services/
2. What do the 17 hottest financial tech companies in Britain do? http://uk.businessinsider.com/17-hottest-fintech-companies-in-britain-2015-6
3. More examples of companies that are helping to reshape the finance industry: http://www.fintechinnovators.com/
4. “‘the biggest areas of FinTech investment for top VCs since 2007 are the following: payments, personal finance management, lending, and bitcoin.” http://uk.businessinsider.com/these-2-simple-slides-show-just-how-hot-fintech-is-right-now-2015-5
5. Slides from a recent financial technology conference in Scotland: http://www.slideshare.net/RayBugg/fintech-2015-edinburgh
6. What do the 25 top financial tech companies in the world do? http://raconteur.net/technology/25-fintech-companies-set-for-stardom
7. Disrupting finance industry using blockchain tech: http://www.economistinsights.com/technology-innovation/analysis/money-no-middleman/tab/1
8. Why you should care about blockchain: http://recode.net/2015/07/05/forget-bitcoin-what-is-the-blockchain-and-why-should-you-care/

Why should you as a designer/developer/marketer participate?

To make the world a more efficient, easy and exciting place to navigate.  FinTech could change the way we live our lives and do business.  Other reasons to participate are:

• To use the skills that you don’t get to show off at your current day job
• To meet potential hirers
• To meet more of your peers: meet like-minded friends and professional acquaintances
• To gain startup experience
• To add a new project to your portfolio
• To win a cool prize and recognition for your effort
• To meet your future co-founders for the billion pound startup you may wind up creating
• To surprise yourself at how much you can achieve in 48hours!

The web page for the Feb16 event with details of prizes etc will be published soon.  The schedule will be similar to the previous event: http://infinitekind.com/fintech-hackathon-nov-2015

Email bela@infinitekind.com if you have any questions.