Cleveland

September 20-22, 2019

StartMart

Events / Cleveland 2019

Overview

Have you ever wanted to be a part of the solution for issues in your community? Have you ever had an idea to solve those issues?

GiveBackHack is your next step – up to $7,500 (brought to us by the Cleveland Foundation) will be awarded to the top ideas coming out of the event! Attend to partner up with the community and find the resources to make ideas into a reality.

Friday, passionate community members (that’s you!) pitch innovative ideas to solve the most pressing social issues in Cleveland. Saturday, participants form teams and build upon ideas for a sustainable, technology-based business. Sunday night, teams will pitch to a panel of judges for the opportunity to earn funding, mentorship and other resources to move forward with their solution.

Your ticket for the weekend includes:

  • Meals all weekend
  • GiveBackHack t-shirt
  • Surprises and swag from our sponsors and community partners
  • Mentorship by local social entrepreneurs, non-profit leaders, venture capitalists, tech execs and more
  • An opportunity to change your community for the better.

Stay in touch!

Moving forward, we at GiveBackHack want to help teams succeed. If you were on a GiveBackHack Cleveland 2019 team and need help, or you or someone you know want to help, send an email to success@givebackhack.com.

Check out GiveBackHack Cleveland 2019 Overview to see how it went!

Also check this article on  GiveBackHack Cleveland 2019 Winner Spotlight: Project ADAM


Schedule

Friday - September 20

5:00pm
Doors Open
5:30pm
Dinner & networking (don't miss this!)
6:00pm
Friday night begins! We'll cover everything you need to know, let you pitch, vote on top ideas & form teams for the weekend
10:30pm
Wrap up!
10:45pm
Facilities close

Saturday - September 21

9:00am
Doors open & breakfast to start the day!
11:00am
Morning business/mentors arrive
12:45pm
Community updates - circle up and discuss progress
1:00pm
Lunch
3:00pm
Afternoon Mentors arrive
6:00pm
Dinner
10:30pm
Wrap up!
10:45pm
Facilities close

Sunday September 22

9:00am
Doors open + breakfast to start the day
11:00am
Business/mentors arrive + community updates
12:00pm
Lunch
1:00pm
Pitch practice and presentation tech check
4:00pm
Dinner
5:00pm
Final Presentations Begin
8:00pm
Judging and awards
8:30pm
Wrap up and celebrate
8:45pm
Facilities close

Judges

Bob Sopko

Director of Launchnet, Case Western Reserve University

Bob Sopko is Director of Case Western Reserve University Launchnet where he guides students and alumni to analyze and bring their business ideas to market. He joined CWRU 15 years ago to lead Strategic Technology Partnerships, working with Dell, Apple, Google, AT&T, etc. He is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Jumpstart and the Youngstown Business Incubator.  Bob also has assisted the top level ... Read More »

Ed Buchholz

Founder and CEO, ExpenseBot

Ed is founder of three venture-backed software companies and has more than nineteen years startup experience with several exits. He is deeply passionate about enabling class mobility through entrepreneurship and believes in empowering through equity, inclusion, & transparency. Ed founded and leads StartInCLE, an award-winning community organization and economic development initiative. StartInCLE ... Read More »

Mai Moore

Founder and Executive Director, EYEJ: Empowering Youth, Exploring Justice

Mai Moore is the Founder and Executive Director of non-profit: EYEJ: Empowering Youth, Exploring Justice (eyej.org) established in 2013. Mai also has 20-years’ experience in marketing specifically in the tech industry helping companies such as Travelzoo Inc. and United Online directly go public. Mai has a deep passion for empowering people, bridging worlds together and developing start-ups.

Douglas Craver

Director of Operations, Assurant Labs

Hyper-focus on Hiring Right, Managing Risk, and Reducing Waste for the startups/ESVs Doug works in, coaches, advises and invests in. 2 tech exits, one in 2014 and the other in 2016 + too many failures to list. Working on a three-peat. Creating value by sharing his knowledge and building ventures with smart people. International experience working with founders and their startups from India to South ... Read More »

Mentors

Evelyn Burnett

Co-Founder & Partner at ThirdSpace Action Lab

Evelyn Burnett is a co-founder and partner of the ThirdSpace Action Lab and Third Space Café. Prior to this exciting venture, Evelyn served as Vice President, Economic Opportunity at Cleveland Neighborhood Progress an intermediary whose mission is to foster communities of choice and opportunity throughout Cleveland. Prior to joining CNP, Evelyn served as Associate Director for Program Strategies with ... Read More »

Don Firca

Patent Attorney, Cooper Legal Group

Don Firca is a seasoned patent attorney with significant experience handling patent preparation and prosecution in the electrical, computer, chemical, and software related arts. Don also has experience with licensing, strategic IP counseling, IP related contract matters, and opinion work. Don received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 2006 and his Bachelor of Science degree ... Read More »

Beth Callam Software Developer, CoverMyMeds at GiveBackHack

Beth Callam

Software Developer, CoverMyMeds

Beth is a software developer with a background in non-profit work. At CoverMyMeds, she is focused on bringing value to pharmacists’ workflows and empowering patients to live healthier lives. She also has experience as a hackathon attendee and worked as an engineer for a project born out of GiveBackHack Columbus.

Joshua Kruszynski

Product Designer, Complion

Joshua Kruszynski does product work for Complion. He is a board member for Rust Belt Riders and an organizer for Design Breakfast.

Dave Shah

Software Engineer, Product Builder & Human High-Five Dispenser, CoverMyMeds

Dave is a software engineer trying to make the world a better place with every push to production. He's served in a number of technical and leadership roles and gravitates towards test-driven development, continuous improvement, and has way too much fun learning & sharing new ways to make himself and his teammates better developers and better leaders. Currently Building Products in Ruby on ... Read More »

Andrew Sobotka

Director of Technology, JAC Creative

Andrew is the creative problem solver and tech support manager of the group at JAC Creative. He's worked with countless systems and web languages as he continues to stay up-to-date. With his clever wit and mega-computer brain, he can find a solution to any marketing, visual, or programming need.

Victoria Avi

Program Manager, CWRU LaunchNET, Case Western Reserve University

Victoria Avi is a transplant from Azerbaijan. Her family moved to the US in ‘97. Cleveland is her new and forever home. She’s had the honor and the pleasure to work with and to learn from some of the best sustainability pros in Cleveland and the nation. Currently, Victoria is managing Case Western Reserve's LaunchNET. She previously managed the Sustainable Business Center at CSU and teaching MBAs ... Read More »

Pauly Suchy

Business Director, BioflightVR

Pauly is a sustainability and purpose-driven founder and cheerleader to entrepreneurs in Ohio, NYC, and Latin America. He is currently pioneering a VR poverty simulation with his team at BioflightVR, working with two non-profits called Mobility and Flux Makerspace and building a blockchain application called truthbit. He also co-organizers the Cleveland VR Meetup, serves on the startup advisory node ... Read More »

Jillian Nichols

Engineer at Spotify

Jillian is a Cleveland area native and a recent “boomerang” after having lived in NYC for nearly a decade. While in NYC, she began working as an engineer for Spotify, and continues to do so remotely from the Cleveland area today. At Spotify, Jillian primarily focuses on maintaining a design system, which enables her peers to ship a cohesive user experience with speed and confidence.

Megan Butcher

Director, Fowler Center

Megan Buchter is the Director of the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. She helps in advancing the strategic priorities of the Fowler Center in the areas of research, education, and applied work with local, national, and global companies. Megan is passionate about education and helping students to see themselves ... Read More »

Evan Anger

Lead Application Programmer, Progressive Insurance

Evan is a mobile application progammer and the iOS application owner at Progressive Insurance. He helped bring Progressive's mobile app into existence and has continued work on it since. Due to the wide varities of systems the Progressive mobile app utilizes, Evan is very well rounded in many technologies from back-end to front-end.


Speakers

Michael Goldberg

Associate Professor, Department of Design and Innovation, Case Western Reserve University

Michael Goldberg is an experienced venture capitalist and international business leader whose teaching is focused on the fields of entrepreneurship and early stage finance. Goldberg is an Associate Professor of Design and Innovation at the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University. Goldberg created a massive open online course (MOOC) called Beyond Silicon Valley: Growing Entrepreneurship ... Read More »

Event Sponsors


Organizers

Feras Deiratany is an Application Programmer at Progressive Insurance in Cleveland, with a Computer Science and Engineering degree from The Ohio State University. He is a member of the Cleveland Hub of the Global Shapers community, an international initiative of the World Economic Forum. His first participation in GiveBackHack sparked his interest in the event when he saw the impact it created within ... Read More »

Daoning Zhou's passion is in elevating businesses through aligning the business's strategy, processes, and people. He believes that as a tool, business and innovation can be harnessed to create a better world. He has three principles to social innovation: start with why; lead with people; and support with data.

Peter Grapentien is an iOS and Android developer for Progressive Insurance. Before picking up coding as a career, he taught English as a Second Language at Kent State and worked for various nonprofits including the now deceased Flyover Country Review magazine. As a former attendee of GiveBackHack in 2017, Pete’s excited to contribute to this year’s GBH and hopefully make it the best one yet.

Joshua Su takes social good seriously, as that is his motivation in everything that he does. Coming from Wesleyan University, where he launched a non-profit for diversity and inclusion in tech and entrepreneurship, he balances the intricacies of data, health, and innovation passionately. Joshua has a background in non-profit finance, data analytics, and health. In his downtime, you might see him playing ... Read More »

Anastasia Rokisky is a Business Systems Analyst at The Riverside Company with an education in biochemistry and linguistics. She is a member of the World Economic Forum's community of Global Shapers here in Cleveland and a research assistant for TimeZero Enterprises (a local consultancy which views enterprises as "emerging flourishing ecosystems.") She's a systems-thinker that subscribes to the notion ... Read More »

In the 6-7 years of his professional career, Sid has been involved with two start-ups, a traditional manufacturing business, a tech-based MNC, and a non-profit. By observing and absorbing different dynamics in the workforce, he aims to fulfill any project through immense versatility.

Alex is a Financial Analyst at Cardinal Health.  Outside of her day job, you can find her running or biking in the Cleveland Metroparks or teaching exercise classes in the community.  Alex’s passion for social impact led her to help organize as well as participate in GiveBackHack in Columbus in 2018, and she is excited to help organize GiveBackHack in Cleveland this year!

Michael is an iOS Developer at Sherwin-Williams. He is passionate about making technology more accessible to both those who consume as well as build it. Outside of work, Michael participates in and helps organize various tech meetups in the Cleveland area.

Robert is a Mobile Developer at Progressive Insurance. Outside of work, Robert finds joy producing music or traveling to new places. Robert first participated in GiveBackHack Cleveland 2017, returned for 2018, and now helping organize GiveBackHack Cleveland this year!


Pre-submitted Ideas

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