About the challenge

The 8th Annual NSBEHacks Challenge:

This year, NSBEHacks invites participants to step into the world of startups, innovation, and venture creation. With the theme “Hack Ventures,” we challenge students to think beyond ideas and focus on building scalable solutions that can grow, attract investment, and create real-world impact.

Participants are encouraged to approach their projects through an entrepreneurial lens — identifying meaningful market opportunities, designing viable business models, and developing solutions with long-term potential.

Contestants do not need prior startup experience; rather, they should demonstrate how their ideas could evolve into sustainable ventures capable of reaching users, generating value, and driving innovation beyond the hackathon stage.

Schedule

February 21st

• Product-Market Fit
  Evaluates alignment between the solution and a defined market need. Assesses problem clarity, target user understanding, competitive awareness, and whether the solution solves a real pain point customers would adopt or pay for.
• Design and Technical Execution
  Assesses how effectively technology supports the idea. Judges technical soundness, tool/framework use, AI/data integration, prototype functionality, and whether design decisions reflect strong technical reasoning and user-centered principles.
• Societal Impact and Inclusivity
  Measures broader impact beyond profit. Evaluates whether the solution addresses societal challenges or expands access, equity, or opportunity, with intentional inclusion and clearly defined beneficiaries embedded in the core design.
• Feasibility and Scalability
  Evaluates real-world viability. Assesses technical, operational, and market feasibility, business model realism, and whether the solution shows a credible path to development, adoption, and scalable growth.
• Presentation and Investment Readiness
  Assesses pitch clarity, structure, and persuasiveness. Judges communication of problem, solution, and market, presentation delivery, demo strength, and the team’s readiness to secure investment or advance development.