About the challenge

Curious about startups? You’re invited to USC’s premier startup launch sprint. In just five days, you’ll team up, build fast, and pitch big for the chance to win $5,000 in prizes

​No idea or team required - everyone’s welcome. 

Origin Weekend, hosted by the Viterbi tiehub (William W. Wang Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub), is USC’s elite 4-day startup launch sprint where students tackle real-world problems and build fundable solutions. Origin Weekend is designed to push you from idea to venture - fast.

​Over four high-intensity days, you’ll team up with builders, innovators, and creatives across USC to ideate, validate, prototype, and pitch.

Who Should Join?

  • Students who are curious about startups and want to try building one
  • Builders with technical or creative skills looking for team-members
  • Aspiring founders ready to practice validating, building, and pitching
  • Anyone who wants to experience what it takes to start a venture in 4 days


Get started

Origin Weekend is an in-person event.
Please RSVP here

Requirements

What to Build:

Slide 1: Problem & Customer
Prompt Letter & Problem statement
Who experiences it?
Why is it painful/important?
Target customer segment(s):

Slide 2: Customer Insights
What research/interviews did you do?
What did you learn about needs, behaviors, or motivations? 
How big is your market and who are your competitors?

Slide 3: Solution Concept/MVP
Describe your solution
How it addresses the problem
Prototype/demo type (sketches, storyboard, mockup, no-code, etc.)

Slide 4: Value Proposition & Differentiation
Why does this solution matter?
How is it different from alternatives? 

Slide 5: Business Model Hypothesis
Who pays? 
Why do they pay? 
How much might they pay? 
Possible model(s): subscription/marketplace/licensing/ads/B2B/B2C

Slide 6: Next Steps
What would you test or validate with more time?
What assumptions/uncertainties remain? 

 

What to Submit:

6-Slide Pitch Deck
Please upload your deck. Submissions will only be accepted if you follow our template outline.

Link to Your Working Project
Please share what you've built with us! If you've created a webpage, demo app, or physical prototype, share it here (URL, GitHub, etc.)

30-60 Second Demo Video
If you have created working software or hardware, feel free to record a short (60s max) video of demonstrating it's functionality. AI generated content will not be accepted. 

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

$5,000 in prizes
1st Place
$3,000 in cash
1 winner

2nd Place
$1,500 in cash
1 winner

3rd Place
$500 in cash
1 winner

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Denver Yu

Denver Yu
Generational Partners

Paul Orlando

Paul Orlando
University of Southern California

Adela Jamal

Adela Jamal
Milemark Capital

Khalil Mayden

Khalil Mayden
Replit

Judging Criteria

  • Problem & Customer Insight
    Is the problem clear, specific, and significant? Did the team identify and understand their target customers? Did they gather any evidence (interviews, research, etc.) to validate the need?
  • Solution & Business Model
    Does the solution clearly address the problem for the target customer? Is the value proposition strong and differentiated from alternatives? Did the team articulate a plausible way this could be sustainable (who pays, how, why)?
  • Execution & Communication
    Did the team create a compelling prototype, demo, or MVP concept? Was the pitch clear, engaging, and well-structured? Did the team show collaboration, creativity, and awareness of what comes next?

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

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