On August 28th, 2015, Design Factory Korea hosted its very first Startup Weekend — a 54-hour entrepreneurship program bringing together developers, designers, and business planners to experience the full journey from idea to startup in a single weekend. Held under the theme of "Health and Lifestyle Management," Startup Weekend Incheon 2015 marked an exciting new chapter for DFK as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.

The event was co-organized with Allianz Life Korea, with global sponsors IBM Korea and Philips Korea on board. Participants had the chance to pitch their ideas, form teams, build prototypes, and present their work to a panel of seasoned judges — all within 48 hours.

54 Hours to Build a Startup

Startup Weekend is a globally recognized entrepreneurship program that has been held in over 726 cities worldwide, with more than 1,500 events and over 120,000 entrepreneurs to its name. This edition was the 18th to be held in Korea — and the first ever to take place at Design Factory Korea.

The weekend unfolded in five stages: idea pitching, selection of top ideas and team formation, team development, team presentations, and judging and awards. Throughout the weekend, 35 passionate participants powered through on 339 bottles of water, 218 cups of drip coffee, and over 900 snacks — setting a new record for coffee consumption at a Startup Weekend event.

Judges and Prizes

A distinguished panel of judges presided over the final presentations:

• Joss Lauwerrier — Chief Operating Officer, Allianz Life Korea
• Dominique Oh — President, Philips Korea
• Jeffrey Allenroda — President, IBM Korea
• Jung Se-joo — CEO, Noom

The stakes were high: IBM and Philips sponsored a prize pool of up to $10,000 USD for the winning team, along with an invitation to attend one of the largest startup conferences in the United States. Allianz offered the winning team an opportunity to pitch their idea at the Allianz Digital Accelerator (www.digital-accelerator.com), the company's internal accelerator program.

A Weekend to Remember

The atmosphere at DFK over the three days was nothing short of electric. Forward-thinking concepts and ideas centered around predictive analytics and mobile applications were shared, discussed, and developed at an impressive pace. As one of the organizers put it, the energy at Design Factory Korea was truly remarkable.

This was just the beginning. Startup Weekend Incheon 2015 was DFK's first event of its kind — but it certainly won't be the last. DFK looks forward to bringing more exciting events, talks, and programs to the community in the future.

DFK would like to congratulate the winning team and extend its heartfelt thanks to all participants, sponsors, judges, and everyone who made Startup Weekend Incheon 2015 such an unforgettable experience. Here's to building the next big thing — 48 hours at a time.