Participants of the business hackathon had less than 48 hours to develop a of digital services solution. Experts from the Gorenje Group, Microsoft Slovenia, and CorpoHub, were there as mentors and they shared their experience and know-how from the fields related to advanced digital solutions, marketing, product development, business management etc. At the end, the participants, working in 13 groups, had only 5 minutes to pitch their idea to the expert jury consisting of Gorenje Group, Microsoft Slovenia, and CorpoHub representatives.
"The international business hackathon is a part of our pursuit of Gorenje Group's digital strategy. Its goal is to develop innovative solutions that will meet the needs of the increasingly digital users,” said Žiga Debeljak, member of the Gorenje Management Board and CDO, adding: “The participants of our first hackathon had a very hard task, as they had to consider both the future of advanced user experience and the future of product development, open connectivity of devices and platforms, communication trends etc. We requested a unique, ground-breaking vision of the future and we were truly impressed by the diversity of the presented solutions."
The winning idea that convinced the jury took into account both the lifestyle and communication trends as well as the trends in product development and shopping in the future. Moreover, "it can be implemented tomorrow", as explained by the members of the winning team. Solutions presented by other teams also bear a lot of potential for adaptation and implementation.
Vladimir Nardin, head of digital marketing at the Gorenje Group: "Participants identified with the problems of consumers and kept in mind the starting point that we wish to educate our consumers with our digital services, advise them, help them make decisions, to simplify the use of our appliances, and to impress the users with new content and solutions that contribute to a better and closer relationship with our brands. On the one hand, the projects presented match very well the initiatives from our digital strategy and the digital trends; on the other hand, the solutions are fresh and innovative, despite the intense competition in the field. I am confident that the award-winning solutions will generate new added value for our consumers and contribute to the performance of the company."
The winning team received EUR 5,000 prize money and a EUR 1,500 voucher for Gorenje appliances. The second, third and fourth-placed teams also received generous awards as the total prize pool for the hackathon amounted to EUR 17,000. Gorenje Group experts also noted some outstanding individuals among the participants, who have the potential to develop a career at the Gorenje Group. It can also be very rewarding to see how creative people can be in an environment that fosters originality and creativity. More than successful and inspiring Gorenje Group hackathon will surely happen again.