Ep 2. The Hack-A-Thon

The second episode of season one of Startup U titled "The Hack-A-Thon" starts with Tim Draper, the founder of Draper University, announcing that the students will be undertaking their first challenge – a hack-a-thon. The students are required to form teams and come up with an app idea and present it to judges which will be evaluated on creativity, innovation, and potential for commercial success.

The episode showcases the different team dynamics and personalities of the students. Most teams struggle to come up with an original idea and start playing the blame game when things don't go as planned. But a few teams stand out and manage to come up with unique ideas.

One team comes up with a mobile app that gamifies fitness and wellness through friendly competition with friends and rewards users with discounts at healthy eateries around the city. Another team pitches an augmented reality app that allows users to see how furniture will look in their home before purchasing it. There's also a team that developed a mobile payment app that can be used in developing countries where cash is still the primary mode of payment.

Throughout the episode, the students work tirelessly in designing, coding, and testing their apps while being mentored by industry experts who provide guidance and insights to help them refine their ideas. As the deadline approaches, tensions rise, and it becomes clear that not everyone can handle the pressure.

On the day of the presentation, the students pitch their ideas to a panel of judges, which include investors, entrepreneurs, and tech experts. While some ideas are ambitious, others are outright impractical, and the judges grill the students with tough questions about the feasibility and scalability of their ideas.

The judges ultimately choose the gamified fitness app as the winner of the hack-a-thon. The winning team is thrilled and celebrate their victory while the other teams are left to deal with the disappointment of not having earned the judges' approval.

The episode ends with Tim Draper reminding the students that this is just the beginning of their entrepreneurial journey. He encourages them to keep pushing themselves out of their comfort zones and to continue learning as much as they can from the people around them.

Overall, "The Hack-A-Thon" episode of Startup U provides an insightful and engaging look into the early stages of building a startup. The episode highlights the challenges and rewards that come with developing an idea into a viable business and the importance of teamwork, innovation, and persistence.