⚠️ Applications are now Closed for this Hackathon. We are oversubscribed. Please do not create new registrations. ⚠️


The Future Innovators Hackathon A Road to START Hack is a high-energy, two-day experience taking place on April 24–25 (from 11:00 AM on the 24th to 2:00 PM on the 25th), where teams build bold solutions to real-world challenges, supported by expert mentors and leading entrepreneurs, and culminate in a live pitch at the Unicorn Stage in Lisbon’s Beato Innovation District.

 

About the Challenge

The Future Innovators Hackathon is a high‑intensity, 24‑hour innovation sprint jointly hosted by Unicorn Factory Lisboa and START Lisbon. It is designed to help you take bold ideas from concept to MVP with real‑world potential. 

Over two days, you will move through ideation, validation, prototyping, and pitching, working side‑by‑side with talented peers in technology, design, and business. Expect a focused but high‑energy environment that keeps you motivated, accountable, and pushing your ideas further.

Whether you are a first‑time hacker or an experienced builder, this is your chance to experiment, learn fast, and create something you would be proud to showcase at START Hack and beyond. 

Teams

  • Team size: 2–4 participants.  
  • Every team must have one member who is currently a student
  • You may register with a full team or apply individually; in that case, we will help you form a team on‑site during the team‑forming session.  
  • Interdisciplinary teams (tech, design and business) are strongly encouraged.

Event language

  • All communication, workshops and pitches will be held in English.

Tools & tech stack

You will be encouraged to leverage powerful developer tools that help you ship faster and focus on what matters: your solution and your users.

  • Cloudflare Workers for scalable, globally distributed backends and APIs. 
  • Lovable for rapid full‑stack prototyping, iteration and refactoring.
  • Any other modern tools, frameworks or libraries that fit your stack (web, mobile, AI, data, hardware, etc.).

Workshops and mentors will help you get started quickly, so you can spend more time building and less time configuring.

 

Mentorship and support

You will not be building alone. Throughout the Hackathon, you will have access to:

  • Founders who have built and scaled successful startups and can challenge your product and go‑to‑market thinking. 
  • Investors and VCs who can advise you on what makes a pitch fundable and what they look for in early‑stage teams. 
  • Business coaches to help you validate your market, refine your value proposition, and structure your business model. 
  • Engineers and technical mentors who can help you troubleshoot your prototype, make key architecture choices, and accelerate your build. 

In addition, expert‑led talks and office hours will run throughout the event to guide you from idea to pitch‑ready MVP.

 

Requirements

How selection works

To keep this hackathon high-quality and beginner‑friendly, we use a simple selection system. You only have to complete this Devpost registration form to apply, but we strongly recommend going further if you want to maximize your chances of being accepted.

We will prioritize teams and applicants in three tiers:

  1. Level 1: Basic Registration 

    • You just complete this Devpost registration

  2. Level 2: Idea Submission

    • You also submit extra information about your idea by completing a form we will send you.

  3. Level 3: Pitch Deck (most likely to be accepted)

    • You also submit a Pitch Deck along with the form

We expect more applications than places. That means:

  • If you already have an idea or MVP, you should plan to submit it (and ideally a pitch deck) before April 20th.
  • If you do not yet have an idea, you can still apply, but applicants with developed ideas will be prioritized if the event is oversubscribed.

After you register here on Devpost:

  • You’ll receive follow‑up emails confirming your registration and enabling you easy access to your profile.

  • Closer to the event, we’ll confirm:
    • accepted teams/participants
    • the waiting list (if any)

The more clearly you explain your idea and progress (idea, MVP, user feedback, sales, etc.) in the submission process, the higher your chances of getting a spot.

Hackathon Sponsors

Prizes

€2,000+ in prizes
+ other prizes
Overall Winner's Cash Prize
€1,500 in cash
1 winner

Golden Ticket - START Hack
1 winner

The winning team will earn the exclusive opportunity to participate in the START Hack in St. Gallen by START Global, provided through START Lisbon.

Runner Up's Cash Prize
€500 in cash
1 winner

UFL Acceleration Phase
3 winners

The 3 best teams will have access to the exclusive Unicorn Factory Lisboa acceleration sessions.

Devpost Achievements

Submitting to this hackathon could earn you:

Judges

Guilherme Duarte

Guilherme Duarte
CTO: Bounce

Eric Falcão

Eric Falcão
Senior Director of Engineering: Cloudflare

Sofia Rolo

Sofia Rolo
Head of International & Strategic Projects: Unicorn Factory Lisboa

João Mil-Homens

João Mil-Homens
Director of Innovation & Sustainability: Jose de Mello

José Velez

José Velez
Co-founder & CEO: Reach.ai

Judging Criteria

  • Innovation & Creativity
  • Technical Excellence
  • Product-Market Fit
  • Execution & Prototype
  • Quality of Pitch

Questions? Email the hackathon manager

Invite others to compete

Hackathon sponsors

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