I participated in an "extended hackathon" last spring called the Boston Innovation Challenge. In addition to the unusual format (2 weeks from kickoff to demos,

I participated in an "extended hackathon" last spring called the Boston Innovation Challenge. In addition to the unusual format (2 weeks from kickoff to demos, with mentor office hours offered in the intervening weekend), the best part was the fact that several community representatives showed up with real, specific problems they needed solving. A musician talked about the difficulty of having people serendipitously discover local live shows. The American Red Cross of Eastern MA brought up their problems in connecting with younger, more itinerant citizens to spread disaster prep awareness. Both of these representatives had several teams form around their problems, and a few useful applications actually came out of the challenge. Were they "start-ups"? No. But real problems got solved, and everyone had a blast.