13 Mar Now Boarding Hosts Transformative Hackathon for Heavy Chef Finalists

Innovation City is a Cape Town hub for tech and entrepreneurial ventures, and is proud to have played host to a transformative UX/UI Design Hackathon for the Heavy Chef (Pty) Ltd Top 5 Most Exciting Startups. Now Boarding Digital, a resident member company and award-winning design studio, played a pivotal role in sponsoring and leading this collaborative event.

The Hackathon aimed to ignite creativity and problem-solving, fostering a vibrant atmosphere where startups could benefit from Now Boarding’s talented team and design expertise.

“What we are doing here is a microcosm of what we do every day: Breaking down the problem. Product teams frequently approach us with design challenges, typically focusing on finding a solution. However, it’s crucial for us to grasp the problem fully before diving into potential solutions. This hackathon is just one of the ways we’re throwing our weight behind our local tech and entrepreneur ecosystem that’s tackling meaningful problems with technology,” said Leigh Stefanski, MD of Now Boarding.

Hacking Challenges, Sparking Innovation

The participating startups – MySociaLife, Botlhale AI, Strove, Jem, and Everlectric – presented a diverse range of challenges. These included improving parental engagement in digital learning platforms, optimising communication solutions for frontline workers, and streamlining user experience.

Over two days of intensive collaboration, Now Boarding’s design team tackled these challenges head-on, crafting innovative and actionable solutions. The resounding success of the Hackathon was evident in the enthusiastic responses from the startups.

Startups Rave About Now Boarding’s Solutions

Dean McCoubrey brey, founder of MySociaLife, was particularly impressed with Now Boarding’s strategic redesign of their product landing page. “Wow – honestly, there is nothing I’ve seen here that I wouldn’t want to use! Makes so much sense!” he exclaimed.

Xolisani Nkwentsha, Co-Founder and CTO of Botlhale AI, was equally impressed by the proposed streamlining of their call-centre workflows. He echoed Leigh Stefanski’s sentiment, stating,  “The detail they were able to dive into within a short amount of time was absolutely amazing. I can’t imagine what they’d do with the full amount of time!”

Similar sentiments were echoed by Rory Ware from Strove, Sinta Reynolds from Jem, and Jan-Willem Pelser from Everlectric, highlighting the effectiveness of Now Boarding’s solutions.

Fostering Long-Term Partnerships

“I’m incredibly proud of our design team’s dedication and the exceptional work they produced in just two days,” said Michel Brink, Now Boarding Co-Founder and Design Director. “We’re grateful to the Heavy Chef Top 5 for participating and allowing us to contribute to their success, as Heavy Chef CEO Fred Roed emphasised – creativity is a powerful resource for tackling societal challenges.”

Jacques Oberholzer, Now Boarding’s Co-Founder and Experience Director, highlighted the unique value of collaborative in-office sessions. “The concentrated effort over these two days yielded remarkable progress,” he said. While replicating this intensity in everyday projects might not be feasible, it underscores the immense potential of collaborative design.

We can’t wait to hear about the startups’ post-hackathon experiences and just how impactful this two day hackathon, expertly presented by Now Boarding’s amazing team at Innovation City really has been on companies’ growth and development.

Visit Now Boarding here.