2 month hackathon on a remote tropical island

http://comehackwithus.com/

by mopoke • 14 years ago

52 77 14 years ago

comehackwithus.com

AdamTReineke• 14 years ago

Besides being excessive, why?

Foy• 14 years ago

There was an article on HN not too long ago about the merits of having the startups office in Hawaii.

Something about the beaches... and team building. :)

keithpowers2• 14 years ago

Yup. If anyone is interested in hacking and joining a start up incubator on MAUI, please sign up here. Trying to nail down dates. More details soon. http://www.startupmaui.com

hkolk• 14 years ago

I think you mean this one:

http://blog.simplehoney.com/how-to-build-a-startup-from-a-be...

I was looking for it as well :)

walterheck27• 14 years ago

Well, I decided to organise this because I have loads of experience in location independent living and communal living. I have experienced how great it is when you are in a place that makes you feel good, surrounded by people that are smart and motivating. In a luxurious villa on a tropical island, there is no distraction. By having a cook and housekeepers as well, you really don't have to worry about anything but getting shit done :)

criveros2• 14 years ago

This all sounds amazing, but why only 12 people?

danielharan• 14 years ago

Given your experience, what locations do you have in mind?

jwuphysics• 14 years ago

You spelled "hackathon" wrong in the title.

EDIT: unless it's meant to convey that you "hack a ton" but I'm really not so sure...

walterheck27• 14 years ago

ouch! Correcting asap :)

EDIT: if only I could get a hold of the guy who has the logo source..

BlackJack• 14 years ago

That's a really obvious thing. Did you guys proofread? It's the little slips that make people doubt an organization i.e. "if they missed this tiny detail, then how will they perform on the big things?"

I don't mean to be a jerk. Best of luck with your event and everything, but if you're going to plan a 12 week hack vacation for people, then details matter.

alextebbs• 14 years ago

If you're still unable to get a hold of the source, maybe this would help: http://i.imgur.com/u2nVg.png

I just moved around the pixels in the .png. Working off the native file would probably produce a nicer result.

Cheers!

walterheck27• 14 years ago

Fixed

wasd• 14 years ago

What's the catch? Equity? Price? There isn't such a thing as a free lunch.

walterheck27• 14 years ago

We're looking into either getting the whole thing sponsored or charging a fee that will cover cost. Our target is not to make a profit, it is to have a great time working with inspiring people.

bilbobaggie• 14 years ago

What's your selection algorithm?

JoeCortopassi• 14 years ago

Besides being at the top of HN, what sort of validation does this have as an actual viable event. I mean, can I get a tropical picture with some water, make a simple one page website, and just start harvesting your guys emails to?

I'm not trying to be overly negative, it just seems like there is sooo little information being given to be making the top of HN

walterheck27• 14 years ago

Yeah, I wasn't expecting this. It's an idea that is in my head that I want to make a reality, but only if there is enough interest. I can promise you I won't do anything with those emails except keep you up to date on what happens next.

Now that it seems like there is enough interest, we can go to the next phase: figuring out wether it would be a paid thing or a sponsored thing. Opinions welcome...

ricardobeat• 14 years ago

You should offer more than just the trip. Preferably have some mentors/advisors available to the group. There is no point in spending thousands going to a tropical island to do exactly the same you can do at home, that's just spending money on a fake vacation.

shanemhansen• 14 years ago

You need to go to cahuita costa rica. They have villas with wifi for crazy cheap (less than 25 a night), and a beach that is probably where that picture comes from. Plus if you want to recruit any ticos, intel and hp are some of the countries biggest employers. Consider it, message me if you want help, I've done business down there. http://www.google.com/search?q=cahuita&hl=en&client=...

tomotomo• 14 years ago

If you are considering doing it in Vietnam (islands like Phu Quoc or Con Dao) then I may be able to help with logistics.

Ldean18• 14 years ago

hey this sounds awesome, let us know how you progress with this idea! I'm starting a project involving developing a social media tool and have been learning coding lately. Doing this exclusively for 2 months in a collaborative environment sounds ideal.

bieh• 14 years ago

Hey, I'm also trying to hire coders to work on a remote tropical island [1], although for a little longer term than you. Where is this located? I can recommend some places in the Seychelles if you haven't yet decided on a spot :)

[1] http://www.reddit.com/r/jobbit/comments/x2x1w/hiring_mobile_...

walterheck27• 14 years ago

Most likely it will be in the Phillipines, but right now that is just a first idea..

doublec• 14 years ago

How about Pitcairn Island? You can't get much more remote. Two months fits in fairly well with the supply ship coming and going for transport to/from the island. 12 people would increase the local population by almost 25%!

terpua• 14 years ago

My startup is based in PH. Email me if you need help with anything.

rlocke• 14 years ago

My company is based in the Philippines. I won't be applying but I'd love to take you and the crew out if you're laid over in Manila for any stretch of time.

davewasthere2• 14 years ago

You thinking Boracay/Palawan?

Got to admit, the Philippines is a good shout. Is another place on my shortlist for an island hack-a-thon.

While I love the food there (Especially sisig!), you can't beat Thai cuisine.

i_s• 14 years ago

Sounds like a great idea. What is your timeline?

walterheck27• 14 years ago

Most likely we'll aim for late 2012, early 2013. Depends on how things develop from here..

tferris• 14 years ago

How is the Internet there?

walterheck27• 14 years ago

Since 'there' isn't defined yet, I don't know yet. But rest assured that it will be one of the primary things we base our choice for a house on..

mr12• 14 years ago

12 weeks on a remote tropical island, luxurious villa, 12 geniuses... a cook and housekeeper.. airfare.. time away from current projects... that sounds like a pretty hefty price tag per genius if it's a paid event. I think you may have trouble finding hackers to sign up when the reality sets in. I'd recommend you get to work finding serious sponsors because right now it sounds like a nice dream. Good luck good sir.

walterheck27• 14 years ago

Thanks. We are fully aware it might be too expensive for people to cough up all the dough. Preliminary research show that a house for 12 people doesn't have to cost more then 500USD/person/month though. With a bit of smart marketing it should be possible to find some people interested to sponsor this..

TimJRobinson• 14 years ago

I was thinking it'd be just like a startup incubator but instead of getting paid $20k for 5 to 10% you get to go here and get paid $10k

walterheck27• 14 years ago

I want to try to stay away from the incubator model. Find a way to get there, hack, go home with good memories.

lukego• 14 years ago

I've done some tropical island hacking (solo) and it worked really well for me. The longest I did was 3 weeks on Koh Phi Phi in Thailand. I had a nice discrete problem: write Forth drivers for all the interesting hardware in a little ARM SoC. Blog at the time: http://goo.gl/V9qGx I can say that: Finding a place to sleep, entertainment (snorkel, scuba, etc), and food were all easy problems. Finding a place to work can be harder: power, internet, quiet, table/desk all in one place. (Maybe you need to borrow a house?) Three weeks was enough for me: then I wanted a dose of civilization and city life, hard though this was to imagine on day #1. Maybe it's different with more people.

Can you start simple, with just a few people and lasting until they get bored, and scale it up gradually perhaps?

walterheck27• 14 years ago

We'll see. I did a three month thing like this, and was sad when it ended. That was all about the people we were with though, that made the world of difference. And we had time during the weekends to get away.

suyash• 14 years ago

Who is going to take care of my day job..another idea #fail!

walterheck27• 14 years ago

or you should grow a pair, quit and follow your dreams ;)

kahfei2• 14 years ago

Have you consider Penang island, it is not really isolated or exotic, but we have beautiful beaches here, and when you need a dose of civilization, it is just within 30 minutes driving distance, there are quite a few big companies here like Dell, Intel, Motolora. Standard of living is cheap. The island been ranked by Yahoo! Travel as one of the "10 Islands to Explore Before You Die". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penang

Hope I didn't sound too much like a salesman already.

walterheck27• 14 years ago

Penang is an option for sure.

deepGem• 14 years ago

Penang is definitely a good option. Though I haven't been there heard a ton of good things and it's just a stone's throw from the mainland. +1. Accommodation and food is relatively inexpensive in Malaysia.

kahfei2• 14 years ago

Thanks for the +1. And I haven't mentioned the great food in Penang, Penang Laksa ranked 7th in the 50 most delicious foods in the world...http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/eat/worlds-50-most-delicio....

dualogy• 14 years ago

Also famous for housing the Hacker Monthly magazine headquarters :)

tedunangst• 14 years ago

Sad. OpenBSD popularized the term hackathon, but OS developers aren't invited...

walterheck27• 14 years ago

_everyone_ is invited, as long as you can make it clear that you won't be slacking off, and you are a nice person :)

Inbaraj4• 14 years ago

Just sign up and include your expertise in the "additional info" box. We just wanted to quickly put up a simple form. If you can hack something, you can join ;-)

keithpowers2• 14 years ago

Great to see the interest. If anyone is interested in hacking and joining a start up incubator on MAUI, please sign up here. http://www.startupmaui.com

milep• 14 years ago

Is this only for singles and those who are willing to be apart from spouses for 2 months? I'd love to go to some remote location to work for few months, but I need to take my better half with me.

walterheck27• 14 years ago

If he/she can make themselves useful, you're welcome to sign up both of you. But rest assured that competition for this will be tough, so it might not be easy. Just that it's not excluded from being an option, that's all :)

Inbaraj4• 14 years ago

By the way guys, there's nothing set in stone yet. We're trying to put together an awesome event for all of us to benefit. Please send in your ideas/suggestions :-)

crdoconnor• 14 years ago

I've did this (alone) for a while. The things I discovered:

* Mosquitoes really, really suck the fun and productivity out of sitting on a tropical beach coding. * To a lesser extent, so does sunburn. * Finding somewhere comfortable to sit in shade is crucial, and harder than you'd think, and lying is out (appealing though it may be). * The ideal place to work was a beachside bar, without standing pools of water close by (attracting mosquitoes), that was quiet, serving coffee and wifi. Often hard to find, though. * Lack of wifi was sometimes a plus, provided it was never too far away. It's easier to focus on coding without Internet access.

In the end, my favorite tropical location to write code in was Singapore. The beach is overrated :)

renas• 14 years ago

Similar concept here but for a business model instead of a hackathon: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4306223

willish• 14 years ago

Due to the level of publicity around this, a crowd-funded approach could be pretty successful. Backers could also help vote on project ideas etc.

What is the goal, to have everyone hack on a single project? or just provide a space for people to work on their own stuff?

All in all a very cool idea, hope you can make it happen!

davewasthere2• 14 years ago

Wow. You guys made the news here in the UK.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19018930

maebert• 14 years ago

I'm actually very intrigued, I just booked a flight to Indonesia to spent a month or so hacking / designing for myself in Bali, but doing this with others sounds like a much better plan. Any details on the schedule yet?

2 month hackathon on a remote tropical island

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