A few dozen Boston high school students, and a cohort from Maine, engaged in a hands-on, fast-paced, mini physical consumer product launch as part of FastForge, the inaugural Hackathon created by The Possible Zone and held at Artists for Humanity in Boston on Friday, November 1, 2024.
Throughout the day, students collaborated in teams with corporate volunteers from leading businesses to research, ideate, design, and prototype their idea for the next hot consumer product. They then leveraged artificial intelligence (AI) in a cutting-edge, collaborative human-AI workflow to refine their designs and generate high-fidelity visualizations of their product concepts. This process allowed students to maintain ownership and agency of their original creative designs while also learning to leverage new design tools that are quickly changing the way we create, design, and collaborate.
Following a day of workshopping, a panel of 30 change-maker judges, including Robert Tepper and Walter Kowtoniuk, Third Rock Ventures; Sharon Botwinik, Fidelity Center for Applied Technology; Jodi Collier, Launchpad Venture Group; Jennifer Davis, Techstars; Mark Flores, WHOOP; Brian Lagarto, Shark Ninja; Jenna Ventorino, Wilmer Hale; and Mark Levin, TPZ Co-founder and Board Chair, heard pitches from and asked questions of the student teams in a science-fair format. The audience of partners and supporters voted during a closing reception to select top award winners from the judges’ three selected finalists. …
Team #7 from the John D. O’Bryant School of Science and Mathematics won first place for Myrani, their app-in-a-mirror that helps customers find the right outfits to fit the season, event, or mood. Team #6 from Cristo Rey Boston High School earned second place for Headzpace, a sports headband that can be used for communication between coaches and athletes. Team 8, also from the O’Bryant, earned third place for REBYL, a tracking app that notifies you if you leave your house without your keys, phone, and other important valuables.
“This event inspired high school students to build entrepreneurial mindsets and skills that can positively impact how they envision their futures,” said Eliza Petrow, Chief Business Officer at TPZ. “Working alongside volunteer-experts as they problem solved, executed on design thinking, and demonstrated growth mindset – then pitching their ideas and plans to industry leaders – helped these young people build their confidence and social capital. Opportunities like this one can change their future trajectories.”
FastForge was a one-day snapshot that mirrors Launch, an 11-month program at The Possible Zone during which young adults from the community research, ideate, and bring to life one new consumer product in a competitive, collaborative, all-out sprint to $1,000,000. At the Hackathon, the current cohort of five Founding Associates who recently completed this program showcased their Kickstarter products and provided updates on their companies’ successes during the reception. …
“We hope that students left FastForge inspired to explore entrepreneurship and will enroll in The Possible Zone’s programming where they can continue to build on these concepts and grow in-demand skills while using state-of-the-art technology and tools,” said Sean O’Rourke, Director of Fellowship & Enterprises. “After they graduate, our Launch program may be an ideal next step, where they can learn how to build a business that is financially sustainable – from research and product development to e-commerce and marketing.”
Generous sponsors and partners who made the Hackathon possible include: Third Rock Ventures, Kickstarter, Robert Tepper, Laurence Reid & Caroline Donnelly, Choate Hall & Stewart LLP, Goldman Sachs, WilmerHale, Philip W. Johnston Associates, Krishna Yeshwant, Andersen, and Abdallah Eliwa. Key partners supporting the student experience include: Boston Public Schools, Cristo Rey High School, St. George Municipal School (Maine), Chain Reaction, and LaunchPad Venture Group.
The FastForge Hackathon took place at Artists for Humanity, with teams and industry volunteers working from 9:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m., followed by judging until 4:30 p.m. Pitches from the three finalist teams and voting took place during the reception, with the program ending at 6:00 p.m.
Young people spark their passions and develop entrepreneurial spirit, key skills and mindsets, and networks at The Possible Zone—an exciting, tuition-free, experiential learning program that helps them prepare for life-long learning and readiness for careers of the future. Hundreds of high school students from Boston Public Schools, and a cohort of young adult associates immerse themselves in early career exploration, thrive as they explore changing STEAM technologies in our state-of-the-art Innovation Center, and develop valuable social and emotional skills in our supportive programming.
Reinforced by a network of key educational and industry partners in our supportive ecosystem, and guided by our college and career advisors, students leave The Possible Zone equipped to shape their futures and ready to pursue innovative and in-demand careers. We are committed to helping them find their passions; cultivate essential skills, mindsets, and assets; and carve paths on which they can experience upward economic mobility.