‘Hatch This’ brings Asheville’s startup community together for hackathon-style pitch program

ASHEVILLE – Hatch AVL, a nonprofit foundation that hosts events and programs for entrepreneurs in western North Carolina, will be presenting its third annual “Hatch This” event this weekend in Asheville.

The program is a collision of an accelerator and a hackathon, where local students, entrepreneurs and community members can team up with experienced mentors, come up with a business idea and build a prototype.

They’ll then pitch the product to a panel of judges for a chance to win $20,000 in prizes, including $5,000 in seed funding. The judges are Venture Asheville Director Jeff Kaplan, Western Women’s Business Center Director Sharon Oxendine, Packs Tavern Managing Director Steve Wright and DiNicolas Group Founder Chris DiNicolas.

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The event kicks off at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, November 1, continues through Saturday and culminates in the pitch competition on Sunday.

Logan Lueck, team leader for the 2019 Hatch This program, says this year’s event features a special focus on collaborative mentorship.

“Just like previous years we have amazing judges and mentors, but this year, teams will get a dedicated mentor to help them on Saturday and will be able to earn points towards who will win the final competition based on their hard work throughout the weekend,” Lueck said.

Hatch AVL is expecting a turnout of around 70 participants, Lueck added.