Tonight, 10 teams will pitch their solutions for helping Charlotte residents move out from poverty during the Upward Mobility Hackathon at Wake Forest University Charlotte Center.
These 10 teams hope to present a solution to help the city's well-documented struggle with upward mobility; Charlotte came in last place on a related rank of 50 metros.
In an effort to reverse the trend, Carolina Fintech Hub (a Charlotte-based nonprofit that aims to bolster regional fintech initiatives) established the #Fix50 challenge. The program will award a $10,000 prize to the team or individual whose pitch has the most potential to drive change. Those advancing after tonight's presentations and audience vote will share their concepts at the Venture 135 conference later this month, after which judges will name winners.
"Upward mobility is everyone’s responsibility in our region, and we decided that Carolina Fintech was in an ideal position to make a difference," Tarqi Bokhari, Carolina Fintech Hub founder and Charlotte city councilman, told Charlotte Inno in an email. "We are hoping to point our community’s brightest minds at this topic that doesn’t always get thought about, and see how we can inspire innovation that can make some real social impact in our own backyard."
More than 170 individuals responded to the CFH's request for submissions, representing "all walks of life — students, working professionals, teachers, professors, school counselors, bus drivers and everything in between," according to CFH.
"We were blown away by the creativity and quality of what we have seen," Bokhari said.
All 10 teams are highlighted below, with links to their initial video pitches.
Disclosure: Carolina Fintech Hub is one of Charlotte Inno’s founding partners.
