Challenge
We were tasked with conceptualising and producing Henkel dx Venture’s flagship female hackathon event, Xathon 2022, for the third year running. The community building event aims to empower female founders and tech talent, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to develop their business ideas alongside inspirational entrepreneurs and business experts, while promoting diversity within the tech industry.
We needed to design, host and programme the 3-day event, whilst also managing ongoing communication with event attendees and the design and copy for a bespoke magazine which would be distributed to founders across the three days. The key to Xathon 2022 was differentiating it from years previous and incorporating feedback from founders to once again improve and maximise the event.
Highlights:
- 86 attendees
- 15 speakers
- 18 mentors
- 12 VC and angel investors
- 26+ hours of content and workshops
- €25,000 prize money
- 3 personalised workshops and 3 1:1 mentor sessions per founder
- 93% of attendees found Xathon beneficial to their role & projects
- 100% of attendees made valuable connections
- 93% of attendees found the speaker topics beneficial
- 90% of attendees would recommend Xathon to their friends and colleagues
Solution
In line with the client’s health & safety requirements, Xathon 2022 took place across two hubs, separating the founders across two venues in Berlin, having taken place virtually in its first year of Marble management and in a hybrid format in its second year. We recognised the value of one-on-one workshopping and mentorship offers to founders taking part in Xathon, so we flipped the traditional Xathon format on its head. The focus for its new format was to reduce the usual number of speakers and instead hone in on bespoke sessions designed to target the founders’ specific needs and increase one-on-one time with their mentors for more personalised feedback.
Guests experienced an extensive programme across the three days, culminating in a competitive pitch process and financial incentive for the winning business idea. The programme also included keynotes, panels, workshops and 1:1 mentoring sessions, with guest speakers including inspiring female leaders like Jessica Holzbach (Founder and CEO, Pile), Katharina Krentz (Connecting Humans) and Tijen Onaran (Founder and CEO, Global Digital Women) delivering discussions including ‘Diversity is not just a business case’, ‘The value of networking’, and ‘Business essentials 101’. Founders also benefited from networking drinks organised to bring together founders with the Henkel leadership team and special guests from the VC scene. Breakfast and lunch were served across the three days and we were especially pleased to offer childcare support and services this year in recognition of the demands many of the female founders are juggling.
Our comms department also worked alongside copywriters and graphic designers to pull together a bespoke magazine, unique to Xathon, which was available in print copy across the event for guests to take home as part of the Xathon goodybag.