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ERUA Hackathon - Building an

Idea into Reality
Example Problem: Food Waste
1. Annual global food waste represents a staggering economic loss of over $1
trillion, according to the United Nations.

2. The carbon footprint of food waste is equivalent to that of the entire transportation
sector, with 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions attributed to food waste.

3. Each year, approximately 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted worldwide, which
could have been used to feed nearly 3 billion people, according to the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Example Sustainability Solution: A Marketplace App for tasty

leftovers
Food waste is a big problem, and we can be a solution. The app we’re planning lets you
rescue unsold food at your favorite spots for a big discount, at late hours.

1. Think about the Problem (Design

Thinking)
Empathize:
a. Research the current food waste problem in the community and the causes for it.
b. Understand the target user's behavior and their preferences when it comes to
buying food.

Define:
a. Define the app's value proposition and its unique selling points.
b. Identify the key features that the app should have and prioritize them based on
user needs.

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 Ideate:
a. Brainstorm potential solutions for the identified problems and features.
b. Prototype and iterate the most promising solutions.

2. Create a landing page

Throw up a landing page with a sign-up form, so you have a page you can
share with others.

Start collecting emails of people who are interested.

I like Webflow, but Typedream or tally.so are other simpler options.

3. Add value in targeted communities

Hopefully, you’re already a member of communities you’re interested in - if
not join them (Discord, Slack, Facebook, Reddit, etc.)

Give to the community by authentically posting, sharing, commenting, etc.

Share what you’re working on and see if others are excited about it as well

4. Interview 5 targeted potential users

Identify a very specific group you want to build for (eg. health tech fanatics,
enterprise sales leaders, etc.)

Find these people in your network or the targeted communities and ask if they
have a few minutes for a quick interview

Record the interviews (zoom) for review afterward

After ~5 interviews, start looking for patterns or interesting tidbits

5. Find a partner
Find a co-founder in your network or through founder communities

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 6. Build an MVP
Use the learnings from your user interviews to create a scrappy MVP

The goal of the MVP is to advance your learnings, not to produce a perfect
experience

This could be as simple as a form with some manual work on the other end
- but there are some easy tools too Softr Studio,

The second iteration may be a no-code app, but first optimize for speed +
learning
Second MVP Plan:

1. Develop the MVP with the following features:

a. Sign up and login for users and vendors.
b. List of available food items with descriptions and photos.
c. Filter options to help users find what they are looking for.
d. Ordering and payment system.
e. Notification system for users and vendors.

2. Launch the MVP and gather user feedback to improve the app.

3. Refine the app based on feedback and implement additional features such as:
a. User ratings and reviews.
b. Integration with social media for promotion.
c. Real-time inventory management for vendors.
d. Scheduling and delivery options.

4. Launch the refined app and continue to iterate and improve based on user
feedback.

7. Generate traction
Improve the MVP by repeating steps 1-6

Update the landing page, share your learnings in communities, interview

more targeted people, and improve the MVP

Best traction = getting paid users

ERUA Hackathon - Building an Idea into Reality 3

 Other traction options → get into an accelerator, get an established advisor,
etc.

Now, let’s go and create your ideas

Invitation for Discord

Join the ERUA HACKATHON Discord Server!

Check out the ERUA HACKATHON community on Discord - hang
out with 6 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.

https://discord.gg/Fduqqr6c8x

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