Have you ever thought of having your startup incubated in a place where you have the freedom to work on your business idea 24 hours, seven days a week, live with other driven and passionate innovators, have in-person dinners with thought leaders, industry leaders, and Chief Executive Officers? If you live and work in South Africa, your dream may have just come true as the latest incubator in the city of Johannesburg is a live –in a facility that will let you do all of the above and then some.
According to their website, The HackR House, which is the brainchild of businessman Craig Wing is home to eight of South Africa’s top entrepreneurs for six months. They will be immersed in a collaborative environment, hacking their solutions towards profitability with unparalleled access to resources to experience live-in entrepreneurship.
“The aim is simple: Entrepreneurs must exit the house with a company, with customers and revenue. Entrepreneurs are challenged every day through the typical entrepreneurial journey. They receive support in the form of mentorship, training and limited finance. Hitting their entrepreneurial milestones allow them to stay in the house, those there at the end will be eligible for an investment of R250k.”
“Apart from helping entrepreneurs become sustainable, the Hacker House showcases real entrepreneurial stories. We tell the stories of the trials and challenges startups face on a daily basis. Real startups, facing real issues. In this way we are spreading the real journey that entrepreneurs will embark on and help prepare those looking to follow in your trailblazing footsteps, ” read a part of the website.
The entrepreneurs will be divided into four teams of two entrepreneurs each and they will share experiences, failures, and success with each other. They live, eat and breathe entrepreneurship and cannot have any external commitments such as a full-time job since they will live in the house. The teams of two will have a technical lead and business lead to be able to allow the organizers to maximize the support they can give to the innovators.
Their solutions presented by the startups should have a have a tech focus and tackle real African challenges. They are also scalable and have the ability to become the next big thing. Before entering the house, each team has initial proof of concept, albeit unproven and undeveloped. Every two months they will be challenged to demonstrate proof of validated concept, first customer and, finally, revenue positive.
There will also be mentors who have experienced the ups and downs of entrepreneurship and who will be willing to hold the hands of the innovators. The mentors are drawn from various sectors such as banking, Internet, woman leadership, engineering and across Africa.
Entrepreneurs will be charged rent starting from ZAR3,000 (US$220) per month to live in the HackR House.
