HackBAC Incubator Program

Overview

HackBAC prides itself on cultivating genius in an intentional space designed for middle school and high school students. At the end of the 3.5-day conference, all participants emerge with concepts of solutions to real-world problems.

Since its inception, HackBAC has adopted a distinctly innovative approach. Most hackathons end, winners are dispersed, and few of the ideas ever get the momentum or development necessary to advance. For most hackathons, the learning ends when the hackathon ends.

To continue the ideation and entrepreneurial conversation, four intentional, objective-oriented meetings are scheduled to allow Genius Groups to move their idea from pitch to prototype. Many of these topics were touched on during the hackathon and are revisited for deeper learning and understanding.

Our programmatic partner, General Assembly, provides UX and software engineering design expertise throughout a five-week design sprint that will produce a high-fidelity prototype. Genius Groups mentors will continue to assist in the process of ideation.

The final deliverable is a recorded pitch presentation and a functional application or website of the Genius Group’s idea.

Program Outline

Session #1: Solidifying The Problem Statement & Customer Discovery

During this session, participants revisit and revise their problem statement in order to ensure it is data-driven and clearly defined. Additionally, participants will begin to explore the wants, needs, and fears of their potential users. Lastly, students learn the customer discovery interview framework.

Session #2: Determining & Defining your Target Audience

During this session, participants revisit and revise who their stated and intended audience is while ensuring that it is driven by their problem statement.

Partnering with General Assembly: Building your prototype with the User Experience + Software Engineering Teams

Genius Groups are assigned a dedicated team from General Assembly to build the group's prototype. They are expected to meet about once a week at a mutually agreed-upon time.

Session #3: Preparing for the Pitch

During this session, participants learn how to deliver a successful pitch and practice with professionals who give on-the-spot constructive feedback so that they can submit their final presentation.

Incubator Program Spotlight

Genius Idea: “DiscoverU”

HackBAC Theme: Change-Makers: Creating Sustainable Social, Political, or Environmental Impacts in Our Shared Society

Track: Education | First Place

Track’s Essential Questions:

How has your current educational experience, including the use of technology and Generative AI, empowered you to learn and succeed, and what aspects hinder your ability to reach your full potential?
How can we create an ideal, meaningful, student-centered educational experience that fosters curiosity, creativity, and a love for learning while effectively combining technology and human creativity?
How can we empower learners to take ownership of their education while ensuring teachers provide the right balance of guidance and support?

Problem Statement: 70% of college graduates are uninterested/unhappy in their work field. (Source: The LA12 Weekly/LinkedIn)

Venture Description: DiscoverU is a career exploration app that bridges experiential learning through technology and accessible career guidance. DiscoverU empowers secondary and post-secondary students to discover their passions and make informed decisions about their futures. Through an interactive platform, students choose between tutorial-based exploration or immersive "track" gameplay featuring mini-games that simulate real-world career scenarios with realistic consequences. By engaging with diverse career possibilities—including pathways that don't require college—players build self-awareness about their skills and interests to confidently navigate their next steps.

Phase I: Original Pitch during HackBAC Conference

“The solution we came up with was DiscoverU, a free app (with in-app purchases) that gives students the opportunity to turn their passions into actions. This game helps students discover career paths that they resonate with through a series of tutorials that evaluate their skills in different fields. After finding a potential career track, DiscoverU lays out a list of job opportunities that the student can pursue within that path.

The photos on the slide show, created by AI, serve as a model of a home screen for DiscoverU (in which the user can decide if they want to either play a tutorial, to assess their skills and estimate which career path would be best for them, or pick a career), the career exploration page (in which the user has the ability to potentially “explore” as many career paths as there are available), the career selection page, and the career change page.”

Phase II: Moving pitch/mock-up to High-Fidelity Prototype (Final Product)

CLICK HERE TO EXPLORE THE PROTOTYPE

“After the user selects a career, they will be able to play a series of “mini games” to further explore opportunities within that path (these could include, but are not limited to: a mock trial case as an immigration attorney or even a medical diagnosis of a patient as a health physician).

In line with our project goal, which was to develop a career exploration app designed to help young users explore and plan career paths through simulations, tutorials, and interactive tools, we also want our game to teach students real-world skills such as the management of funds, how to handle job crises (within the mini games), and certain traits needed in different jobs.

We believe we are able to ignite a passion within students that typical educational games do not!

Additionally, DiscoverU differs from similar and existing games in that many of the potential job opportunities displayed to the user are ones that do not necessarily require a college education. This helps to better establish the connection between the classroom and the real world and urges the student to contemplate whether or not they even need to attend college to pursue their passion and to eventually attain success.”

Incubator Program Spotlight

Genius Idea: “ReelzAir”

HackBAC Theme: Change-Makers: Creating Sustainable Social, Political, or Environmental Impacts in Our Shared Society

Track: Climate and Sustainability

Track’s Essential Questions:

How do youth partner with their school and community leaders to make their neighborhoods sustainable?
How can we use technology to promote sustainable practices, reduce our carbon footprint, and conserve resources in our daily lives?
What are the factors and consequences of climate change impact communities and their long-term effects?

Venture Description: ReelzAir is a sustainable air purification initiative that merges environmental recycling and public health intervention. ReelzAir empowers underserved communities in the Bronx to breathe cleaner air by transforming local waste into life-saving technology—addressing the crisis where nearly 40% of adults and 25% of children aged 5-17 face asthma-related hospitalizations. Through a circular process that collects recycled materials from Bronx buildings, converts them into 3D-printed filament, and manufactures air purifiers with built-in air quality monitors, ReelzAir simultaneously cleans neighborhood waste and creates affordable purifiers for low-income housing and schools. By tackling the 3 million annual indoor air pollution deaths in the U.S., starting with the Bronx, ReelzAir ensures that both students and adults can breathe easy while building a sustainable model for environmental and health justice.