Inspiration
Founded in 2007 as iPhoneDevCamp, one week after the launch of iPhone, iOSDevCamp has become a Silicon Valley tradition. Inspired by the principles of Open Source contribution, participants bring their ideas and find great teams to collaborate and cooperate.
Over the past nine years, the group has produced ten camps, and has distinguished itself as the most diverse group of designers and developers in the area, boasting 25% women participants.
What it does
This 48-hour contest of ideas begins with a night of networking and sharing of ideas in an open Pitch Session. Founders and team members are paired together this way, and also via our concierge.
Day two focuses on collaboration and helping each other build real demonstrations of these ideas. The microphone is open to all participants, to ask for help and offer solutions. Side sessions for learning and teaching are available on a first-come-first-served basis. Attendees are welcome overnight at the facilities.
Day three continues the collaboration, and by midday all ideas are submitted for queueing in our Contest. The brief presentations begin in the afternoon and are concluded by evening time, as the judges, sponsors, and organizers retire to decide prizes.
Prizes are awarded in categories such as Best Game, Most Educational, Best Open Source, Best Health Care, Best Civic Hack, etc. The highest honor goes to the participant who has helped the most people. Prizes are also awarded (and created on site) for young participants, and those who don't fit a category but were outstanding nonetheless.
Accomplishments
The community and this event have given rise to rock star founding teams (like Square, and the creators of the Obama '08 iPhone App), brilliant apps (like Temple Run and Tap Tap Revenge), and solid startup companies (like Getaround).
Winners of our contest have gone on to ship and sell to companies like Apple (TestFlight), Oracle (Push.io), Facebook (Sofa), and Adobe (PhoneGap).
What We Have Learned
The best ideas come from places and people you'd never expect. The foundations of a community built on trust and collaboration are essential conditions for these ideas to rise. Organizers and sponsors need to focus on the people themselves, and not the ideas or the businesses, in order for an idea contest like this to succeed in the long term.
What's Next for iOSDevCamp
We will continue to focus on diversity in gender, identity, and ethnicity. As a group of organizers, our plan is to become a true non-profit in the years to come.
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