kood/Võru Startup hackathon – Your Launchpad Into the Tech World!
Are you a local development leader, entrepreneur, active community member, or a tech-curious learner? Want to acquire and test both technical and entrepreneurial skills while solving real-world challenges that create value for your community and region? Then the kood/Võru Startup hackathon is perfect for you!
⚡Important info⚡When: Hackathon takes place 1-2.11.2025
Training days of 1st group: 14.11.25 / 26-27.11.25 / 9.12.25 / 15.01.26/ 29.01.26
NB! The entire program is in English.
Where: kood/Võru Learning Center (Tartu St 25, Võru)
Participation: free of charge NB! Spots fill up quickly – first come, first served 🙂
Registration is now open! REGISTER HERE!
Bring: a laptop and a good mood! A team, if you already have one!
Questions? Contact: Liina Maripuu — liina.maripuu@vorumaa.ee, +372 5669 7969
Why participate?
- Real challenges: solve problems of local companies and communities – from shared bicycle systems and smart ride-sharing platforms to digital games and business process automation.
- Learn and build: gain practical knowledge in both technology development and business model creation.
- Prototype in two days: design, test, and present the first version of your idea.
- Growth Opportunity: the hackathon is just the beginning – it’s followed by a multi-month training and mentoring program where your idea can grow into a working solution and a scalable business.
- Throughout the entire program, you’ll be supported by experienced trainers and mentors.
How does the hackathon work?
- 6 challenges and 6 teams, with 3-5 members per team
- Over two days: idea generation, prototyping, testing, and pitching
- Design thinking workshops and mentor support at every stage
- Final presentations and comprehensive feedback
What challenges await solutions?
- Smart management of shared bicycles,
- Automated price quotation solutions for businesses,
- Community ride-sharing platform for rural areas,
- Digital game for Võrumaa and Setomaa to promote culture and tourism,
- Digital solution for the Entrepreneurship Passport (Youth volunteer work verification)
- Information management tools for local governments
Who can participate?
- Entrepreneurs and active community members
- IT students and graduates (including coding school alumni)
- Anyone interested in technology and innovative solutions
- This program is in English, so having a good level of English will help you get the most out of it
What’s next?
After the hackathon, you’ll join a practical training program covering essential topics for starting a company:
- business model and value proposition design
- design thinking and service design tools
- prototyping with testing and iterations
- financial planning, fundraising and legal basics
- sales and marketing plus pitching your idea
- strategy building, results management and measurement
Training Program
We help teams find ways to scale the initial idea discovered at the hackathon so that it has startup potential.
1st Training Day 14.11.25 – Business Model and Teamwork, Trainer: Indrek Maripuu
- How to make money with this idea – creating different value propositions and business models using the Lean Canvas methodology
- Roles within the team
2nd and 3rd Training Days 26–27.11.25 – Design Thinking and Customer Understanding, Prototyping, Trainer: Kairi Loomet
- Design thinking and the service design process (double diamond model)
- Methods for conducting user research and creating personas based on them
- Customer journey and service blueprint
- Generating ideas
- Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle
- Creating and testing a prototype
4th Training Day 9.12.2025 – Financial Planning and Legal Matters, Trainer: Karin Künnapas
- Financial planning and accounting basics
- Fundraising
- Legal aspects (founders’ agreement, shareholders’ agreements, IP, preparation of documents needed for investment)
5th Training Day 15.01.2026 – Marketing and Pitching, Trainer: Kalev Kaarna
- Marketing and go-to-market strategies
- Investor readiness
- Pitching
6th Training Day 29.01.2026 – Results Management and Measurement, Trainer: Indrek Maripuu
- Defining strategic goals
- Defining short-term goals
- Defining key results
- Final presentations of business ideas
Trainers and mentors
Indrek Maripuu (trainer/mentor)
Indrek Maripuu has worked as a business consultant and trainer for over 20 years, helping both large and small organizations develop business models, products and services, and set concrete measurable goals. As an entrepreneur, he has practically applied the methodologies he teaches and can therefore always bring that perspective. Based on his entrepreneurial experience, he has created and helped organize various development programs for both entrepreneurs and government agencies, both independently and in partnership (BDA Consulting, Visionest Institute). He has also organized hackathons in both private and third sectors (Vunki Mano, Estonian Rescue Board, University of Tartu Pärnu College, University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy, packaging manufacturer Nefab, and others).
Kairi Loomet (trainer/mentor)
Kairi Loomet is a freelance service designer who graduated cum laude with an MBA in Service Design and Management from the University of Tartu Pärnu College. She has had the pleasure of doing service design projects in the public, private and third sectors. On a daily basis, she manages the well-known startup co-working space Palo Alto Club.
Kairi is the coordinator, trainer, and mentor of the EIS “Service Design Masterclass for Tourism Companies” and the “Product Design Program for Tourism Destinations”. In addition, she has organized numerous service design workshops (e.g., personas, user journeys, value proposition design, Lightning Decision Jam, etc.) and various hackathons (e.g., Base Camp and “Tourism + Creative Industries = A New Look at Your Business”). Kairi has also participated in several hackathons herself and has won the UX Challenge 2021 and Pärnu Loometalgud 2024 with her team.
She has also organized several large events such as Startup Day, Latitude59, JCI World Congress, Digital Summit, Open House Tallinn, Design Night, and the European Design Awards.
Karin Künnapas (trainer/mentor)
Karin Künnapas has been active in the startup field for the past 12 years, gaining experience in both business development and investments. She studied at Stockholm School of Economics in Riga and also holds a degree in History from University of Tartu.
Karin worked at the European Innovation Academy, where she organized international programs for over 1000 speakers annually, aimed at developing ideas into startups. This venture became popular worldwide: programs took place in Portugal, Italy, Qatar, Hong Kong, and China, with mentors from Silicon Valley, Europe, and Estonia. She led the kood/Jõhvi project from launch for the first 3.5 years, during which over 10,000 learners applied, nearly 700 students began their studies, and the program expanded to Kuopio, Finland. Currently, Karin leads the Estonian Business Angels Network, aimed at educating and uniting Estonian private investors and supporting startup ecosystem development.
Kalev Kaarna (trainer/mentor)
Kalev Kaarna is a startup trainer, mentor, and business development expert with over 20 years of experience in sales and investor readiness. He has successfully worked as both a startup advisor and an investor at the Superangel investment fund. The Alpine House growth program he led has 33 alumni who raised over €42 million in total.
As an entrepreneur, he has twice successfully failed as a technology entrepreneur and four times succeeded as an intrapreneur (launching new initiatives within organizations). These experiences allow him to deeply understand the challenges of entrepreneurship and help teams solve them effectively.
He has worked with startups in AI, machine learning, robotics, dual-use technologies, sensors, and B2B SaaS. Kalev’s strength is knowing how to find customers even before the product is fully ready. He helps teams keep a clear focus, shape and scale good habits, make fundraising easier, and craft an attractive story for both customers and investors.
Contact
Liina Maripuu, Development Centre of Võru County, entrepreneurship mentor-consultant, liina.maripuu@vorumaa.ee, +372 5669 7969
Program is funded from project “Kood/Võru programmeerimiskooli rajamine ja IT-valdkonna edendamine”
