Hackomotive 2014
Making car shopping easier!
FEB 25 – FEB 27, 2014
Santa Monica, CA
Application Closed!
FEB 25 – FEB 27, 2014
Santa Monica, CA
Application Closed!
Hackomotive is a three-day competition between innovative teams who are on the path to create a significantly better car shopping experience. In an inspiring setting, with guidance from motivational speakers and industry experts, the participants will further develop their ideas into prototypes for products and services that could make a real difference for car shoppers. On the last afternoon, the teams will present their prototypes to the event’s judges in a "Shark Tank"-style format, competing for three cash prizes. At least one winning entrant will be eligible to have its idea accelerated by Edmunds.com.
Tuesday, February 25th through Thursday, February 27th, 2014
Edmunds.com’s headquarters in sunny Santa Monica, California - the heart of “Silicon Beach”.
This special event brings innovators and disruptors from all over the country to present their creative solutions to a persistent problem. As a participant in this event, you will improve the car shopping experience for consumers around the country, network with impressively creative people and business leaders, have a memorable personal and professional development opportunity - and perhaps win fame and fortune in the process.
Anyone with a great idea for improving the car shopping experience is eligible to apply to participate in Hackomotive. Each participant may be either:
Keynote
Jeanne Bliss' experience spans 5 industries and 25-years inside corporations as the leader for driving the customer effort across the business. For Lands' End, she reported to the Executive Committee as their leader for the Lands' End customer experience. Jeanne was Senior Vice President of Franchise Services for Coldwell Banker Corporation. At Allstate Corporation, she served as their Officer for Customer Satisfaction and Retention. She served Microsoft Corporation as their General Manager of Worldwide Customer and Partner Loyalty. At Mazda Corporation, Ms. Bliss initiated the brands' loyalty work, integrating their databases into the brands' first approach to relationship development.
Jeanne is now president of CustomerBLISS, where she is a worldwide keynote speaker and coach for leaders and businesses working to put the customer at the center of their business.
Her two best-selling books are "Chief Customer Officer: Getting Past Lip Service to Passionate Action" and "I Love You More than My Dog: Five Decisions that Drive extreme Customer Loyalty in Good Times and Bad."
She is the co-founder of the Customer Experience Professionals Association – a worldwide organization established to establish clarity and to elevate the important work of delivering "one company" customer experiences to customers.
Judges
The most qualified experts from the worlds of automotive companies, dealerships, engineering, media and more have been invited to judge Hackomotive 2014.
Meet the judges
Michael DeSimone owns and operates DeSimone Group Investments, a family office that invests in
start-up companies that innovate mechanical and engineered products. Prior to 2007 Michael was the President and CEO of two auto dealerships: DeSimone Cadillac and DeSimone BMW. As a second generation dealer operator, he led both companies for twenty years as successor to his father, Anthony DeSimone. Michael has served on several auto industry panels including the General Motors National Dealer Marketing Advisory Board, the Cadillac National Dealer Marketing Advisory Board and the NADA Information Technology Committee.
Jamie Foley is Vice President at MWW, one of the nation’s top
independent public agencies, where her primary responsibilities include strategic planning, media choreography and account management. Through her career Jamie has assisted in brand building and storytelling for a number of organizations including American Express, Brooks Running, Zynga, Airbnb, Montage Hotels & Resorts, Florida Department of Health (Anti-Tobacco initiative), British Virgin Islands, Magic Johnson Travel Group, TPC Sawgrass and Bertram Yacht. Jamie graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in marketing.
Tony Rimas is a Managing Partner with Fraser McCombs Capital. Tony also serves as the Director of Operations for the McCombs Automotive Group, the 37th largest dealer group in the United States. In this capacity, he is recognized
for growing McCombs Automotive to the third largest privately held online retailer in the country. Tony is a seasoned sales professional with a significant track record of impressive revenue growth and successful sales management. Tony is also a regular guest speaker at industry events. He has earned multiple degrees in chemistry and physics, and also received training at the National Automobile Dealers Association’s Dealer Candidate Academy.
Oren Weintraub, founder and CEO of Authority Auto and MyCarBuyingSecrets.com, is a consumer advocate, expert negotiator and entrepreneur. Oren has worked in the automotive
industry for twenty years, having been promoted from salesman to Sales Manager to General Sales Manager. In 2006 he realized there had to be a better way for the general public to buy cars, so he created Authority Auto, a car buying concierge service, where he utilizes his insider knowledge to represent individuals in their car negotiations. Oren recently launched MyCarBuyingSecrets.com, a series of on-line tutorials in which he shares his secrets of negotiating an entire car transaction from the comfort of one's home. Oren has been featured as an expert negotiator on National Geographic TV and ABC News.
Holly Dudley leads Enterprise Portfolio and Project Management new business at Prosum Technology Services.
Holly spent her early career in technology creating and managing multi-million dollar programs for telecom companies such as Sprint, Verizon and XO Communications. Since 2009, she has specialized in product delivery and is passionate about designing process to support business initiatives. Building and managing products for companies such as FuzeBox, Beachbody and Lionsgate, Holly prioritizes building consensus, and bringing order to chaos. Holly's practice offers EPPM Consulting Services and Staff Augmentation.
Michelle is the Chief Marketing Officer at Edmunds.com, the premier destination for car shopping. With over 15 years of experience in web based companies,
online marketing, technology and product development, she has been at the forefront of digital marketing with a particular focus on brand strategy and multi-platform integration. Michelle joined Edmunds.com in 2006 after leading both customer acquisition and retention programs at eHarmony. Prior to that, Michelle held leadership roles in online advertising at Fastclick, a leading ad network and technology company (acquired by Valueclick), and Move.com, the parent company to Realtor.com. She earned her MBA from Pepperdine University and her Bachelor's degree in Communications from the University of California, San Diego.
Daniel Gage is the Director of Communications &
Public Affairs for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, a Washington, DC-based trade association of 12 vehicle manufacturers including BMW Group, Chrysler Group LLC, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Company, Jaguar Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz USA, Mitsubishi Motors, Porsche, Toyota, Volkswagen Group of America and Volvo Cars North America. In this role, Dan is charged with progressing Alliance efforts to improve the consumer experience in the car buying process. Dan regularly serves as an industry spokesman on such policy issues within the vehicle sales and service arena as franchise relations, right to repair, telematics, and aftermarket parts.
Prizes
35,0000 | $20,0001st place cash prize |
35,0000 | $10,0002nd place cash prize |
35,0000 | $5,0003rd place cash prize |
Top 3 Hackomotive 2014 teams will get cash prizes
In addition, Edmunds.com may select a winning product/idea for acceleration to the next level!
Event Schedule
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| 10:00 | 10:45 | 11:00 | 12:30 | 1:00 | 1:30 - 3:30 | 3:45 | 4:30 | 5:00 - 8:00 | |
| Registration Opens | Event Kickoff | Keynote | Team Activity | Lunch | Team Workshop | Team Activity | Wrap up | Reception party @ Edmunds HQ Water Garden | |
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| 9:00 | 10:00 | 11:30 | 1:00 | 1:30 | 3:00 | 5:30 | 7:00 | |
| Workspace Opens and Breakfast | Team Activity | Lunch | Team Challenge | Team Activity | Team Activity (cont.) | Dinner | Workspace closes | |
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| 9:00 | 9:30 | 9:45 | 12:00 | 1:00 | 2:00 | 3:30 | 4:15 | 4:30 | ||
| Workspace Opens and Breakfast | Team Challenge | Team Activity | Lunch | Final presentation Due | Team Pitches | Judges deliberation Happy hour |
Final wrap-up | Winners Announced! | ||
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is Hackomotive?
Q: When will the event take place?
Q: Where will the event take place?
Q: Why is Edmunds.com having this event?
Q: Why is this a competition?
Q: Who are the judges?
Q: What is the judging criteria?
Q: What will the winners get?
Q: Why would I want to participate in this event?
Q: Who is eligible to participate?
Background
Edmunds.com is committed to helping make car shopping easier. A car is the second biggest purchase for most consumers, and the buying process remains an unpleasant, anxiety-filled experience that has changed little even with the benefit of online resources. By recognizing, rewarding and supporting innovations happening in this area, we believe we can improve the car buying experience even more dramatically than we do with our own Web site.
Creating an environment where the best products are rewarded drives people to perform their best and give their all.
Past
Hackomotive
Events
Past winners, presentations and statistics
Hackomotive2013
View ResultsHackomotive2014
View ResultsHave any questions? Feel free to reach out to us at hackomotive@edmunds.com and we'll be happy to help you out!
Presented by Edmunds.com
© Copyright 2013 Edmunds.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
