HackerNest

HackerNest was founded on the belief that the fastest, most permanent way to improve the world is to build supportive local technology and innovation communities characterized by trust, sharing, and respect - everywhere.[5] The rationale is that the technology community is the cornerstone of economic development enabling collaboration, innovation, knowledge-sharing, recruiting, and scientific progress.[5][6] Growing and strengthening the community lets businesses hire better, perform better, and create more jobs, which ultimately increases economic prosperity.

The organization's ideology is deeply rooted in chaos theory, the idea that minor tweaks at the start of a process in a dynamic system can have a major impact on the end result. Similar to how the seemingly-insignificant act of handing a child a pencil culminated in the artistic legacy of Pablo Picasso decades later, making a new friend at a Tech Social could result in a partnership that one day cures cancer.[3] HackerNest "splinter cells" (chapters) regularly host "Tech Socials" that are open to anyone interested in technology. The events vary slightly by city, but maintain the same core tenets: all are friendly and down-to-earth.[6]

The first Tech Social was held in Toronto on Monday, January 31, 2011.[7] HackerNest Toronto is currently the world's largest Meetup group for programmers[8] and Canada's largest technologist community.[4][9][10]

As of July 2017, HackerNest splinter cells have run over 550+ events in 34 cities across 14 countries on 5 continents.[3]

HackerNest offers hackathon production and innovation consulting services to companies, organizations, and governments.

In 2014, HackerNest produced Construct, Canada's largest hardware hackathon[9][11][12][13] and DementiaHack for the British government,[14][15][16] the world's first hackathon dedicated to helping people with dementia and their caregivers.[17]

In 2015, the organization produced Deloitte's first internal innovation hackathon as well as DementiaHack[18][19][20] with Facebook as the lead sponsor[21][22] and support from the UK government, the Public Health Agency of Canada, and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.

In 2016, HackerNest produced CourtHack[23] with the US National Center for State Courts in Salt Lake City at the Utah Supreme Court (featuring Supreme Court Justice Constandinos Himonas as a judge) and the Hack4Equality[24][25][26] LGBTQ hackathon with Grindr[27] in Los Angeles which heavily featured White House Promise Zone and Opportunity Project data.[28]

HackerNest refers to its chapters in different cities as "splinter cells", a tongue-in-cheek reference to the eponymous popular video game franchise. Splinter cells are independently managed by volunteers and produce regular Tech Social events.

Past HackerNest sponsors include Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook. Notable companies that have donated office space as venues for Tech Socials include Google (Kitchener-Waterloo), Facebook (Seattle), Microsoft (Kuala Lumpur), Techstars (New York), and Twitter (New York).

HackerNest actively participates on the City of Toronto government's Innovation & Technology Advisory Committee and the Young Entrepreneur Council Advisory Body established by former Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly to help shape the city's interaction with the technology community.[32]

The City of Toronto's former Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly recognizing HackerNest for contributions to the city's technology community.

• Boryana Damnyanova Award for Corporate and Social Responsibility - Tufts University
• Contributions to the technology community - City of Toronto government[33][34]
• Finalist - Canadian Global Impact Competition[35]

• Official website
• GOV.UK British High Commission Ottawa
• Wall Street Journal
• Betakit
• HackerNest Toronto Splinter Cell