Garage48 15-Year Anniversary Hackathon

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When 14-16 November 2025

Where Tallinn

  • Overview
  • Agenda
  • PS!  Registration to the hackathon is now closed. All the chosen applicants of the hackathon will be informed by 31/10/25

    Joining us on Sunday evening? If you want to listen to the final pitches on Sunday and celebrate together with us with EiK's Live concert post the finals, please grab your tickets HERE

    🔥GARAGE48 OLD-SCHOOL HACK IS BACK AND YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS IT! 🔥


    15 years ago, Garage48 was born out of a simple idea- to build your first prototype within just 48 hours.


    We didn’t think necessarily that this idea would be liked by so many of you, but here we are- 15 years in, more than 300 hackathons, over 50 countries worldwide.


    Garage48 15-Year Anniversary Hackathon is brought to you from the wish to reconnect with all of the legendary hackers we have seen over the years, and to bring the spirit of old-school all-night hacking fueled by coffee and pizza back to life again.


    🚀Calling all the OG hackathon participants we have met over the years, startup founders, and the hackers we are yet to meet! In collaboration with Startup Estonia and TalTech, we are celebrating 15 years of hacking and hustling with a legendary  Garage48 15-Year Anniversary Hackathon in Tallinn, 14-16 November 2025!


    This hackathon is pretty basic, a back-to-the-roots type of a generic hackathon, no theme or topic, just like the good old days.  You are welcome to join with whatever crazy idea you have in mind.


    Our ultimate old-school hackathon brings together the crème de la crème of the Estonian startup scene - Garage48 founders, our beloved community of mentors, and the old-time hackers, many of whom have turned their hackathon projects into successful startups, plus the new generation ready to create the next wave of success stories.


    Come solo or with a team, bring your wildest idea or join someone else’s. Expect creativity, chaos, and the kind of magic that happens when top talent collides with bold ideas. We welcome you to come build your ideas into reality with us, just like the early Garage48 days!


    Why join?

    ⭐️Work with experienced founders & top mentors from Estonia’s startup community

     ⭐️Build any idea you want. Yes, you heard it right, no topic or theme- old-school Garage48 style

    ⭐️ Launch something tangible in just 48 hours - no fluff, just action

    ⭐️Be part of the 15-year Garage48 legacy and help shape the next success stories

    ⭐️Be part of a nostalgic, unique, and unforgettable experience where the different generations of hackathon enthusiasts meet and create
    ⭐️ An epic after-hours event on Sunday night  with EiK performing LIVE, a cocktail bar and a DJ to dance the

    night away with these awesome people


    We’re looking for:

    Business people - people who always have ideas for the next venture 

    Creative minds-  Designers, storytellers, and true builders who can bring ideas to life!

    Tech experts- Developers, engineers, data scientists, and all sorts of other problem-solvers who can rapidly turn ideas into reality!

    Other experts- people who are experts in any other field and have a genuine spark for creating something new

    The curious & the bold- Students, beginners, and anyone eager to learn, team up, and create something new.


    If you recognize yourself in any of these, apply now and join us at the Garage48 15-Year Anniversary Hackathon! 

    You are welcome to join as an individual or sign up with the team as we have the classic first day pitching and team formation on the first day as well. 


    We would love to meet all of you, but since the space is limited, we will notify all the selected participants by the end of October.

    Join us for the Sunday night finals and afterparty with EiK


    Back to where it all started, and where the next big thing might just be born. 🚀


    Garage48 15-Year Anniversary Hackathon is brought to you by Startup Estonia, TalTech, and Garage48.


    #G48AnniversaryHack15


    Day #1 Friday, November 14

    17:30 Doors open & registration. Light refreshments
    18:00 Opening of the hackathon – welcoming words by partners & inspirational talk
    18:30 Introduction to the event: agenda, mentors & challenges
    18:45 Idea pitching – 90-second pitches
    20:15 Team formation
    20:45 Assigning workstations
    21:00 Dinner
    22:00 -  ..... Teamwork begins
    Doors remain open throughout the night

    Day #2  Saturday, November 15

    09:00 Breakfast
    10:00 Checkpoint #1
    11:15 Teams continue working. Mentoring.
    14:00 Lunch
    15:00 Teams continue working – mentors go around (snacks before checkpoint)
    17:45 Pitch Training for the Finals
    18:00 Checkpoint #2
    19:00 Teams continue working. Mentoring.
    20:00 Dinner
    21:00 - ..... Teamwork continues 
    Doors remain open throughout the night

    Day #3 Sunday, November 16

    09:00 Breakfast
    10:00 Checkpoint #3
    11:00 Teams continue working. Mentoring. 
    12:00 Pitch drill #1
    13:30 Lunch
    14:30 Pitch drill #2 (with demo)
    16:00 Light refreshments powered by  Õllenaut
    Public from 16:30 and onwards- doors open for everyone, who have registered !

    16:30 The Finals & LIVE stream 
    18:30 Jury deliberation 
    19:30 Closing ceremony – announcing the winners
    🏆🏆🏆
    20:30  Hackathon after-glow: EiK concert 🎵
    21:15.... 23:59 Hackathon after-glow:  DJ   MHKL , cocktail bar and tons of good conversations  🎵

    Get your ticket to the hackathon's Finals and Afterglow here



    WHAT IS SAID

    #G48anniversaryhack15

    THE SUPERSTARS
    The Mentors 

    Joao Rei
    Garage48 host, business and marketing mentor
    Calum Cameron
    CEO of DP Innovation Labs and Edasi Labs
    Uve Poom
    COO & Co-Founder at CryptoSwift
    Ilja Livenson
    Co-founder & CEO at OpenNode
    Maret Kruve
    Senior Product Operations Manager at Pipedrive
    Prof. Alvo Aabloo
    Innovative Tech R&D/ Professor at University of Tartu
    Jaanus Jagomägi
    Freelance UI / UX / Digital Product Designer
    Cesar Zeppini
    Design operations & leadership | Formerly at unicorns Veriff & Pipedrive
    Jaanus Sakkis
    Design Strategist
    Maido Parv
    Senior Product Designer at Bolt
    Triin Preem
    Head of Strategic Partnerships at Mifundo
    Henrik Rank
    Co-Founder at Montonio Finance 
    Romet Tagobert
    Senior Software Engineer at Membrane.io
    Jüri Kaljundi
    Co-founder at Weekdone and Garage48
    Martin Verrev
    Applied AI Researcher at Taltech
    David Clark
    Founder Tallon OÜ | Venture Partner at Tera VC I Entrepreneur & Angel Investor

    Organizers

    Laura Gredzens
    Project Manager at Garage48
    Mia Alter
    Junior Project Manager at Garage48
    Kadi Aguraijuja
    Project Manager in Residence at Garage48

    The Program is brought to you by: