That’s a Wrap…For Now

What a success! Just over a week ago, 150 new economy thinkers, software engineers, designers and social entrepreneurs gathered at The Hub in San Francisco for the Creative Currency project, sponsored by Serve and American Express. Top leaders from San Francisco’s government, community organizations and local tech companies were present to deliver keynote speeches, provide mentorship, judge projects and envision outcomes. Focused on community-level problems in San Francisco’s Mid-Market District (also known to many as the Tenderloin), the initial 30+ ideas pitched resulted in a total of 12 compelling projects focused on innovation – in  areas from economic development, housing and jobs to public health, education, payments and financial services. The four winning teams were provided with seed funding and mentorships.

Project participants came from dozens of organizations including Visa, Square, Airbnb, Bernal Bucks, Code for America, Ashoka, EMC, LinkedIn, Kaiser, Google, Motorola, Stanford, Goodwill of Silicon Valley, Bay Area Timebank, and Kiva.

The successes of the Creative Currency initiative will continue beyond Collaboration Weekend with a public “Demo Day” and continued development over a six month period allowing time for projects to be completed and integrated into the community. We can’t wait to see the final results! For now, some photos from the weekend below.