Chanel’s innovation and venture team was exploring opportunities across wellness, well-being, and health technology. As leads arrived from accelerators, university programs, incubators, and founders, the team needed a faster and more consistent way to decide what fit its strategy. A two-day hackathon turned that open-ended challenge into a working AI-assisted triage concept.
2 days
from discovery to demo
1
shared scoring rubric
48 hrs
to a working prototype
Day one: make the hidden criteria explicit
The sprint began by mapping the existing scouting workflow. Together, the team identified the signals of a strong lead, surfaced implicit decision criteria, and defined what strategic fit meant across wellness opportunities.
This discovery work was essential. An AI scoring system can only be useful when the organization first agrees on the judgment it should support.
Day two: turn the rubric into a product
The second day moved into rapid prototyping and short feedback loops. The team built a lead pipeline, structured scoring model, AI screening agent, and simple dashboard interface for reviewing the highest-priority opportunities.
- Read and summarize startup descriptions.
- Evaluate each lead against the co-designed criteria.
- Surface relevant opportunities for human review.
A prototype and a shared decision system
The sprint delivered more than software. It gave the team a shared language for lead quality, clearer alignment around wellness priorities, and a model that could be refined without starting from scratch.
The format also demonstrated a practical alternative to a long discovery cycle. By co-designing and building in the same room, the team could see assumptions, test them immediately, and create momentum for broader uses of AI in scouting and innovation workflows.
Bring this format to your community or team
MentorMates designs hands-on hackathons and AI workshops that turn important problems into testable ideas.
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