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Concept 02 · blendhack-led

The Bharat National
Idea Challenge.

Not another hackathon. The discovery engine that turns 10,000 grassroots ideas into 10 fundable creator-led ventures — and one nation-wide creative entrepreneurship moment per year.

why we built blendhack
Blend
National Idea Challenge
01 / 06
The why · in one slide

Why we built BlendHack.

We created BlendHack to create awareness for the community — and create awareness for the creative entrepreneurs. It's the front door.
— Rahil Mehdi, on why this exists
The mechanic

A hackathon brings 1,000 students into a room. A hackathon with brand sponsors gets them paid. A hackathon with media coverage makes them famous. A hackathon with a fund attached makes them founders. Each layer pulls the next 10,000 in.

01

Awareness for the community.

BlendHack is the public face — campus posters, district reels, YS coverage, sponsor banners.

02

Awareness for the creators.

It signals: "we see you, we want what you make, here's a stage, here's a stipend."

03

A funnel for the platform.

Every applicant becomes a Creator Hub user. Every winner becomes a Bharat Crew apprentice candidate.

04

A capital event.

Top ideas walk away with seed money, brand contracts, and a YS founder profile. The loop completes.

Blend
National Idea Challenge
02 / 06
The format

Campus to national stage.
A 4-stage funnel, one operating cadence.

Stage 01 · Sept

Campus Hack

BlendHack on campus, in 500 colleges. Theme-led: AVGC, F&B, sustainability, gaming. 48-hour build.

100K
PARTICIPANTS
Stage 02 · Oct

District Spark

Top campus winners regroup at district level. Govt-anchored (Dept of Industries · NRLM). Idea Bank briefs become live problems.

10K
SHORTLISTED IDEAS
Stage 03 · Nov

State Showcase

State-level pitching rounds. Cohort placement begins (Blend Crew). State media coverage — vernacular-first.

1,000
STATE FINALISTS
Stage 04 · Jan

National Finale

India Creative Entrepreneurship Convention. Top 10 founders pitch. Bharat Project Fund + investors in the room.

100 → 10
FOUNDERS FUNDED

What's different from existing hackathons

Most hackathons end at "demo day." This one ends at a brand contract, a stipend, a YS founder profile, and (for the top 10) a capital round. The pipeline is built end-to-end before the first applicant clicks submit.

Sponsor economics

One premium national edition at ₹15L sponsorship. Fifteen district sparks at ₹5L each. Total event window: ₹90 lakh sponsor pool per year. Lead anchors target: Adobe · Intel · Qualcomm · Reliance Jio.

Blend
National Idea Challenge
03 / 06
The integration

Four engines, one challenge.
Each one already exists. We connect them.

Engine 01 · The brief library

Idea Bank

10,000+ govt and PSU problem statements already curated by YS. Becomes live hack briefs. Every winning idea is solving a real government problem — instant relevance.

Engine 02 · The on-ramp

Shuru-kar AI

WhatsApp co-pilot turns a voice note into a pitch deck. Hindi, English, regional. The application form for the challenge — anyone with a phone can enter.

Engine 03 · The build

BlendHack

The tech platform: customizable hackathon tracks, scoring, role-based access, real-time analytics. Already running in beta (staging.blendhack.com).

Engine 04 · The amplifier

YS editorial · 50L subs

500 entrepreneur stories per cycle — reels, blogs, podcasts. Every district finalist becomes content. Grassroots, not PR events.

Govt problem Idea Bank BlendHack brief YS founder story

The mandate stays with YourStory. The execution lives on Blend's rails. The output ships on Tessarakt's experience layer.

Blend
National Idea Challenge
04 / 06
The lighthouse · our proposal

We propose the Bihar Idea Festival
as Edition 01.

What we want to build

Anchored by Dept of Industries Bihar × YourStory

A 38-district creative-entrepreneurship festival, with deep ground partners we'd build it on: CIMP Patna, IIT Patna, NRLM · Jeevika, ISB. A flagship Bihar can quote nationally.

Districts
38

covered with district-level events and Grand Finale at Patna

Target ideas
10K+

from youth, students, SHGs, artisans, farmers

Wildcard seed
₹10L

under Startup Bihar Policy for top pitches

Acceleration support
₹3L

plus Bharat Project Fund + CSR + mentor network

What Blend × Tessarakt add

An events-and-platform layer underneath

+Creative track. Top 1,000 ideas get 48-hour BlendHack branding + decks.
+Story engine. 500 founder stories, paid Bharat Creator Fellows.
+Events. Tessarakt runs the Patna finale + 38 district pops.
+GI/ODOP. 50K storefronts on Flipkart Samarth, Amazon Karigar, ONDC.
if Bihar works...

...Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Assam follow. Bihar isn't the experiment — Bihar is the format.

Blend
National Idea Challenge
05 / 06
What it brings to the state

The investment narrative
the Chief Secretary asked for.

For Bihar govt

A state-level brand, not a vendor

12 languages. 500 founder stories. 50 lakh subscribers reached. Slots into the existing Bihar perception work — not new spend.

For Bihar youth

A national stage, locally activated

10,000 students. 38 districts. National pitch + stipend + brand contract. A real reason to stay and build in Bihar.

For YS & Blend

The flagship that legitimises both

YS gets a grassroots programme. Blend gets the national footprint. The "PR events" perception ends.

YEAR 1
Bihar Ed. 1
1 state. 10K ideas.
YEAR 2
3 states
Bihar Ed. 2 + MH + RJ.
YEAR 3
India's SXSW
5 states + national finale.
Hoker Nidar Shuru-kar. Be fearless. Begin.
Blend
National Idea Challenge
06 / 06