Colosseum announces its launch, aiming to host a Solana hackathon to provide long-term acceleration and investment for winning founding teams and to invest in the next generation of groundbreaking crypto startups.

The crypto market is at a turning point, with many promising experiments confined to a small corner of the internet due to the lack of scalable infrastructure for developers and end users. Solana has made significant innovations at the foundational level, offering the potential for the next generation of crypto products to surpass existing projects.

Colosseum's mission is to leverage the enormous potential of global builders to find the next generation of on-chain product founders and keep the wave of innovation going.

Colosseum is an independent organization consisting of three integrated parts:

Hackathon: Colosseum will host 2-3 online hackathons annually for the Solana Foundation and the broader ecosystem. These competitions are considered a crucible of innovation for the cryptocurrency ecosystem. The five-week hackathon provides a fair arena for new global teams to showcase their potential to build influential products.

Accelerator: Colosseum's accelerator is a customized five-week program for hackathon winners to deeply immerse themselves in the Solana ecosystem. They will join an elite founder network, engage with a variety of users, receive one-on-one guidance, and ongoing coaching. The accelerator teams will be launched directly after each hackathon, and each batch of winners will be part of it. Participating in the Colosseum hackathon and being selected as a winner is the only way to enter this program.

Venture Capital: Teams selected for the accelerator program will receive a $250,000 seed round investment from Colosseum on founder-friendly terms. Additionally, the accelerator teams will receive ongoing assistance in continuing product development and fundraising for future rounds. The program will culminate in a Demo Day, where founders will pitch to dozens of venture capital funds and receive direct introductions.

For founders initially not accepted into the accelerator, they are encouraged to keep striving. Developers often participate in multiple hackathons before being selected as winners. Finding the right product and team may take some time.

For accepted founders, Colosseum's support does not end after Demo Day. At its core, Colosseum is a founder and alumni community, providing support throughout the journey. The teams will continue to access all the private tools, discussion boards, and other features provided by Colosseum's online platform.

Colosseum Team

Colosseum was co-founded by Matty Taylor, Clay Robbins, and Nate Levine. The team supports founders through hackathons, accelerator programs, and other assistance.

Matty previously served as the growth lead at the Solana Foundation and initiated the Solana hackathon project in 2020. Over the past three years, the project has attracted over 60,000 participants, launched 4,000 projects, and raised $600 million in venture capital for winners. Founders of leading projects in the Solana ecosystem, such as Tensor, Squads, StepN, and Jito, all started through the Solana Foundation's hackathons. Matty has previously worked at 0x Labs and Square.

Clay is the Chief Partner at Slow Ventures and was one of the first investors in Solana. He has helped lead the company's cryptocurrency investment work and has been an active angel investor in the ecosystem through many market cycles. Before joining Slow, he was a product and growth expert at 0x Labs and Square. Clay and Matty met on the first day of working at Square and collaborated for the third time after daily text exchanges.

Nate was a software engineer at Stripe and worked for its cryptocurrency team. During his time at Stripe, he built developer tools and API infrastructure, handling the daily transfer of billions of dollars. Previously, Nate led the engineering team at LendUp, a YC-backed fintech startup. Nate and Matty became interested in Bitcoin during their college years.

In addition to team support, Colosseum collaborates with leading ecosystem developers and founders, many of whom were previous hackathon winners. Founders will receive extensive guidance and support during the accelerator program and become part of an exclusive founder community.

The Solana Foundation's hackathon is now not only the largest regular hackathon in the entire crypto field but also in the technology field, in terms of the number of participants, product submissions, and venture capital raised by winners. It is noteworthy that 80% of the startups that receive venture capital dice in the Solana ecosystem were founded in online hackathons.

Expanding the scale of the ecosystem hackathon is a huge opportunity. The Solana Foundation will end its internally managed hackathons and collaborate with Colosseum to realize this vision.

This is a positive step towards decentralizing the Solana ecosystem's hackathons, allowing the Colosseum team to work more closely with peers in the ecosystem and further develop the platform.

Colosseum will enhance the hackathon and accelerator experience through several key areas

Online Platform: The Solana Foundation's hackathon has evolved to a level that is not easily managed like any traditional hackathon. Therefore, Colosseum has established its own custom platform, simplifying everything from finding co-founders to discussing product ideas and submitting hackathon projects. Founders in the accelerator will also receive a set of unique features to assist them as they embark on their journey. If you are a developer interested in participating in the next Solana hackathon, you can create a Colosseum profile.

Collaboration: One of Colosseum's goals is to directly embed a broader ecosystem into the competition. Therefore, active collaboration is underway with various companies, ecosystem developers, and investors who can contribute to judging and sponsorship. If you are interested in collaborating, you can get in touch with Colosseum.

Support: Excellent teams often lack the support they need after a hackathon, hindering their further development or funding. Colosseum's accelerator aims to fill this gap by selecting hackathon winners to join the program and helping them in the early stages of their entrepreneurial journey. While the Solana Foundation's hackathon is primarily a startup competition, there are also many participants who do not want to become founders. Colosseum supports these developer communities through its online platform and discussion forums. Improving these hackathons is an ongoing process, and they hope to work with the community to understand pain points and opportunities. Therefore, if you have any feedback, you can also get in touch with Colosseum.

If you are a developer, founder, or team interested in participating in the next Solana Foundation hackathon starting on March 4th, please register for a Colosseum account here, as registration for the hackathon will open on the platform in a few weeks.

You can also follow @ColosseumOrg on Twitter for updates.

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