Problem Statements

Industry partners identify challenges they face and pose these as problem statements. There are a wide range of problems to solve, relating to: Software, Human Resources, Supply Chain, and more!

View Problem Statements

Who Can Apply?

Open to higher education students across the state of Idaho.

If applying as a team, at least one member of your team must be a registered student at a college or university in Idaho.

We encourage participants to work on interdisciplinary teams, bringing together engineers, marketers, construction managers, artists, and a host of others. We will also encourage students to look beyond their own institution to find the right partners for their team.

If you are applying as an individual, Venture College will help match students to teams when the program begins.

Three Phases of the Competition
(Sample Schedule)

1. Sprint

Wednesday, March 26th – Friday, April 11th

During the first phase of Hacking for Homebuilding, participants:

• Learn more about the problem they are solving
• Work with mentors assigned to their teams
• Develop an idea for a solution
• Build and test their prototype

While the majority of the sprint is done outside of the classroom, including reviewing on-demand entrepreneur and start-up content, participants should expect the following meetings:

• Virtual Kick-Off | Mentor Night
  Wednesday, March 26th | 5 – 6:30 PM (MT) via Zoom
• Problem Sponsor Night
  Thursday, March 27th | 5 – 6:30 PM (MT) via Zoom
• Virtual Pitch Practice
  Monday, April 7th | 5 – 6:30 PM (MT) via Zoom

2. Preliminary Pitch Competition (Virtual)

Wednesday, April 9th | 9 AM to 1:30 PM
Teams will compete for their spot in the final competition and chance to win cash prizes by pitching their solutions to industry experts, community leaders, and experienced entrepreneurs. The top 3 teams will advance to the final pitch competition.

3. Final Pitch Competition

Friday, April 11th | 10 AM to 12 PM
The SPACE at Boise State University’s College of Innovation + Design

The top 3 teams will pitch to judges made up of industry experts, entrepreneurs, and investors, providing connections to a network that will last well beyond this competition.

Scrap-To-Sculpture Design Challenge

Can you turn a box of homebuilding material scraps into a sculpture or piece of artwork? The Scrap-To-Sculpture challenge is designed for budding artists, craftspeople, or anyone with a knack for building things to do just that!

This challenge is open to high school and college/university students from across Idaho to participate and compete for cash prizes.

Challenge Details:

• Franklin Building Supply will supply mystery boxes
• Create anything you feel inspired to make
• Sculptures to be created only with contents in the box
• Incidental items allowed for assembly, for example: glue, nails, screws, and paint
• Can be purely aesthetic and/or functional
• Will be scored based on creativity, originality, and craftsmanship
• Sculptures must be Rated G for all audiences
• Sculpture is yours to keep, give away, or sell at the conclusion of the event
• Participants encouraged to present their sculptures to the judges, but aren’t required to present as scoring takes place

Scrap to Sculpture takes place during Boise Entrepreneur Week, Fall 2025 – dates to be announced!