Blog
Field notes
Writing on innovation sprints, building, and the Swiss tech scene.
October 15, 2026
sprintd Zurich: what 45 builders built in 36 hours
Our first innovation sprint. Two real cases from Equans Switzerland and Inventx × Outcept, 15 teams, 13 projects. What got built, who won, and what the partners said afterwards.
Alexandros Riggenbach · Co-Founder
September 29, 2026
Your first hackathon: what 36 hours actually look like
Never been to a hackathon? Here is the whole weekend, hour by hour, from doors on Friday to pitches on Sunday. What to bring, how teams form, and why you do not need to be a developer.
Alexandros Riggenbach · Co-Founder
September 13, 2026
Hackathons in Switzerland: how to pick the one worth your weekend
Zurich, Basel, Bern, St. Gallen, Lausanne. There are more hackathons and innovation sprints in Switzerland than most builders realise. Five questions to find the one that is worth 36 hours of your life.
Alexandros Riggenbach · Co-Founder
August 29, 2026
From organizer to owner
Running sprints inside a student organisation and running them as a company look identical from the outside. Almost nothing behind them is the same.
Alexandros Riggenbach · Co-Founder
August 19, 2026
What builders take forward
The sprint ends on Sunday. The interesting question is what is still there on Wednesday.
Alexandros Riggenbach · Co-Founder
August 12, 2026
One hackathon we ran came out almost 50% women
The uncomfortable part: we did nothing to make that happen. Which means it was luck. And luck does not repeat.
Alexandros Riggenbach · Co-Founder
August 2, 2026
The word hackathon is keeping the right people out
Say it to a designer, a lawyer, a doctor. Most of them hear the same thing: that's for IT people. The invitation starts with the name.
Alexandros Riggenbach · Co-Founder
July 10, 2026
The unsolved problem at hackathons: judging
36 hours of building. One minute to pitch. The format has matured; the judging has not.
Alexandros Riggenbach · Co-Founder
June 18, 2026
The story that stays with me
A team came to solve someone else's problem. They left with the proof that they could build their own.
Alexandros Riggenbach · Co-Founder
June 11, 2026
Why we're building sprintd
It's not the most profitable thing I could be doing. It's the most aligned with what I care about: enabling people.
Alexandros Riggenbach · Co-Founder
May 26, 2026
Innovation sprint vs hackathon: what's the difference?
They look the same from the outside. The difference is what the weekend is built around, and what you walk away with.
Alexandros Riggenbach · Co-Founder