(Image Credit: iStockPhoto/DenisTangneyJr)

Detroit, otherwise known as "Motor City" for its hardened traditional workforce, is looking to move beyond its automotive roots and transform into a cutting-edge beacon for technology. To help spark this bold new era, Sprinkle Camp are providing developers with a a weekend-long all-expenses-paid hackathon. 

Sprinkle is a team of New York-based team of designers, developers, and marketers that helps its clients figure out how to scale. The event will be hosted at the Bizdom accelerator and will come to a close with a demo day at 5pm on the Sunday in the Madison Building that is free and open to the public (click here to RSVP.) 

One of the biggest hurdles to getting an innovative new project off the ground is the burden of a current day job - which often means that great ideas and teams don't continue after the Sunday night of a fast-paced weekend hackathon due to the fear of leaving a secure job. Because the team at Sprinkle specialise in taking ideas to market, there is a commitment to supporting them once a minimum viable product has been built during the hackathon. 

Sprinkle, as a result, takes a 30% cut. This however is a negotiable rate if you feel your project deserves a different contract. When Sprinkle first announced the idea earlier this year, it published a manifesto on Medium describing the process and purpose of the camp. 

Over 300 developers applied to participate and made the selection-process "open-source" in order to select the best of the bunch. Initially the location of the event was to be kept a secret, but rumours of Sprinkle Camp taking-off with participants out of the public eye caused the organisers to reveal where it will take place. 

After the six Sprinkle Camp teams were chosen, Lee said they spent two months meeting with mentors and each other in preparation for the hackathon. 

Do you think hackathons like Sprinkle Camp have better prospects? Let us know in the comments.