Posted on

The Most Innovative Gifts of 2020

Most Innovative Gifts 2020

‘Tis the season for gift-giving, and as we approach the deadline for shipping, we thought we’d share some of the best gifts that made our list.

To help you with your holiday shopping, we’ve created a list of 5 innovative gifts to send your loved ones this season. All of these gifts are available online, making them safe and easy to deliver to your friends and family members.

So go ahead — end the year on a festive note with our top gift picks!

1. Must-Have WFH Technology

In March, organizations around the world shifted to virtual workspaces, creating a shortage of basic work-from-home (WFH) technology. It’s not too late to send the busy professionals in your life the newest versions of necessary WFH tech to improve their virtual game, such as a Video Conference Lighting Kit or a Smart Wi-Fi Router for Wi-Fi dead spots around the house. Even further, many of us have struggled with discomfort from poor posture in the home office. Why not send your giftee an innovative Massage Roller to relax those tense muscles this holiday season?

2. Virtual Travelling Experience (VR Tourism)

Gift your favorite traveler their own VR Headset to complement a virtual travelling experience! Whether they choose to take a breathtaking helicopter ride over tourist spots around the world or visit NASA research facilities across the U.S., you can rest assured that you will have given them the gift of travel in the safest way possible this year.

3. A Gift Card from Your Favorite Small Business

Earlier this year, we ran a 6-month project to support heavily impacted community businesses during these challenging times. We invite you to play your part by sending your loved ones a gift card or purchase a gift online from your favorite local business. Some cool ideas from independent businesses include customized self-care kits, handcrafted home décor and clothing, and virtual group classes for activities such as painting, yoga, and cooking.

4. Phone Screen Magnifier

This special gift will double the size of your phone screen while maintaining the HD quality, making it the perfect gift for anyone with a smartphone. Give your loved ones a break from focusing on tiny pixels — they’ll love you for it!

5. Silk Pillowcases

Recent developments in the industry have led to pillowcases with cooling capabilities that prevent bedhead and reduce damage to skin. This holiday season, give your friends and family the gift of luxurious sleep with must-have silk pillowcases!

We hope our list has helped you create your own holiday list. From all of us at Cookhouse Labs, we wish you and your loved ones a wonderful and safe holiday this year — and we can’t wait to see you in the New Year!

Wondering what we have planned for 2021? Our Events Calendar is live and full of innovative projects, Masterclasses, and global events. Check it out here!

24-Hour Global WinterHack 2021 [Nov 18-19]

Our gift to you in these challenging times: Open and Free for Insurers, Reinsurers, Brokers, Insurance-Related Startups and Vendors, and Students.

Last year, we hosted our first virtual global 24-hour hackathon, SummerHack 2020. After the overwhelmingly positive response, we’re excited to announce we’re back with WinterHack 2021!  

Who can attend? 

  • Academia and insurance organizations from all over the world! Each team must have between 3 to 5 participants to compete in this Hackathon 
  • Insurers and Brokers who are unable to provide a full team can instead become mentors, providing industry expertise to a student team. In this case, our event team will assign an insurance organization to a student team 

How does it work? 

  • Register your team using the registration form below, and we will get back to you with further details 
  • Prior to the Hackathon, you will receive access to prep material and your team’s unique communications channel 
  • During the event, our facilitators will guide you through the Hackathon process and will provide valuable information, templates, and support on how to apply the Design Thinking methodology to drive the best results for your solution 
  • You will receive the challenge at the beginning of the Hackathon 
  • At the end of the Hackathon, each team will present their solution in a joint final presentation to a wider global audience, and the winning team will be selected and announced by our committee of insurers 

When is the Hackathon? 

  • Start: Wednesday, November 18th, at 8 am EST 
  • End: Thursday November 19th, at 9 am EST 
  • Final Presentations: Thursday, November 19th, at 9.30 am EST 

What’s in it for you? 

  • Learn the Design Thinking methodology, as well as how you can apply it 
  • Gain tips and tricks from certified experts featured in our virtual Masterclasses 
  • Show your skills and impress our judges with your team’s extraordinary results 
  • Build Lo-fi prototypes to show the opportunities of IoT insurance 
  • Connect with experienced innovators (local and international) 
  • The achievement of conquering a 24-Hour Hackathon! 

What’s the prize? 

To be announced soon! 

How do I join?  

  • Enter your email address below to join our mailing list — we will send you updates on our upcoming events and how to join the excitement! 

Other questions? 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to Insiya Meherally, our Community Manager, at insiya.meherally@cookhouselabs.com! 

WinterHack 2021: Final Pitch Event

Our gift to you in these challenging times: Open and Free for Insurers, Reinsurers, Brokers, Insurance-Related Startups and Vendors, and Students.

Last year, we hosted our first virtual global 24-hour hackathon, SummerHack 2020. After the overwhelmingly positive response, we’re excited to announce we’re back with WinterHack 2021!  

SummerHack 2021: Final Pitch Event

Our gift to you in these challenging times: Open and Free for Insurers, Reinsurers, Brokers, Insurance-Related Startups and Vendors, and Students.

After the success of last year’s event, Cookhouse Labs is proud to present SummerHack 2021: Global Design Thinking Ideathon! Join some of the world’s best insurance organizations, startups, and student innovators for 2 days of exciting insurance innovation, ideation, and competition!  
 

SummerHack 2021: Global Design Thinking Ideathon [May 18-20]

Our gift to you in these challenging times: Open and Free for Insurers, Reinsurers, Brokers, Insurance-Related Startups and Vendors, and Students.

After the success of last year’s event, Cookhouse Labs is proud to present SummerHack 2021: Global Design Thinking Ideathon! Join some of the world’s best insurance organizations, startups, and student innovators for 2 days of exciting insurance innovation, ideation, and competition!  
 

Why should I join?  

  • Re/insurers and Brokers: This is your chance to connect with your internal teams and global talent to put your agility and creativity to work while creating real business solutions to digitize insurance  
  • Startups and Vendors: Take this opportunity to network and work alongside insurance organizations looking for fresh ideas and new business connections  
  • Students: Show current and future business leaders why you should be their #1 pick for a career in InsurTech!    
      

Event Format  

  • 2 day virtual global event + 3 hour final pitch  
  • Facilitated ideathon following Design Thinking methodology in breakout sessions   
  • Ideathon period: Tuesday, May 18th and Wednesday, May 19th, 2021  
  • The 2-day ideathon period will be held in 3 different time zones — Eastern Standard Time, Central European Time, and Singapore Time — from 9 AM to 6 PM  
  • Final Pitch Event: Thursday, May 20th at 8 AM EST  
      

How does it work?  

  • During the matching process, Re/insurance organizations can invite startups, vendors, and student innovators to join their corporate teams to provide ideas, expertise, and skills, such as UX/UI Design  
  • Guided hackathon — our innovation experts will provide the right guidance on methodologies and tools to achieve best results following the Design Thinking Methodology  
  • We will provide prep material, including Design Thinking Masterclasses and a guide on how to structure your time according to the stages defined in the methodology  

Challenges  

  • 4 different challenges related to the theme (to be announced!), covering commercial and personal lines, health/life, and P&C insurance   
  • Challenge statements will be released during the kickoff event  

Language  

  • Event language is English, including facilitation, support, and final pitch (including submission documentation)   
  • Teams can work in their preferred language  

Questions? 

Please do not hesitate to reach out to Insiya Meherally, our Community Manager, at insiya.meherally@cookhouselabs.com! 

How do I join?  

  • Enter your email address below to join our mailing list — we will send you updates on our upcoming events and how to join the excitement! 

This Ideathon is the perfect platform to connect with experienced innovators, both local and international. As you show your skills and impress our judges with your team’s extraordinary results, don’t forget to network and have fun! 

WinterHack 2020: Final Pitch Event

Winterhack 2020

Our gift to you in these challenging times: Open and Free for Insurers, Reinsurers, Brokers, Insurance-Related Startups and Vendors, and Students.
Click here to register to attend the Final Pitch Event!

Cookhouse Labs is proud to present WinterHack 2020: Global Design Thinking Ideathon, in collaboration with InsurLab Germany and msg.  Witness results from some of the world’s best insurance organizations, startups, and student innovators as they race against the clock in 2 days of exciting insurance innovation, ideation, and competition around the theme “Digital Ecosystems”! 
 

WinterHack 2020: Global Design Thinking Ideathon [Nov 3-5]

Winterhack 2020

Our gift to you in these challenging times: Open and Free for Insurers, Reinsurers, Brokers, Insurance-Related Startups and Vendors, and Students.
Click here to register!

Cookhouse Labs is proud to present WinterHack 2020: Global Design Thinking Ideathon, in collaboration with InsurLab Germany and msg. Join some of the world’s best insurance organizations, startups, and student innovators for 48 hours of exciting insurance innovation, ideation, and competition around the theme “Digital Ecosystems”! 
 

Why should I join? 

  • Re/insurers and Brokers: This is your chance to connect with your internal teams and global talent to put your agility and creativity to work while creating real business solutions to digitize insurance 
  • Startups and Vendors: Take this opportunity to network and work alongside insurance organizations looking for fresh ideas and new business connections 
  • Students: Show current and future business leaders why you should be their #1 pick for a career in InsurTech!   
     

Event Format 

  • 2 day virtual global event + 3 hour final pitch 
  • Facilitated hackathon following Design Thinking methodology in breakout sessions  
  • Hackathon period: Tuesday, November 3rd and Wednesday, November 4th, 2020 
  • The 2-day hackathon period will be held in 3 different time zones — Eastern Daylight Time, Central European Time, and Singapore Time — from 9 AM to 6 PM 
  • Final Pitch Event: Thursday, November 5th, 2020 at 9 AM EDT 
     

How does it work? 

  • During the matching process, Re/insurance organizations can invite startups, vendors, and student innovators to join their corporate teams to provide ideas, expertise, and skills, such as UX/UI Design 
  • Guided hackathon — our innovation experts will provide the right guidance on methodologies and tools to achieve best results following the Design Thinking Methodology 
  • We will provide prep material, including Design Thinking Masterclasses and a guide on how to structure your time according to the stages defined in the methodology 
     

Challenges 

  • 4 different challenges related to the theme “Digital Ecosystems”, covering commercial and personal lines, health/life, and P&C insurance  
  • Challenge statements will be released during the kickoff event 
     

Language 

  • Event language is English, including facilitation, support, and final pitch (including submission documentation)  
  • Teams can work in their preferred language 
     

How do I join? 

  • Click here to access the official event platform!

This Hackathon is the perfect platform to connect with experienced innovators, both local and international. As you show your skills and impress our judges with your team’s extraordinary results, don’t forget to network and have fun! 

Posted on

A Mid-Year Toast to Global Collaboration

Since our relaunch in December 2019, Cookhouse Labs has grown into a global center for insurance innovation. Through our co-creation sprints and diverse menu of events and trainings, we have brought together innovators from around the world to collaborate and #MakeInsuranceBetter.

At the Lab, we end every project with a collective celebration. Whether we’re in our physical space or connected virtually, our innovators and internal team members raise their favorite drinks for a toast to yet another successful collaboration.

We recently crossed the mid-year mark — this milestone inspired us to reflect on the past 6 months and celebrate the achievements on our journey since December. Every project is successful because of our valuable community of innovators, and we would like to invite you grab your favorite drink and join us in this virtual celebration!

Here’s a look at our year so far:

1. Our virtual event calendar was launched in just 2 days

In March, we swiftly moved our Lean Startup Training online just 2 days before the event. The initial virtual setup consisted of large parts, such as green screens and light stands, that spread across the Lab space. As we continued to host our online events, we began to include exciting tools — such as our well-known digital whiteboard — where our innovators posted thousands of virtual sticky notes full of insights and ideas, much like our in-person experience.

2. 150+ innovators joined our community this year

Global innovators of all ages joined our virtual events! They collaborated on week-long sprints, participated in our innovation trainings, and shared their lunch hour with us via our webinars. Our innovators brought new ideas and diverse perspectives to our projects, stemming from rich backgrounds in HR, IT, innovation, senior management, and student life!

3 . We ran 6 major co-creation projects

Our sprints covered themes around attracting young talent, collaborating with InsurTech startups, and challenges of insurance. Our community support sprint, which we first ran in April, is currently in Phase II, where the solution is being further developed and executed (reach out to us if you want to get involved in making a difference in the community). We also hosted a 24-hour student project around small business bankruptcy prevention. We completed nearly every one of these projects virtually, and doing so allowed us to collaborate with innovators worldwide!

4. 155+ ideas were generated in our projects

We challenged innovators to ideate potential solutions to the current issues faced in the insurance industry, and we were blown away by the incredible ideas shared! Our teams came up with solutions that could be implemented as early as the next week, as well as more complex

solutions that would be rolled out over several months. One of these ideas was a virtual summit to provide community support in these challenging times, and our innovators are currently working on executing this idea in Phase II of the sprint (learn more about how you can get involved)!

5. We hosted 9 innovation trainings

Our Head Innovation Coach walked participants through several exciting innovation methodologies, including Design Thinking, Lean Startup, and Google Sprint. To help our community facilitate their own innovation projects, we hosted a Train the Trainer session, where participants learned valuable coaching tools and skills. Our Senior UX/UI Designer led our Design Tools Training, and by the end of the day, attendees walked away with their own Lo-Fi prototypes of mobile applications.

While this year has certainly been busy, it is far from over! Our Events Team is currently hard at work building our upcoming virtual summit to support small business owners as they recover from current business interruptions.

Preparation for our 24-hour Global SummerHack 2020 is also in full swing! This year’s theme is “IoT Disruption in Insurance”, and we’re very excited to see what our teams will build in this race against the clock!

As we raise a toast in celebration of our milestone, we want to thank YOU, the community, for your continued interest, engagement, and commitment to bring the industry together. Your enthusiasm inspires and motivates us every day, and we are grateful for your support in our journey to #MakeInsuranceBetter!