Sullis handles the application and evaluation process for FirstBlock-athon, from submission to selection. Applications are made on the company's own site.

Sorting the applicants

The platform screens applicants using AI, manages the pipeline, and gives organisers and judges shared analytics and collaboration tools. The stated aim is faster review and more consistent assessment across everyone doing the judging.

Consistency is the harder part. Hackathon selection is usually done by a handful of people reading applications in whatever order they arrive, with no way to check whether the first ten were judged like the last ten.

Then it follows the teams in

For participants the platform does not stop at selection. It offers market intelligence, competitive analysis, business model validation and go-to-market strategy, and lets teams simulate how a solution might hold up in a real market.

That lowers the threshold for taking part. Someone with a problem worth solving but no experience turning it into a business gets the analysis alongside the build, rather than being expected to bring it.

FirstBlock-athon runs 7–11 September in Stockholm as part of Nordic Tech Week 2026. Applications are open.

More on what's built on the blockchain beyond finance in Onchain Build.