When it comes to HeroX, one thing is for sure: we're more than just talk. So confident are we that crowdsourcing is the way of the future, we've put together our own challenge. What are we in the market for? Your humblebrags, basically. 

It's called the Unleash Your Superhero Challenge, and there are 10 days remaining for you to submit your remarkable story about a brilliant creation or breakthrough in which you have played a role. There are prizes for the most compelling stories!

In the meantime, we wanted to show off three of the current competitors, and share their incredible accomplishments they've been so kind as to share with us! 

Marianne Angelo's BC Pre-vis

After enduring treatment for breast cancer, Marianne used her first-hand experience to found BC Pre-vis, a service to help educate patients and their families prior to breast reconstruction surgery. The service consists of an app that borrows a technique used in filmmaking called "pre-viz," short for pre-visualization. Pre-visualization is a critical step in the collaborative creative process that allows for a client to gain a full understanding of what their finished visual product will actually look like - everything from lighting to framing and all other aesthetic decisions. ​

Marianne imported this artful technique directly from her industry into the world of surgical reconstruction, BC Pre-Vis ensures that patients undergoing bodily reconstruction have a visual reference for what to expect for their own body prior to the procedure.

In her own words: "When I started working with women who were contemplating reconstruction, they didn't know what to ask for. They just wanted to get back to normal. They were still in shock about an amputation and would just default to the surgeon and hope for the best. But when I show patients what they can expect for their own body prior to surgery - and not photos of a stranger's body demonstrating a perfect before and after - they are wowed."

UT Dallas

At the University of Texas at Dallas' Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, they have reinvented entrepreneurship in higher education. Specifically, they've reinvented the pathway and process for students to gain entrepreneurial knowledge, skills, and support by providing a platform that identifies the brightest ideas. Once selected product development, and customer interaction are applied through a "lean startup" approach. They have also developed a launched student-led seed fund that supports successful startups. Through networking within the Dallas-Fort Worth startup community, the most successful ideas are able to pivot into small companies upon hitting critical mass during their growth stage. 

According to Jeremy Vickers, representative for the program: "In the past year since we initiated this change we've seen top-down support from the university, increased program participation by 2x, and doubled the number of startups coming out of the university every year. Additionally, we raised a $1M grant from the Blackstone Foundation, over $500,000 from corporate partners, and a $500,000 investment for our initial seed fund."

ProjectMQ

ProjectMQ is a global social community for indie game studios and their fans. Gamers excited to support small studios use ProjectMQ to discover the best new indie games. As life-long game enthusiasts and (aspiring) indie game developers, themselves, the founders came to this idea through their own admitted passion for independent game developers.

Watch the trailer above.

As one cofounder, Marcus Howard puts it: "Indie devs have it tough, so we volunteer what resources we have to make them successful. In recent years, with the addition of low/no cost game dev tools and accessible distribution channels, it’s never been easier for anyone to learn game development. It’s clear to us that the future of gaming is indie, and we intend to support that future however we can."