In light of #SmallBusinessWeek taking place May 5-11, Visa and the U.S. Small Business Administration are teaming up again to host a hackathon to kick off the annual affair. Entrepreneurs, designers and developers can team up to build app-based solutions that will help small businesses prepare and recover from major natural disasters like hurricanes, wildfires and earthquakes.

The hackathon kicks off on Friday, May 3 with pitches and team formulations. Teams will spend the weekend hacking before final demos take place on Sunday, May 5, at 10 a.m. The solutions will be judged by a panel that includes this reporter (me), Visa VP of Global Small Business Nate Smith, Three Brothers Bakery President Janice Jucker and SBA CIO Maria Roat.

The first place team will be awarded $25,000, second place gets $15,000 and the third place winner will be awarded $10,000. In addition to the grand prize, $10,000 in extra giveaways will be awarded for the best APIs.

The entire event will take place at the Inclusive Innovation Incubator, located at 2301 Georgia Ave. NW, Washington, D.C., 20001. The event is free for the public.

Check out these other tech and innovation events happening this month:

“My Friend Wrote This Book” with Christine Platt & Ian McPherson

Eaton DC is hosting its spin on the traditional book club by putting authors in conversation with their friends to share personal experiences in the world of writing and publishing. For this addition, seven-year-old Ian McPherson will be in conversation with Christine Platt to discuss Ana & Andrew, Christine’s debut four-part early chapter book series.

• Saturday, May 4
  
• 12:00–2:00 p.m.
• Crystal Room @Eaton DC, 1201 K St NW, Washington, D.C., 20005
  
• Register. Free.

Housing Tech Demo, Discussion & Drinks

Join nonprofit Enterprise to see how five cutting-edge startups are working to solve the housing affordability challenge through housing tech. The event is sponsored by Cooley and Autodesk with support from HUNGRY, The Influencer Collective, Mindspace and more.

• Tuesday, May 14
  
• 5:30–7:30 p.m.
• Mindspace, 1301 K St NW, Washington, D.C., 20005
  
• Register. Free.

DC Tech Meetup #71: Demos, Demos, Demos

This classic meetup sponsored by CreditWise, a Capital One Product, will kick off with an intro by DC Tech Meetup organizers followed by a presentation of “10 Things You Need to Know about #DCTECH.” Attendees will then hear demos from companies developing new tech in the D.C. area.  The meetup will conclude with an open mic portion followed by a happy hour.

• Monday, May 13
  
• 7:00–9:00 p.m.
• Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, 600 I St NW, Washington, D.C., 20001
• RSVP. Free.

How to Land a Developer Job: Panel

• Wednesday, May 22
  
• 6:00–8:00 p.m.
• WeWork, 1440 G Street NW, Washington, D.C., 20005
• RSVP. Free.

Vantage Data Centers Opening Ceremony

Save the date and join Vantage Data Centers to celebrate the company’s first data center in Data Center Alley with hors d’oeuvres, entertainment, networking and an exclusive tour of the new facility.

• Thursday, May 23
  
• 11:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
• 1300 Moran Road, Sterling, VA, 20166
• Formal invite to come.