HustleHawks originated as a business idea for a New Venture group project in which all first-year students at the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics participate. This year-long project involved creating the concept for a business idea and building a business model around the idea, leading up to a final presentation to a panel of judges where groups and their respective ideas compete. HustleHawks (which at the time was called HustleHawk) finished as a semi-finalist out of ~250 teams with the help and contribution of all group members.