CRED Rabbit Hole Hackathon
It was a CRED world; we were just building in it. Everything from the event poster to the hackathon's internal page to every design, including the podium, was done in a typical CREDesque style. 🧑🎨
I think great design inspires. Compared to other hackathons, I generally saw better focus on how it looks and not only on how it works. Personally, I was clear from day zero, my product needs to look and feel amazing.
They got around 70-odd builders together and over 150+ CRED employees over a weekend. it is mostly going to be a great event if the people who are supporting the participants are in a 2:1 ratio. Each one of us had a buddy and a mentor to help us think through our problems, unblock us in any possible way, be it tech, logistics, or support. 👷
When you do something, be it with 10 or 100 people, pay attention to details, and you will continue to grow in the right direction.
The format was unique: solo participation + one prize of 50 lakh + 3 themes to build within. As Kunal said at the closing ceremony, it is a way to model real life; there is nearly always one winner. Great decision to have broad problem areas that we could pick from, or else there would be no focus.
It was a way to push us to think big because with an average idea, you cannot win. With the current tech shift, we must think and execute big.
Met some incredible builders, warm and helpful people, throughout the 3 days. They did a great thing by only picking people with 5+ YOE; overall, it raised the maturity of the group and the quality of products.
After a long break from hackathons, I thought: I should do more of these. I should spend more time with this group of people. I think gravity would get us together more. Overall, it is a great time to build, iterate, and always remember this line from Kevin Weil, CPO of OpenAI - 'models we use right now, will be the worst we will ever use in our lives'