A few weeks ago, while scrolling through Facebook, I found this sponsored article saying that Fortum is looking for new ideas and therefore organizing a hackathon. The general idea of what they were looking for seemed nice, so I decided to participate.
I’m a great fan of data and statistical analysis, so EnergyData approach was an easy choice to make. I wrote a short description of my idea and sent it without any greater hopes. The day after I reread it and thought it’s kind of sucky. I could write it better. But what the hell, at least I knew for the next time how to prepare it properly.
And surprise! Two or three days later I got the info that I qualified for the 2nd round.
So last Saturday I got to participate in My First Hackathon.
Though it wasn’t a hackathon where you design a working prototype. Basically, we had to push a little bit forward our initial ideas, convince the jury that this solution would not only benefit the users, but also the company itself.
And this his how Your Carbon Footprint was born:
The main idea behind the app is to help people lower their electricity bills and lead more eco lifestyle.
Apparently, my presentation made some impression on the jury, because…
I got the 3rd place! 
And the competition was really hard. There were a lot of pro looking people and some ideas just blew my mind with their innovative approach.
So I’m actually very proud of myself.
What I’ve learnt from this experience?
- Don’t disable the ads on Facebook
- Participate in challenges and push forward your design skills, even if it’s just for fun. It’s a way to exercise your brain.
- If the jury asks difficult questions, try to answer them as best as possible. They are not there to try to kill your project but are genially curious how are you going to solve the loopholes.
- Ask for feedback. Always. You might have failed this time, but at least you’ll know what to fix next time.
