Before Christmas, I participated in another Hackathon. I was not thinking about winning, I just wanted to make it to the top 20. Unfortunately, my team did not scale through.
For the first time, I did not beat myself up or try to think about what I could have done right. One thing I remember clearly was sitting alone and facing my laptop and a voice just echoed Maya Angelou’s quote to me:-
You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.
I felt relieved and I focused on the next step. I am attempting two more coding challenges.
I am trying to raise funding for my tech startup (Keno.Tech). I have outlined ways I can make money from the startup but I need funds to be able to purchase the necessary items.
Our Project
The idea owner/team leader wanted to create a platform for small-scale miners to sell their gemstones to potential (international) buyers. I joined the team because I really liked the idea plus it was different from every other idea submitted. I wanted to explore something different.
I was the only dev on the team so I had to work on the UI and the backend.
Lessons
I wished I had networked more. I was so focused on building the project that I did not get time to interact with other people. In my defense, there was no time to spare :). We did share our idea with panelist, Mr. Eric Kaigama who gave us valuable feedback.
I learned about small-scale miners and how difficult it is for them to sell their gems to buyers. And lastly, I understand how to pitch now. Although I have to work on myself ’cause the thought of presenting or public speaking scares me.
Good news
On the 30th of December, I received the prize (R7,500) money from HackUrCulture. It’s more than enough to get me started on the kits I am working on.
