At first, I decided to participate in HackDartmouth just for the experience, so I didn’t pay much attention to the prizes and had no idea about them.
The three awards I received yesterday all came with corresponding items, so much so that I thought the prizes were just the things I received in my hands until I confirmed the awards last night.
It turned out I was wrong. After all, who would read the description of the prizes? This was actually a Founder Starter Kit, including promised credits (which I really needed, making the trip worthwhile) and a portfolio, among other things.
The person in charge will contact me this week to fulfill the prizes and handle the next steps.
Most participants in this event were from the Boston and New York areas, including but not limited to students from Columbia, NYU, BU, BC, Colgate, and other large universities and liberal arts colleges, as well as Dartmouth students (I had a Dartmouth junior on my team).
The actual Hackathon process wasn’t as uneventful as it seemed. From my perspective, a lot happened:
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Someone mistakenly took my suitcase, and I had to look for it so much that the staff recognized me because of it.
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Since I was the only one from my school participating, I took a two-hour bus ride to Chicago, then flew to Boston and finally to Dartmouth, staying overnight before and after. People were always surprised when I told them about my journey.
(Of course, the prizes directly covered the cost of flights and accommodations, and even exceeded them by a lot, not to mention the invaluable experiences I gained.)
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Before I almost decided to solo hack (working on a project alone), a guy talked to me about his project idea, but he wanted to do AR/VR. Since we couldn’t compromise, we didn’t form a team. After the awards, he came to find me again, asking about and listening to my project idea.
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When the teams were being congratulated, I might have been mistaken for a staff member because I was wearing a hat, so I was overlooked during handshakes and small talk. When the person turned around to prepare, my teammate reminded them, “We have one more teammate here.”
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Although this was my first Hackathon, my teammates had participated in many (one had been to six), so most of the time, I learned from their experiences and stories. Even so, during the demo, my teammates always mentioned that the inspiration came from me (and that I was writing a book). In fact, my name appeared directly as the source of inspiration in the project description.
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Oh, I still don’t have the habit of posting selfies, so I’ll blur myself out.
(Sometimes, I feel like I’m living in a novel.)
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Actually, I’ve been considering starting a business since the beginning of this year, but I’ve been waiting and originally planned to start the project during the summer break (this semester’s 20 credits, writing a book, ongoing research projects, and other miscellaneous tasks are becoming overwhelming).
Starting a business is undoubtedly troublesome and difficult, including startup funds, networking, etc. At the Honor College’s research fair, I also connected with the person in charge of an early-stage investment project, but I couldn’t plan and execute it in detail due to time constraints. This Founder Starter Kit is an unexpected and excellent beginning and booster.
I read the prize book on the plane back, and although I didn’t read the detailed content, the general framework and process opened the doors to a new world for me. The book also includes interviews with some successful entrepreneurs, some of whom have familiar names.
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It’s true that sometimes, just when I’m tired and want to give up, an unknown source of faith and opportunity gets me busy again.
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