AI Hackathon

We had a whiteboard, way too much coffee, and an idea that sounded simple until we started building it at midnight. The scope changed three times before sunrise.

What actually won it wasn't the cleverest model integration — it was cutting our first plan in half and shipping something that worked end-to-end, live, in front of judges. A half-finished ambitious idea loses to a small idea that runs.

We placed first. More useful than the trophy was the confirmation that a tight feedback loop and a ruthlessly scoped MVP will consistently beat a bigger, half-built idea — a lesson that now shapes how I scope real production work too.