Prefer watching over reading? Here’s the video version of this post—click below to check it out. Or, if you’re up for it, keep reading below!
Participating in a hackathon is always a rollercoaster ride of emotions, creativity, and learning. Looking back at our recent experience, there are some key takeaways that I'd like to share—lessons learned that will certainly shape how I approach future projects.
During the hackathon, our team set out to solve a common problem in data retrieval: making complex data queries more accessible to non-technical users. Our idea was simple yet powerful—allowing customers to enter a natural language query like, "Give me the names of items that were sold the most in the last quarter in the APAC region." Behind the scenes, our system would leverage large language models (LLMs) to convert this query into a standard SQL statement, fetch the relevant data in tabular format, and then translate it back into natural language. The result? A seamless, user-friendly response that empowers users to access critical data without needing to understand the intricacies of SQL or database management.
Our aim was to bring ease of use and efficiency to customers by bridging the gap between natural language and data queries. The hackathon provided a unique opportunity to push the boundaries of what’s possible with AI, and while we learned a lot, the journey didn’t end there...
💡The Core Idea vs. Presentation
Our team was heavily invested in developing our core idea, which we believed had the potential to stand out. However, in hindsight, we realized that while the idea itself was solid, the presentation fell short of being engaging. Our UI was extremely basic—just a chat box with an enter button. It was functional but lacked the visual appeal that could make someone want to use it. When I saw other teams’ projects, even the simplest ideas had intuitive and engaging UIs. It made me think, "Would I use our app if I were the end user?" The honest answer was no.
💡The Power of Presentation
Another area where we missed the mark was our PowerPoint presentation. I’ve always believed that presentations should be minimalistic, focusing more on content than on flashy elements. Our presentation reflected this philosophy, but in this case, it worked against us. While other teams incorporated animations, GIFs, and interactive elements into their presentations, ours remained basic—a single page with a few lines. I still believe in minimalism, but this experience taught me that sometimes, especially in competitive environments, a bit of flashiness is necessary to capture attention and demonstrate effort.
💡The Technical Challenge
Our project involved machine learning and large language models (LLMs), and at one point, we had everything under control. However, during the demo, the LLM didn’t cooperate as expected. It hallucinated and produced a random output at the worst possible moment. This was a significant minus point in our presentation. Despite this, I still believe our core concept was strong, and our team did an excellent job in bringing it to life.
💡Teamwork and Collaboration
I’m proud of how well our team worked together. Swanand and Jayesh did a fantastic job preparing the data & test cases to evaluate the application’s performance, and Vithoba and I focused on building the LLM functionality. The collaboration was strong, and it’s something I’ll continue to emphasize in future projects.
🟢Key Takeaways
Reflecting on this experience, several important lessons stand out:
🟢Design Matters : No matter how strong your idea is, the user experience and design are crucial. Engaging UI can make or break the end-user’s interest in your product.
🟢Don’t Underestimate the Competition : We were the only team working with AI and LLMs, which gave us a false sense of confidence. Underestimating other participants and relying too much on our core idea without considering the presentation aspect was a mistake.
🟢Focus on Collaboration : Our team’s collaboration was a strong point, but there’s always room for improvement. Better communication and understanding could have further enhanced our project.
🟢Adapt Your Presentation Style : While I still believe in minimalistic presentations, I’ve learned that certain environments call for a bit more creativity and flair to capture attention.
In conclusion, while we didn’t win the hackathon, I believe we achieved something valuable—we learned. These experiences and lessons will guide my future projects, ensuring that we not only have strong ideas but also present them in the most engaging and effective way possible.
Thanks for following along on this journey. I’m looking forward to applying these learnings in the next challenge. We may not have taken the top spot, but the lessons we’ve learned are invaluable, and they’ve set the stage for even greater achievements in the future. Onward and upward—this is just the beginning! 🚀