Make-a-thon 1.0 [Mind == Blown]

I was extremely privileged to mentor dreamers from MIT Manipal this past week for #Inkmakers. The occasion was Make-a-thon 1.0. Usually you expect college students to be laid back, some coming up with ideas, usually the me too types, others trying to build something just because they thought it was cool, proper understanding of the problem is usually missing.

People would have read about a project or product which is successful in some markets around the world, usually from sources like Tech Crunch, Wired and many more. Wannabe entrepreneurs, who get inspired by wolf of wall street and start running behind funding instead of generating revenue, start focusing on building technology but not on actually solving a problem that matters. Instead of creating a value, they go for valuation. The past hackathons I have been to, was more often than not this case. But I had not prepared for what I was going to see next.

The venue was incredible, I could see the fusion of art, design and technology everywhere at the design studios. Beauty everywhere! After the introductory session, students went straight into the making mode. And I started visiting the teams. Most of the teams wanted to build a solution, a product at times without actually knowing if there was a need for it in the first place.

The theme of the event was Build to sell. You can't sell a solution to a problem that you think exists, but in reality doesn't really. I was asking them some really tough questions. My agenda was clear, rip apart the solutions-to-problem approach. Ask the Whys, the Whats and the Hows. And I did. So how do you know if there is a need? Answer is simple. Market research. Find out what people, processes or companies really need. The easiest way? Surveys. Talk to people. That is all you need to do. WHY is always more important than the solution.

Day 1 was intense. I was tough on the teams, but by the end of the day, the WHYs were becoming clearer. Now the teams started focusing more on HOW to solve the WHYs. It was going pretty well. The one team however that inspired me the most was this team of 4 who I was the hardest on. They discarded brilliant ideas because they thought they were stupid and took the one idea that solves no problem what so ever.

Day two, some teams were still refining their ideas. I could see how teams were now sending out questionnaires to everyone taking feedback on the ideas, surveying, making meaningful conclusions. Trying to use the User Centric Design approach without even knowing they were. To my surprise, no matter how many times I shot them down, they kept coming back. Better every time, with more powerful answers to my questions, more clarity on processes, more clarity on need and finally, there they were, from juggling around between multiple ideas at 3pm a day before, to filtering all of them to just one.

I could see them transform. Ideas ranged from Home automation systems, to accident prevention systems in the kitchen, to generic medicine aggregators, to revolutionary pen designs by Architects, to the one that affects us all, pooping. Another team made a revolutionary stretcher. Getting the inspiration from personal stories and observations, they realised that the best stretchers in the world could be comfy but still need a lot of people to navigate. They cracked down this problem.

By the time judging started I was just happy see the hacks that mattered. Hardware hardware everywhere! Judging was extremely difficult too! Finally 7 teams have been selected to be a part of Ink Live 2015, in Mumbai, they won cash prizes, a trip and accomodation in Mumbai too!

All together, I know this was the best ever hackathon I have been too. I did not meet wanna be entrepreneurs and developers, I met real problem solvers, I met product designers, I met people with a developing vision. I guess, you learn more in a 24 hour hackathon, about yourself, about life, about education, about implementation, about faith, density, accidents and serendipity, than you will learn in the 4 years of Engineering. All thanks to the Ink team for giving me an opportunity like this. Build things that matter!