Minimum effort for 10x
There was something that frequently came up over lunch or during team workshops.
"It would be awesome if we tried something like this!"
But it rarely led to actual product specs. Estimating the impact of completely new ideas is tough, and we're usually busy enough with high-priority tasks already in progress.
So, these "it would be awesome if..." thoughts kept piling up. I figured the seed of a 10x growth could be hiding inside these out-of-the-box attempts, so I decided we needed to pick a day and crush it together. Instead of worrying about polish, we agreed to build things just enough to experience the ideas firsthand. And rather than pulling an all-nighter like a real hackathon, we decided to keep it light and focus for just about 6 hours.
That’s how we ended up naming the event "Hackathon Mini."
Now, it was time to form teams, gather on our own, and get ready. We decided to kick things off early on a Friday morning right after our official squad schedules wrapped up, present by teams at 5 PM, and then vote. Everything else (how much to sync beforehand, where to work, what to eat, etc.) was left entirely up to each team.
Here are some words and photos documenting our fun Hackathon Mini journey.
1. Should we try this? Or that?
Once we actually gathered, there was so much we wanted to do!
After the teams were formed, each group sat down to decide what they wanted to build, and right from the start, different team colors began to show. From squashing bugs we’d always wanted to fix, to adding new types of existing features, or even introducing features we’d never attempted before, a wide variety of ideas were unearthed. Along the way, some people chased their own romance (?) and hopped to other teams, while others compromised with reality and abandoned their romantic ideals. Even before the hackathon day arrived, there were plenty of entertaining scenes.
2. A chaotic start
A rockier start than expected
Official squad schedules never go exactly as planned. Coincidentally, during the sprint where the hackathon was scheduled, we were hit with an unusually high number of surprise issues. As the event organizer, I even had to take time off for a family commitment. As you'll see in the event feedback later, the hackathon itself fortunately acted as a healing remedy for all that chaos. It had an unexpected, refreshing effect. I think this was possible because we were working in a completely different environment, comfortably pursuing ideas we actually wanted to build, completely free from our usual codebase and the endless dependencies we normally have to worry about. Maybe that's why we ended up chatting so casually while working.
3. Time flies!
Ahhh! We need more time!
Our team was riding high. Although this was an event where developing just one idea was enough, we figured we could pull off at least four. That’s how we started, but time was much tighter than expected. We got technically blocked in unexpected places, and as our ambition kept growing (a classic case of feature creep), we couldn't wrap things up quickly. In the end, we only managed to develop three. (Sob...)
Specifically, since our ideas utilized specific iOS features (push messages, Live Activities, Siri, etc.), we faced quite a few technical challenges. During this process, I got a rare glimpse of our iOS team lead Saeroi's competitive spirit. It was impressive watching him relentlessly tinkering and trying to get it working even on the subway ride to the office for the presentation. Six hours flew by in a flash, and I also frantically began filming demo videos for our presentation deck.
4. Since when are presentations this fun?
A colorful array of presentation performances
We didn't provide any specific guidelines for the presentations. I just asked everyone to share their goals and their final output. Maybe that's why each of the 5 teams expressed themselves in completely different, colorful ways perfectly suited to showing off their unique charm.
Team "Sean-bidan" showcased a novel idea by turning their team lead, Sean, into a character. Everyone cracked up at Sean blushing over the high-quality presentation slides that looked like something out of a straight-A student's group project. The next team, "Mission Keepers," presented four ideas, conducting their presentation by running live demos in front of everyone, which really let us feel the practical impact of their ideas. The third team up was ours, the "Gwanggyo Goranis." In a presentation deck featuring a stark white background and Malgun Gothic-style fonts, three goranis (water deer) ran around introducing essential features within the user journey. It wasn't a live demo, but playing demo videos managed to convey a certain level of effectiveness.
Following them, team "Gihun-hyung" used incredible storytelling buildup to introduce a clever feature called "All-in on Turn Off." The audience reaction was fiery, probably because it involved gambling-like dopamine and cash rewards—ideas we've never dared to think of for our product. Finally, team "Ma-choong" kicked off their presentation using a Notion document to outline a solid problem definition. Thanks to their introduction of a heartwarming feature centered on the concept of "Mind Charging" for modern people, the somewhat overheated atmosphere wrapped up on a warm and cozy note.
Our Hackathon Mini had us 1) wanting to do so many things, 2) getting off to a chaotic start, and 3) facing much less time than expected, yet 4) preparing high-quality presentations. In short, only the given constraints were "mini"—the actual progress and presentations were taken to the "max." Right after the presentations finished, amidst the heated excitement, we immediately ran a survey. We voted for the two most impressive teams and collected feedback on the overall hackathon event. Out of 29 eligible voters, 28 participated, and the feedback broke down as follows. Thanks to this, I think we can make the next one even more fun and useful.
[A] It was fun and enjoyable. [38%]
[B] There were many useful ideas. [25%]
[C] It would be great if everyone could participate together. (This mini one was limited to product departments) [21%]
[D] It was refreshing and motivating. [18%]
[E] I wish we had more time. [11%]
Ah, so who won? Well, does the winning team really matter? We all gained fun, enjoyment, usefulness, and a sense of refreshment, so we're all winners, really. The-
But of course, a winning team did emerge. Voting is ruthless, after all.
Coincidentally, the "Gwanggyo Goranis" team—which included the event organizer—ended up taking the crown. Haha.
With the final lesson that next time, voting and ballot counting should be done transparently with one member from each team participating...
I’ll wrap up this record of Hackathon Mini, which will definitely go down as the most memorable event of the year. :D
Mad respect to my fellow Delighters who safely wrapped up a hectic sprint schedule and still ran so passionately and beautifully during the hackathon!
⏰ DelightRoom is looking for precious colleagues to share this kind of hackathon experience with 🙌