Hackverse Unplugged: From Beaches to Blockchain Victory! 🏆

Hackathons have always been a thrilling way to challenge myself, but Hackverse at NITK took it to a whole new level. A chance to travel, build something amazing, and soak in the beach vibes—this hackathon became one to remember. Let me take you on a ride through the journey...

Who am I ?

Hello ! I'm Dhruv, someone with a soft spot for DevOps and Open source.
Find me on LinkedIn and Github.

I'm known as slashex in online circles.

Where it began...💭

Ever since my first year, I've been participating in hackathons. They really are an entirely different vibe. My most recent hackathon—Hackverse, held at NITK—was a little bit different, though. Why? Because it was out-of-station (aka a college trip with friends)! As a cherry on top, I had never seen a beach before, so I couldn’t miss this opportunity—haha!

Plans were made, and I was delighted to see so many of my friends from Point Blank joining us on the journey for the hackathon. We even decided to leave a day early to enjoy the beach, because why not, right? XD

The Dream team 🚀

I was thrilled to make the team "Codeplay" alongside two of my beloved seniors— Akash Singh and Shreyas Reddy. I couldn’t have asked for a better team—these guys were absolutely phenomenal. Their experience, guidance, and sheer energy kept me inspired throughout the entire duration of the hackathon. 🙌🏻.

Additionally, our experienced seniors from Point blank had our backs too !

Working with these people wasn’t just about building a project; it was about learning, growing, and seeing what true collaboration looks like.

Kicking off ! ⚽

After spending a day at the Mangalore beaches, my group of friends and I were off to NITK in the evening, where we would stay at the allotted hostel for the night and head straight to the hackathon the next day.

The NITK campus was lovely—a lush, green campus with an attached beach. What else could you possibly ask for? The food at their food court was also amazing.

My friends and I kept roaming around, admiring the vastness of the campus, even though we were all pretty tired.

The next day, the hackathon officially began.

Codeplay sat. Codeplay discussed the project idea. Codeplay started coding!

The hacking phase 💻

The work was decided, and progress was being made.
We were aiming for the Finance and Web3 track. I was responsible for integrating Aptos, a blockchain network and one of the sponsors for NITK, into Sharkbucks—a platform connecting SMEs to potential investors. The blockchain network would facilitate payment transactions, providing additional security to the one-of-a-kind bidding system. This was we could apply to the Aptos sponsored track as well.

Having never worked with blockchain before, this seemed like a daunting task, but we managed to pull it off anyway!

It took me a while to get the hang of their complex CLI and multiple TypeScript SDKs—about 10 hours, to be precise XD. Those 10 hours were well invested, though—I’d say. I’m not a blockchain specialist by any means, but I can sit with you and stare at its code for hours now.

Then came the time for the midnight evaluation. The evaluator was pretty impressed! This gave enough confidence for us to keep going in the direction we were headed at.

In the next few hours, we would also implement PlotchAI—another one of the sponsors—to help us integrate a fraud prevention mechanism and provide investors with a matchmaking system for SMEs they could potentially invest in.

The First hurdle : Evaluation day

A day and night were spent working on this beautiful project, and the time had come for the first evaluation at around 1:30 PM—right after lunch (I really enjoyed the amazing food, though). The top 10 teams would be shortlisted here.

Hearts were beating fast as we gave our pitch to the judges with a live demo. The demo gods aren't usually with me, but this time, it went pretty well! The judges took a keen interest in our product and seemed impressed.

After taking a breath of fresh air following the pitch, all we could do was wait.

Although I was asleep in the auditorium when they announced the top 10 teams, I was thrilled to hear that we made it! ✨

Next up was the final pitch—which would happen on stage 🥶.

The Grand Finale !

6 minutes. That was the time allocated for the final pitch.

Those 6 minutes would usually be pretty nerve-wrecking - for other people. For me, it was another demonstration of Akash singh's brilliant presentation skills.

It was done. The stage was set, the product was made. And sharkbucks shone brightly !
After the pitch, Codeplay decided to head to the beach because we really needed it at this point.

The Result ? 🏆.

The results were announced at 7PM.

This was perhaps the moment I was most nervous in the entire 30ish hour hackathon.

When the announcer called Sharkbucks' stage for the "Grand winners, 1st place" - my mind stopped racing for a moment when it hit me - yeah, we won haha.

The past two days of intense work, sleepless nights, and enjoyment at the beach had all boiled down to this.

Going up to the stage, standing there, accepting the award, I couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude — gratitude for my brilliant teammates, for my friends, for the experience, and for the incredible journey that had brought us to this stage.

L'aventure continue 🔮

As I look back on this experience, it feels surreal to have come so far in just a matter of days.

Hackverse wasn’t just about the hackathon or the prize; it was about growth, fun, and teamwork. It was about turning a crazy idea into a reality and making lasting memories with incredible people.

Winning was the cherry on top, but the journey itself was what truly mattered. Here’s to more hackathons, more learning, and more unforgettable moments ahead. 🏆✨

Ad astra per aspera. 💫