ETHIndia, Asia’s biggest Ethereum hackathon, inspires builders worldwide to create decentralized applications and advance Ethereum technology. Learn more about it here: ETHIndia 2023

While I was browsing YouTube and learning new things, I came across a video that listed some current internship and hackathon opportunities. One of them was ETHIndia. The video mentioned it was an offline hackathon focused on Ethereum. I wasn't sure what Ethereum was, but I continued watching and visited their homepage. It was a simple yet informative webpage. Check it out here: ETHIndia 2022.

I then started to learn more about Ethereum. I had a brief introduction to it while exploring my university syllabus and found out it is related to blockchain technology. I always wanted to participate in a hackathon, but all the ones I found were virtual. I had joined a few virtual hackathons before but never understood what to do and never completed anything. Now, this was a great opportunity to attend an offline hackathon. I tried to find more information about the hackathon but couldn't find many specific resources.

I tried to share this hackathon with my peers, but no one was interested. However, I was determined to give it a try. After a few days of exploring and procrastinating, I filled out the application form. It was a well-designed form, suitable for both beginners and experienced participants. I had to think hard to answer the questions, but it helped me reflect on my interests and experiences.

A few days later, I received an email with the subject "You're in! ETHIndia 2022, Asia’s Biggest Ethereum Hackathon, awaits." I wasn't expecting it, but getting accepted boosted my motivation. I read the entire email thoroughly and saw there was a staking requirement (a cool Web3 POS concept embedded into the hackathon). At first, I was unsure about what staking meant, as it was a significant amount for me. Reading the FAQs helped me understand that if I successfully built something, the staked amount would be returned. This felt like a great deal. I didn't have to worry about accommodation since it was provided. If I built something, my stake would be returned, so I only had to cover my travel expenses. There was nothing much to lose, so I staked my amount and started preparing for the travel.

On the day of the hackathon, I arrived on time and saw a huge line stretching from the entrance of the venue to the parking area. I joined the line, and the learning began. Everyone around me came from diverse backgrounds, domains, and locations, all discussing and engaging in the same thing: Blockchain. I started feeling imposter syndrome after hearing their discussions. I wanted to introduce myself and join the conversation, but their level of discussion was just over my head. As they delved deeper into their topics, I felt more like an imposter and avoided interrupting their conversation. Slowly, the line moved forward, and I kept exploring my surroundings. As part of the check-in, we received an ID with our name and a bag full of swag from various stakeholders. Then we were directed to the main hall where the event was going to take place. Multiple stalls were set up to attract students, offering various activities and encouraging us to use their technology in the hackathon, explaining the bounties provided for doing so. I attended a few stalls but kept a low profile because I didn't know what to say if they asked what I was building. I interacted with a few folks and tried to have conversations, but they always led to the question, "What are you building?" I responded by saying, "I am new to this field, and I will be exploring and building something."

I searched for a place to sit and finally found a spot. I took out my laptop, feeling the pressure to start building something. I decided to learn how to build on Ethereum and began following a tutorial. Within an hour, I had learned some terms like proof of work, account abstraction, blockchain explorer, NFT, and tokenomics, though many concepts were still unclear. As I continued, they started distributing refreshments. I grabbed some snacks and returned to my tutorial. Suddenly, an announcement said the event was about to start, and I realized three hours had passed. I got some caffeine and joined the sessions. They started with a "GM" (the Web3 way of greeting) and went over the format, rules, and agenda for the hackathon. The organizers explained the stages, judging criteria, and workshops. They encouraged us to network with other participants. I felt both excited and nervous but was determined to make the most of this opportunity.

Soon, the side track events started, and I jumped from one to another, attending the ones that seemed most important to me. I was eagerly waiting for the team-finding session. Since I was alone, and so were others, they had organized a team-building session where people could connect together to form teams. After attending three side track events, it was time for dinner. They scheduled the team-building session right after dinner. After having my dinner, I went straight to the session, which had already begun with everyone introducing themselves.. People started by highlighting the skills they could bring to a team. Some mentioned they were good at Solidity (which I had just started learning a few hours ago 😅), others had ideas but needed technical partners, and another was a marketers and frontend developers duo looking for a Solidity expert.

When it was my turn, I said, "Hello everyone, I am Praneeth Shetty, a two-time Google Summer of Code Contributor. This is an open-source program where Google provides a platform for students to work with open-source organizations and develop their skills. I am proficient in Python and JavaScript. I am new to this domain, but with some help, I can catch up on the concepts needed for building. I am looking for a team and an idea to build!". As I finished my introduction and started to sit down, a girl from a few rows ahead looked at me and said, "Hey, you can join us :)". I was confused if she was talking to me or someone behind me who had just started introducing themselves. Curious, I went to her and asked, "Was that intended for me, or did you mean someone else?" She replied, "No, if you want, you can join us," pointing to herself and another guy. I was more than happy to join them but wasn't sure what they were building, so I inquired a bit more about it. She introduced herself, "Hey, I am Khushboo, and this is Ahan. We are planning to work on a land tokenization project." I responded, "Oh, great!". I didn't understand what that meant but I was happy atleast I have someone who knows more that me to work with. Then a lot of things happened, but let's set that aside for another day. The conclusion was that Ahan, an ML engineer, would work with another marketer who wanted to build a project in the ML space. Meanwhile, Khushboo, another guy, and I would work on the land tokenization project.

We went back to the table where I had settled earlier, and Khushboo explained the whole project in detail. She planned to create a system to help people co-own land called LandsDAO. The idea was that property prices are too high for a single owner, so she suggested tokenizing the land into different parts. Multiple owners could then co-own these tokens and vote on what to do with the land or property, such as renting it out, planting something, or building on it. After our discussion, we quickly started planning what we would need. Since I wasn't very familiar with blockchain, she chose to work on that part and asked me to handle the frontend and integration. After working for a bit, Khushboo, who had made arrangements at a hotel, left and asked me to meet early tomorrow. I greeted her and started initializing the project so I would have something to show her tomorrow.

Basic Wireframe and Ideation for LandsDAO

The next day, Khushboo joined me early. We met Ahan, had breakfast together, and then went our separate ways to work on our projects. (PS: Ahan's teammate, the marketer, left him to join someone else, so he was working alone on his idea. Our other teammate was also missing the whole day, so we lost hope.) We met a few people and shared our project idea with them. When we asked about their projects, they said they were here to win and didn't want to disclose their ideas to avoid being copied.

Taking a break from our screens, we played some table tennis and explored other projects. We saw some impressive projects that were nearly complete, with cool frontends, lots of animations, and great designs. This reminded us that we still had a long way to go, so we got back to work. Khushboo had written the Solidity code, and I had my components ready. She needed to deploy the code, and I had to complete the frontend part with dummy data. the day went like a snap and we tomorrow was the deadline at 9 am. Khushboo left early after having dinner so that she could complete remaining at the hotel and join in early tommorrow for wrapping up thing. I stayed a bit and completed the page not very good looking but atleast something workable.

The next day, we caught up to finish the remaining tasks. Our third teammate texted Khushboo, offering to help if anything was pending. At first, we thought we wouldn't take him back, but we needed to complete a PowerPoint with all the project details, and both of us were busy. So, we decided to give him a chance. He created a decent PowerPoint, and Khushboo added the necessary details to make it presentable. Now, it was time for the teams to present their demos to the judges. We were a bit nervous at first, but we decided to give it a try. Khushboo handled everything, and I helped her here and there with some technical knowledge I had. We successfully completed our demo. We met Ahan, and he said he didn't have much to show and nothing demoable, so he didn't want to present. But we insisted he at least give it a try, and he did.

After the demo we were relaxed, with no pressure of working, completing, and submitting. A few hours later, the results were going to be displayed, and we kind of already knew the outcome, but we still had a bit of hope. We enjoyed watching the top 12 demos and were amazed by some of the presentations. The results for the individual bounties were announced, and we eagerly looked for our names, but as expected, the outcome was what we anticipated.

PS: Ahan also tried to find his project but couldn't find it on the bounty list. Later, he realized that he searched it by project name, while the bounty list displayed team names. It turned out he had won a bounty.

Overall, it was a great experience, a full roller coaster ride filled with networking, enjoyment, learning, and most importantly, building.

A few learnings I would like to share:

1. Even if you know nothing, give it a try; everything has a first time.

2. Always have a Plan B ready; anything can happen. For example, if we had relied solely on our marketer teammate, we would have missed deadlines.

3. Be open to learning and adapting to the environment.

4. Plan your time accordingly, and keep a buffer period for unforeseen issues.

5. Hackathons are not just about building; if your project has a great use case and business model, it's a bonus.

6. Take breaks, stay relaxed, and enjoy.

This is all for now; keep building, and see you around.

Ahan, Khushboo and Me ✌

If you are in Pune and looking for a similar experience, check out PuneDAO. You can find updates about the latest events, meetups, and hackathons in Pune for Web3 there. For more info, visit PuneDAO.
Several Web3 hackathons & roadshows are live in Pune for August 2024. Click here to register https://shorturl.at/qWVhw.