The latest articles on DEV Community by EL Mustapha (@el_mustapha_ef06697a31214). https://dev.to/el_mustapha_ef06697a31214 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3908001%2F5084628c-3f0c-46d1-95ca-fae50314ef5d.jpg https://dev.to/el_mustapha_ef06697a31214 en EL Mustapha Mon, 18 May 2026 05:12:24 +0000 https://dev.to/el_mustapha_ef06697a31214/my-first-hackathon-experience-2lc1 https://dev.to/el_mustapha_ef06697a31214/my-first-hackathon-experience-2lc1 <p>Over the weekend my team and I attended SquadCo Hackathon 3.0, it’s my first and the craziest hackathon I’ve attended . Yeah it’s my first and the craziest ,you heard that right😅.<br> The format was a full SWE interview-style mixed with a pitchathon, but we didn’t make it to the final ten to pitch , but it was worth the experience fior a first timer.</p> <p>Round 1 was AI/ML drill ,we ranked 132th .We had to lock in ,change strategies .</p> <p>Round 2 was a full SWE interview covering frontend ,backend ,Devops and produt management ,We cooked 😅, climbing to 75th .</p> <p>At that point, only the top 50 teams were guaranteed a shot at pitching. We knew we were in based on mindset , but not comfortable. We knew we had to give it all .</p> <p>Round 3 was the best and the hardest ,a 60 minutes LeetCode-style test (1 medium + 1 hard). We solved the hard (partitions) in about 50 minutes . We had 10minutes left to finish up ,fortunately we solved the second problem in 8 minutes,it was wild 😯.We moved to 35th of top 50 , qualified for the pitch .</p> <p>Things stopped there , due to techinical issues of network , we couldn’t provide a flle nccessary for submission within the time interval , that was the end .<br> I was quite emtional but at the same time excited about the experience.</p> <p>What we built : Synk , a peer-to-peer gig marketplace designed for Nigeria's informal economy. A platform where clients post service jobs and nearby providers discover and apply for them. It is built around trust and payment safety for people transacting with strangers. </p> <p>How it works : </p> <ul> <li>Clients posts a job with location(1km radius by default) , budget(negotiable between the client and the service provider) and a AI generated description . -Service providers sees job posts on Google Maps feeds or browse list. </li> <li>Application - clients review their trust-score and credibility . - Squad API creates a per-job virtual account(escrow) . </li> <li>Payment : Service provider get notified , automatically gets contact info. on the dashboard incase of flag issues or fraud. <ul> <li>Clients marks complete: Squad Transfer API releases funds to service provider. - Rating : Both users rate each other.</li> </ul> </li> </ul> <p>We keep learning , we keep building.</p> ai beginners interview softwareengineering