This is a submission for the DEV's Worldwide Show and Tell Challenge Presented by Mux
🦈 Alright Sharks... I Mean, Judges!
I'll be honest with you. I've binge-watched way too many episodes of Shark Tank. The drama, the pitches, the "I'm out" moments... I'm completely hooked.
So when I saw this challenge was literally described as "Shark Tank but without the sharks" I knew this was my moment.
What I Built
Today I'm here to pitch you MapMeet, a global event discovery platform that lets anyone create, discover, and join events visualized on a stunning interactive 3D globe.
But here's the twist that makes MapMeet different from every other event platform out there:
🌐 Real-time geographic arcs connect attendees to events on the globe. When someone RSVPs and shares their location, a beautiful animated arc draws from their location to the event showing the global reach of your event in the most visually stunning way possible.
Imagine hosting a hackathon and watching arcs light up from Tokyo, India, Lagos, Berlin, and San Francisco all converging on your event marker. That's the MapMeet experience.
(Psst... I created a live event for this hackathon so you can see it in action yourself. Link below! 👀)
My Pitch Video
Demo
🌍 Live App: https://www.mapmeet.co
🎉 JOIN THE MAPMEET EVENT I CREATED FOR THIS HACKATHON!
I've created a special event on MapMeet to celebrate this Mux + DEV challenge. Join it to show your support and see the platform in action! I'm on Premium so unlimited people can join - let's see how global we can make this! 🌍
I did some digging and set the event location at Mux HQ in San Francisco so all our arcs will converge right on their doorstep 😄 Also made a custom Mux + DEV cover image for it because why not go all in?
👉 JOIN: MapMeet Launch Party - Mux + DEV Hackathon 🌍
No account needed to view, just click and explore! If you RSVP, you'll become one of those beautiful arcs on the globe. Let's light it up together! 🌈
The Story Behind It
The Problem I Saw
Every event platform feels flat. You create an event, share a link, and hope people show up. There's no visual excitement, no sense of global community, no "wow factor" that makes people want to share your event.
I asked myself: What if attending an event felt like being part of something global?
The MapMeet Vision
MapMeet transforms event hosting into a visual experience. Concert organizers can show fans flying in from around the world. Hackathon hosts can visualize their global developer community. Marathon coordinators can display runners coming from every continent. Conference speakers can see their audience's geographic spread. Community meetups can prove their worldwide reach to sponsors.
The Shareability Secret
Here's something I'm really proud of: Event pages don't require login to view.
This is huge. When you share your MapMeet event link on WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, or LinkedIn, anyone can see your stunning 3D globe visualization, view attendee arcs from around the world, read all event details, and get hyped about joining.
No friction. No "sign up to see more" walls. Just pure, shareable, eye-catching event pages that make people stop scrolling and say "Wait, what is THIS?"
This means your event promotion just got a serious upgrade. Instead of sharing a boring event link, you're sharing an interactive 3D experience. That's the kind of link people actually click.
Building in Public: The Real Journey
The Timeline
I started building MapMeet around December 9th. I had the vision clear in my head, a 3D globe, real-time connections, the whole thing.
But somewhere around week two, I hit a wall. You know that feeling when you're deep in code, nothing's working the way you want, and suddenly every other project idea seems more exciting? Yeah. I started drifting to other side projects, telling myself I'd come back to MapMeet "later."
Then I saw this hackathon announcement.
Shark Tank-style pitches? Video submissions? $3,000 in prizes?
That was the kick I needed. Having a deadline and a reason to ship changed everything. I went from "maybe I'll finish this someday" to "this is going live, and I'm pitching it to the world."
Thank you, Mux and DEV, for the accountability. 🙏
First-Time Integrations
This project pushed me into territory I'd never explored before.
🔐 Supabase (First Time)
I'd heard about Supabase but never actually built with it. MapMeet uses Supabase Auth for Google OAuth and email/password authentication, Supabase Realtime for broadcasting live arc updates, and Supabase Storage for event cover images.
💳 Stripe (First Time)
I'd never implemented payments before. The idea of handling real money in my code was honestly intimidating.
But Stripe's documentation is incredible. I set up checkout sessions for upgrading to Premium, and webhooks for syncing subscription status.
Lesson learned: The integrations you're scared of are usually the ones with the best documentation. Just start.
Technical Highlights
While MapMeet isn't open-source (yet 👀), here's the architecture powering the platform:
The Stack
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Frontend | Next.js, Tailwind CSS |
| Backend | FastAPI, SQLModel ORM |
| Database | PostgreSQL (on Supabase) |
| Auth | Supabase Auth (Google OAuth + Email/Password) |
| Realtime | Supabase Realtime (broadcast channels) |
| Storage | Supabase Storage (event cover images) |
| Payments | Stripe |
| 3D Globe | Mapbox |
The Domain & Hosting Setup
Quick story: I snagged mapmeet.co from GoDaddy because their pricing was great AND it included custom email addresses for the first year.
Frontend is hosted on Vercel. I just pointed my nameservers from GoDaddy to Vercel, and we're live with edge-fast global performance.
The Business Model
MapMeet runs on a freemium model:
| Feature | Free | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Active Events | 1 | Unlimited |
| Attendees per Event | 10 | Unlimited |
| Real-time Arcs | ✅ | ✅ |
| Custom Marker Colors | ✅ | ✅ |
| Price | $0 | $19/month |
The free tier is genuinely useful for small meetups and testing the platform. Premium unlocks MapMeet for serious event organizers who need scale.
Use of Mux
Let's talk about Mux because this was a genuine discovery for me.
Instant Thumbnails via URL
Need a screenshot from your video? With YouTube, you'd have to manually screenshot and upload it.
With Mux? Just construct a URL, Just a URL....
What's Next for MapMeet?
This hackathon was the push to ship v1, but I'm just getting started:
🎥 Video integration (now that I've discovered Mux!)
🌐 Event categories for better discovery
📊 Analytics dashboard for organizers
Let's Connect!
If you've made it this far, thank you. Seriously. It means the world.
Here's how you can support MapMeet:
1. 🌍 Join the Hackathon Event!
JOIN: MapMeet Launch Party - Mux + DEV.to Hackathon 🌍
Be one of the arcs on the globe! Let's make this the most globally distributed hackathon celebration ever.
2. 💬 Tell Me What You Think
Drop a comment below. I read and respond to every single one.
3. ❤️ React If This Resonated
4. 🔗 Share With Event Organizers
Know someone who hosts meetups, conferences, or hackathons? Share MapMeet with them!
One Last Thing
Building MapMeet taught me that the scariest part of any project is showing it to the world. It's easy to keep tweaking forever, telling yourself "it's not ready yet."
This hackathon gave me a deadline and a stage. I'm grateful for that push.
To everyone building something and waiting for the "right moment" to share it: this is your sign. Ship it. Pitch it. Let the world see what you've made.
The globe is waiting for your arcs. 🌍✨
👉 Try MapMeet: https://www.mapmeet.co
👉 Join the Event: [https://www.mapmeet.co/event/62e4buqr]
What would YOU host on a 3D globe?
A 24-hour coding marathon across time zones? A worldwide marathon watch party? A concert with fans lighting up from every continent?
Drop yours below! 👇
Top comments (1)
And happy New Year, everyone! 🎉