Nearly a week past the CodeLaunch U.S. hackathon, and I am still amazed at what we accomplished as a team. It proved to me that with the right people on a team, anything is possible. I write this because we were done with the “build, polish, and shine” nearly 3 hours before the end of the 20-hour marathon.
Let me clarify the 20-hour marathon. It was two 10-hour days. Grueling, daunting, and not for the faint-hearted. But I digress.
When we were finishing the second day, I asked the team what they thought made it work. The consensus was the preparation, planning, and clarity that came with both. Conservatively, we invest between 8 and 10 hours reviewing the tech stack, speaking with our start-up partner, and refining the pre-hackathon checklist and playbook. The upfront investment paid off by reducing the stress during the event.
Throughout the time we spent together, we collaborated well. Discussing options, trade-offs, and critical choices during both days enabled us to focus on TravelSpoken‘s core theme: See it, Save it, Book it.
As well, we worked in the same space, and we used similar or the same tools. There is something positive to be stated about in-person collaboration.
- The energy is different, and in a good way.
- Being able to whiteboard out processes for everyone to see has a positive impact.
- Paired programming works better in person.
- Running demos is smoother, and the discussion is more productive.
I’m sure I could add to the list, but that would be over the top.
The biggest takeaway, for me, is we had fun. Not the “we’re going to an amusement park” fun. Nor the “come join me at a comedy show” fun. This was having fun while tackling a challenge. The type of fun that comes from problem-solving and seeing the parts become the whole.
In conclusion, there is not one thing I would change about the experience. It was a pleasure being part of CodeLaunch 2026.