Clearly Hacked: Clearcover's First Hackathon Event
Written by Team Clearcover | June 8th, 2022
At Clearcover, our security team constantly updates the software and protocols we have in place to ensure the safety of our systems and information. But for one week in May, we collectively cheered on hackers as we eagerly anticipated the results of our first ever hackathon event, Clearly Hacked. During the event, Clearcover engineers formed over 20 teams focused on finding solutions to perceived problems with our existing systems and processes. After an intensive 24 hours of work from initial coding to find demo preparation, we met on Friday afternoon to watch each team's demo, celebrate the successes and dedication of everyone involved, and to vote for the most impressive solutions and greatest epic fails!
The concept of a hackathon, an event in which teams collaborate on programming projects in a limited amount of time, aligns with several of Clearcover's Leadership Principles. At Cleacover, we are dedicated to thinking "better-er." We hold ourselves to high standards, constantly seek improvement, and are willing to take risks to achieve the best outcomes. In addition, we embrace technology and execute with urgency and focus. Each Clearly Hacked team not only sought to solve a perceived problem to make our systems "better-er," but they collaborated under the tightest of deadlines, utilizing available technology and the knowledge and skill set of each member.
Clearly Hacked week kicked off with a meeting on Monday afternoon led by organizers Steve Black, Director of Delivery Management and Chat Shah, Director of Product. All Clearcover engineers were welcome to participate, either as an idea provider, team member or casual observer. Teams and individuals pitched their ideas and requested additional members or any support they needed. At the conclusion of the meeting, 16 teams emerged with more clearly defined ideas for their final demos.
Teams planned their ideas throughout the week and, by Thursday morning, over 20 teams restlessly awaited hands-on keyboard time to begin at 10am CT. The Clearly Hacked channel on Slack filled with motivational messages, memes, and videos as Clearcover-ers cheered on all of the participants during an intense 24 hours. Finally, after hundreds of hours of combined programming and copious amounts of caffeine, team members donned their official Clearly Hacked t-shirts and gathered over Zoom to present their demos and celebrate their hard work.
With a greater number of participants than organizers originally anticipated, each team was allotted five minutes to present their demos to their fellow hackers and a panel of five judges that included Clearcover CEO and Co-Founder Kyle Nakatsuji.
After over two hours of demos showcasing the innovation, dedication and enthusiasm of so many engineers, Steve and Chat announced the winning teams of the very first Clearly Hacked event:
"Bet You Wish You Thought of This" award for best pitch - Clearly Not Paying
Aaron Augsburger
Adam Sullivan
Amy Grollimund
Gage Askegard
Joe Gutierrez
Lindsay Smeltzer
Tim Holdaway
"The KISS" award for simplest and most elegant idea - Teenage Mutant Ninja Rocket Turtles
April Dvorak
Patrick Romo
Richard Peng
Troy Gaines
"The EPIC(fail)" award for best failure to deliver story - POMinators
Andrei Vereshchagin
Don Chwojko
Jeisson Olarte
Mario Valadez
Michael Palmer
Theo Meneau
"The Best Tech Initiative" award for the best idea that isn't a product feature - Rating
Cong Trinh
Justin Bauer
Scott Sullivan
Stephen Tetzlaff
"The Clear Choice" audience favorite award - Teenage Mutant Ninja Rocket Turtles
The impressive results displayed in the final demos were a testament to the talent and drive of Clearcover's engineers. As Brent Walker, SVP of Technology, observed, "Hackathons are a great opportunity for anyone in the organization to present their ideas and to have an opportunity to form teams to build out those ideas. We had fantastic participation in the event, and while I am always a bit nervous to see what was built at the end of the day, I was nothing but impressed with the quality and quantity of ideas, the cross functional teamwork, and the amount of what was accomplished. This is an event we will definitely hold again!"
Congratulations to all of our winners and to all of the team members who participated in our first ever hackathon! We look forward to seeing many of these demo projects become reality.
Clearly Hacked magnified several of the principles that guide how Clearcover-ers think and behave on a daily basis. We constantly seek improvement and are willing to take risks to deliver successful outcomes, all while working in a people-first culture that ensures everyone feels supported to contribute to their maximum potential. If you're already brainstorming a project and team name for Clearly Hacked 2023, we invite you to apply for one of our open positions today!
