Hacking it in 52 hours #AmChamHackers

Together Everyone Achieves More.

I truly learnt the truth to this statement as I saw it unravel before my eyes at the AmCham Future Leaders' Hackathon 2018. Representing Dublin Airport Authority, my idea that I brought evolved into the Best Pitch Presentation in 52 hours thanks to an incredible team.

What am I talking about?

?The American Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the DCU Ryan Academy gathered 100 participants regarded as future leaders from more than 80 companies to pitch and develop their ideas of what would

make Ireland the best place to live and work.

?What was it like?

1. The Welcome

At 5:30PM on the Thursday, I arrived at St Patrick's College, DCU, to a beautifully decorated auditorium with goodie bags on every chair and refreshments to facilitate our mingling. My name tag was colour-coded according to my Emergenetics profile which illustrated my thinking and behavioural preferences based on a questionnaire I had completed. Katie Keogh, Director of Special Projects, American Chamber of Commerce and Eoghan Stack, Director of Commercial Business Development, DCU Business School welcomed us all, introduced us to what was to come and we soon got down to business!

2. The Initial Pitch

We were given the chance to pitch our idea in 60 seconds of what product/service would make Ireland the best place to work and live. At first, there were slightly more than 10 people who came with an idea. However, the encouragement and high energy in the room inspired more than 60 people to stand up and pitch!

Every idea was then hung around the room for the voting period. Everyone had three votes (stickers) which they could put on the ideas that appealed most to them. The 12 ideas with the most stickers would then be in the finale!

3. The Chosen Twelve

The results were announced. My idea along with 11 others were chosen! On the spot, we were given another 60 seconds to re-pitch our idea with a different angle - to attract the desired people to be part of my Hacking Team. Based on the advice of past participants, mentors, and Emergenetics staff, my strategy was clear - form a diverse team.

As I could only choose eight of the 14 people who were interested in joining my team, the Emergenetics profiles helped to guide my choices. And boy was our team diverse!

Aisling, Luis, Sinead, Andrea, Linda, Michael, Pat, Bryan, and I.

Nine different professions. Equal gender balance. Four Emergenetics profiles. Six nationalities. One solid team. We found our team name.

#Sorted

4. Hacking at it

If we stuck to the schedule, we only had a total of 17 hours to stretch and validate our idea AND develop our pitch and prototype. We approached the challenge strategically by tailoring it to the marking criteria and assigning roles and responsibilities to each team member. Fueled by a continuous flow of carbs, coffee and the support of the mentors, organisers, workshops, speakers, and sponsors, we successfully mapped out the problem we were solving, developed our solution, and validated it with more than 50 people (through frantic phone calls and stopping people on the streets)!

5. Bringing it all together

Every brainstorm needs to reach a decision.

At 9.05PM on the Friday night we brought all our findings together and began building our Presentation, Prototype, and Pitch. Each team member either worked on the pitch structure, slides, prototype, the demo, or the questions we could be asked by the judges. For me, it was the pitch delivery.

The following day at 11:30AM, we had to submit our presentation slides and it was time to truly focus on the pitch. I practiced countless times in front of my team and multiple mentors to gain valuable feedback on how I could improve it and it tremendously helped to build my confidence in delivering our message in less than five minutes.

6. The Final Pitch

On the Saturday at 2:00PM, it was showtime. 12 teams. 12 pitches. 4 judges.

We had to convince Reece Smyth, Chargé d'Affaires at the The US Embassy, John Brennan, General Manager Commercial, Dublin Airport, Brenda Whelan, Financial Controller, The American Chamber, and Beno?t Raimbault, VP Marketing EMEA, Fitbit that we were the winning team.

It was an incredible adrenaline rush. It was an extremely proud moment to share what we achieved as a team to the audience. Pitching was a new experience for me and I absolutely loved it. It was also inspiring to see how the other 11 ideas developed over the course of the weekend to such high standards. Choosing a winner was definitely a difficult task for the judges.

So was it going to be team Sorted, IRecycle, DataLock, Flexchildcare, HouseM8, Stride Guide, The Webucators, Cardi-Hacks, LegalWize, Believe, Co-Social, Wild Atlantic Workway or Digital Democracy?

*drumroll*

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7. The Results

Team 'DataLock' brought home the winning belt with their idea of providing a platform to share your personal data on your terms with landlords - well deserved especially with GDPR coming around the corner. Although we did not bring home the grand prize, I felt proud that we were awarded Best Pitch Presentation as well as all the encouraging feedback we received from everyone present. And as a whole, the entire room was united in wanting the best for Ireland - to make it the best place to live and work.

8. What the Hackathon gave me

In a blink of an eye, the #AmChamHackathon flew past. Remaining are the valuable memories, networks, friendships, and learnings I formed over the jam-packed weekend.

Teamwork truly makes the dream work when you recognise the value each person brings with their own unique talents and insights. Throughout the hackathon, my idea and pitching confidence was continuously developed and challenged by each team member along with the support of the mentors.

I returned home with a big smile in my heart, a new appreciation for what I could achieve as a person, and what more I could accomplish with a great team. It developed me as a person both personally and professionally and I could not recommend this experience more to anyone and everyone.

It draws you out of your comfort zone, but is absolutely worth every ounce of effort you put in.

A big thank you to all the organisers (American Chamber of Commerce Ireland, DCU Ryan Academy), sponsors (Dublin Airport Authority, Emergenetics, Coca-Cola, BDO, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, FitBit, Vhi, Morgan McKinley), speakers (Andrew Keogh, Sean McNulty, Patricia DuChene, Don O'Leary) and all the mentors who made #AmChamHackers a reality for me and many others.