Hatch

Hatch Logo

Inspiration

We know that at Hack the North, and other similar Hackathon events, finding the right team can sometimes be one of the most crucial things when it comes to success. Groups with a wide range of skills tend to do better than solely tech or business-based. That's how we came up with Hatch, here to find your perfect Hackathon Match.

What it does

Hatch is a web-based application that helps Hackathon participants find their perfect team. Based on the skillset needed for your team, the system will search the database for applicants that are most suitable for you. Through a card system, the team and applicant may send requests to each other to connect further. Both parties may then accept or reject the merger of the teams. In a matter of a few swipes, you are ready for your next Hackathon!

How we built it

The design of the website was prototyped in Figma. From there, the front end is built using React JS. We used CockroachDB to store the data and we used express.js to connect the frontend to the backend.

Challenges we ran into

Many of the challenges we encountered were due to a lack of experience of most team members in the frameworks we decided to use, like cockroachDB, express.js, and React. This caused large amounts of time to be spent debugging the project instead of implementing the necessary features. We also took more time than we would have liked to come up with our idea. Originally, we were planning on doing a hack with the AdHawk glasses, but we found out that other hackers already reserved all the glasses, so we had to think of another idea.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are satisfied with how user-friendly our application is when it comes to navigating around the site. The card swiping system creates an efficient and effective condition for users to find the team they’re looking for while maintaining an enjoyable experience. In addition, being relatively new hackers, we are proud that we were able to work so cohesively as a team to brainstorm ideas, support each other and persevere through challenges.

What we learned

We learned the importance of time management during stressful and time-constrained situations like hackathons. The time spent debugging and perfecting unnecessary details could be better spent elsewhere to improve the overall quality of the project. We also learned the importance of choosing not the theoretically best frameworks, but those that we are most familiar with. From planning ahead for the project to even deciding what time to sleep is best, time management plays a crucial role in determining a project’s success.

What's next for Hatch

A more complex search algorithm for matching up hackers, taking into account common and wanted skills, number of teammates, and other improvements that will enhance the usability of the system.

In addition, we want to allow users to edit their profile and give them more options to customize their profile (links, resumes, etc.)