The Challenge & Solution
Made it to top 15 out of 200+ teams in my first hackathon. Built SocialCollateral AI with a team of 5 as the frontend developer—a system that helps microfinance lenders assess group trust using AI. We integrated graph analytics to visualize borrower networks, NLP to analyze field reports, and computer vision for asset valuation. All built in 24 hours with React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Chart.js for visualizations, and integrated with FastAPI backend powered by Google Gemini and Google Cloud Vision.
My Role as Frontend Developer
As the frontend developer, I was responsible for building the user interface that would display complex AI insights in an intuitive way. This meant creating interactive dashboards, integrating Chart.js for data visualization, and ensuring the UI could handle real-time updates from the backend. Working with graph data to visualize borrower networks required careful thinking about how to present complex financial relationships in a way that non-technical users could understand at a glance.
Technologies & Skills
What I Learned
- Working Under Pressure: 24 hours to build a complete product teaches you to prioritize features quickly
- Cross-functional Collaboration: Working with backend, AI, and design teams showed me how different expertise comes together
- Data Visualization: Learned how to make complex AI outputs accessible to end-users
- Shipping Fast: Sometimes good enough shipped in 24 hours beats perfect never shipping
Impact & Takeaway
This hackathon was proof that I could build real solutions under real constraints. Making it to the finals out of 200+ teams validated all the learning I’d done up to that point. More importantly, it showed me that I’m capable of learning new technologies quickly (we used tools I’d never touched before), collaborating with strong team members, and shipping products that solve real problems. This experience made me crave building more AI-powered applications and deepened my interest in creating products that make a tangible difference.