Kareem Amin’s Post

From dorm room founder to leading student programming at Tsai CITY ✨ Matthew Gira’s startup journey will inspire you. After this 3-minute read, go get started on that idea you've had by asking yourself a few questions inspired by Matt's feature on Venture Unscripted: How can I sniff test my ideas first? What skills do I need to develop now? Are my expectations realistic? Do I have strong support for feedback? Is my product development plan solid? What other key lessons did you take away? Share your thoughts below. Read the article here: https://bit.ly/3LEW2dE #Staffhighlights #TsaiCITY #Studentventures

<!-- Above-the-toolbox --> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); From Garage to Glory: How Scaling New Heights Defied all Odds in its Start-up Journey From Garage to Glory: How Scaling New Heights Defied all Odds in its Start-up Journey Introduction In the world of programming and development, success stories often inspire and motivate aspiring entrepreneurs.

Staying with the same topic as last week's blog, we are once again talking about collaboration opportunities, but this time we are actively seeking them ourselves. And what better way to find new team members than through the UT sTARTUp Lab*? In spring (2023), we attended their workshops mainly as observers, eager to learn about business models and pitching, thanks to Ants-Oskar's recommendation. Well, to our surprise, we also walked away with 500 euros from the Kaleidoskoop competition prize fund. In addition, I promised Maret, the program manager of STARTER, that I would participate as a student in the next academic year. So we presented our idea with Arto on September 14 - the hackathon. This time, we presented a more refined idea than at Kaleidoskoop. We thought we had found the perfect path. We planned to create an ecosystem that, in addition to the learning platform, supports learners in their further programming studies and helps them build a network with other students. Although the idea was quite raw, we could show a working prototype and real figures, be it login, performance, or other numbers, right at the beginning of the program. That was our advantage. Nevertheless, at the beginning of STARTER, the entire crowd did not run towards us. The biggest stumbling block was probably the pitch. The key components of a pitch are the problem and the way the problem is solved. At that time, both of these were not phrased well, and when we pitched to strangers, KOIT's idea remained incomplete to them. However, one interested person named Carl approached us. It was clear from Carl's eyes that some parts of what we said resonated with him, and the clarifying questions he asked were excellent. So, we found a new team member for KOIT (at least for the next two months, the duration of the program). I had to leave the first STARTER workshop halfway to catch a plane to Osijek, Croatia, for a competitive programming training camp. But there was no rest even at the camp because Arto wrote that someone named Sten wanted to join KOIT. Well, 2000 km away from home, in a place where a stable data connection is rarely found, we did a short job interview, and KOIT got a new member. By the way, we still don't understand how we stumbled upon such luck. We needed exactly two more people: someone who could help with paperwork (Carl) and someone who deals with social media (Sten). And we found these people, or at least they found KOIT. What could be the moral of this story? While chance plays a role, actively creating opportunities and embracing a proactive mindset increases the likelihood of luck finding its way into your endeavors.. - Kevin * A small explanation: sTARTUp Lab organizes the STARTER program with workshops and the Kaleidoscope competition. If You wish to read it in Estonian, then go to: https://lnkd.in/gNxWbDU6 #KOIT #startuplab #startupestonia #startupjourney

When most people hear the word 'Hackathon', it's not uncommon that images of dudes in black hoodies huddled up in front of a computer come to mind. When in reality, pop culture has done the word a great disservice. On this week's blog, Robert Taylor talks about what Hackathons really are, and how they had been an integral part of Origin's engineering DNA and even revolutionsied our product offering. https://lnkd.in/eZnXtsGg #fintech #programming #hackathon

Unsure about participating? Register and be a part of harborHack in any way you would like, from an observer to Judge. Observer: (Come to the hack, listen to our featured speaker, watch teams form, attend workshops, see teams present their projects and win awards). Participant (Work on something you believe in with awesome people). Facilitator: (Being present at the hackathon to help with various general needs). Mentor: (Being available to help guide teams that need help forming, or have a technical question that you may have some insight on given your background). Judge: (Join our group of judges to evaluate the projects). Register here: https://lnkd.in/eJ_hicKc #hackathon #techevent #innovation #coding #STEM #startup #technology #networking #mentorship #judging #charleston

They say we all have a story to tell; well, here's my MVP...a platform called NoCode Central—one gigantic platform where we bring all things NoCode under one roof. Why did I choose this as my MVP? This is the literal journey of my life for the past 18 months, playing on no-code platforms and building with no-code tools, as well as educating myself through courses from creators like Alexandre Kantjas from 9x to Sahil Khosla and his NoCode University So, Who Am I? I'm someone who has met the most amazing people, People I feel like I've waited my whole life to meet. They are my No Code tribe: Claudia Cafeo 🏳️🌈 JJ Englert Max H. Harold D. Tara Darbyshire Cor Schutte Scott Meyer Andy O'Neil Katt Risen Lee Launches 🚀 and many more (forgive me if I missed anyone, just like at an awards ceremony 😆) The problem I'm Solving? I feel there is a need to centralize all this info because when I first began, I spent hours and months going down various no-code rabbit holes. This is why I want to share all I have collected with others. I now know where to find the best Airtable courses and can help others with advice on who to speak to when considering the 100DaysOfNoCode etc. Long term Vibes & Goals: Nocode Central aims to bridge the two markets of NoCode: NoCode Builders & Users. ( Ie Get users to builders of NoCode products) My Audience: -NoCode Builders -Educators and Course Creators -Tech Community Members -Entrepreneurs and Startups (Founders) -Investors and Stakeholders in the NoCode Industry My Tech Stack: Softr Airtable ChippChatGPT Ideogram P.S Here is the link to my first ever MVP Build: https://lnkd.in/d_TPYb7j {It is a WIP, though at least it's my start} Loom video link: https://lnkd.in/dr6Rz67a #MVPBuild #NocodeStories #BuildinginPublic

harborHack (23) is officially over, but the journey has just begun. Our community of Mentors, facilitators, Judges, and participants gathered together Sunday after a concentrated weekend of learning, building, and connecting to celebrate your achievements. We met to honor the work that everyone did and to support each other to make our community a tech hub. We had 14 projects that were submitted, which is astonishing! Hackathons are highly reductive, and most people that register will not make it through to the end. The teams that grinded through and submitted their projects did something really important, and we respect each one of you. Check out all of the awesome projects that were submitted to Devpost. Here are the winners of CharlestonHacks harborHack (23). We would like to congratulate our first-place winner, Hivr! Check out their project here: https://lnkd.in/eZuTAQT4 Great job in building a project that you believed in, and by working hard made us believe in it too. We support you! We congratulate StallWort, our second-place winner! Check out their project here: https://lnkd.in/ecxScdwZ We hope you feel as honored by our community as we feel for having taken on this project and seen it through. Congratulations to our honorable mention, Water Watch, for effectively working together as a team to develop a project that has an important regional and humanitarian focus. Check out their project here: https://lnkd.in/epTuJyJw We want to emphasize that just because your project may not have "won," that doesn't mean that we don't value it. Hacks are messy by design. The timeframe is supposed to drive you to innovative ways of solving problems. The projects that see the most challenges are often the ones that learn the most. The teams that have the most trouble forming often connect more meaningfully with others. I hope you learned the value of each individual that you met at harborHack; a UX/UI person, or a subject matter expert, or a project manager, or devs that can help realize the project. They all have an important and valuable place in your teams and are key to your success. We will continue to support all of you as you continue on your path. A hackathon is a start. It is a very important, brave step toward a future that you decided to actively be a part of. You should all be really proud of yourselves, and I encourage you to continue the friendships and connections and projects that you made at harborHack (23). You are indeed the best people in the world! The CharlestonHacks harborHack (23) team.

harborHack (23) is officially over, but the journey has just begun. Our community of Mentors, facilitators, Judges, and participants gathered together Sunday after a concentrated weekend of learning, building, and connecting to celebrate your achievements. We met to honor the work that everyone did and to support each other to make our community a tech hub. We had 14 projects that were submitted, which is astonishing! Hackathons are highly reductive, and most people that register will not make it through to the end. The teams that grinded through and submitted their projects did something really important, and we respect each one of you. Check out all of the awesome projects that were submitted to Devpost. Here are the winners of CharlestonHacks harborHack (23). We would like to congratulate our first-place winner, Hivr! Check out their project here: https://lnkd.in/eZuTAQT4 Great job in building a project that you believed in, and by working hard made us believe in it too. We support you! We congratulate StallWart, our second-place winner! Check out their project here: https://lnkd.in/ecxScdwZ We hope you feel as honored by our community as we feel for having taken on this project and seen it through. Congratulations to our honorable mention, Water Watch, for effectively working together as a team to develop a project that has an important regional and humanitarian focus. Check out their project here: https://lnkd.in/epTuJyJw We want to emphasize that just because your project may not have "won," that doesn't mean that we don't value it. Hacks are messy by design. The timeframe is supposed to drive you to innovative ways of solving problems. The projects that see the most challenges are often the ones that learn the most. The teams that have the most trouble forming often connect more meaningfully with others. I hope you learned the value of each individual that you met at harborHack; a UX/UI person, or a subject matter expert, or a project manager, or devs that can help realize the project. They all have an important and valuable place in your teams and are key to your success. We will continue to support all of you as you continue on your path. A hackathon is a start. It is a very important, brave step toward a future that you decided to actively be a part of. You should all be really proud of yourselves, and I encourage you to continue the friendships and connections and projects that you made at harborHack (23). You are indeed the best people in the world! The CharlestonHacks harborHack (23) team.

Classrooms are beginning to feel like MMOs. Inspired by platforms like Club Penguin, ClassDojo is now used by an incredible 1 in 20 children across the globe! Valued at over $1B dollars, with backing from major gaming investors like Tencent, co-founders Sam Chaudhary & Liam Don are turning the classroom into a Roblox-style learning world with Dojo Islands. The goal was simple: create a positive learning environment. But they’ve achieved so much more than this. They’ve built an online community that lets students and teachers connect in a more inclusive, fun, and engaging way by taking inspiration from games that kids are obsessed with, like Roblox. ｡:+* Collaboration: Emphasis on strengthening the community - classrooms, parents, and students. Through the Classroom Islands and Personal Islands features of Dojo Islands, the app encourages children to interact, work together, take on challenges, and learn from one another. ｡:+* Mastery: The lessons provided on the app are designed to challenge the students. By introducing game mechanics into educational challenges, students are motivated to increase their skills and knowledge over time to progressively master more advanced material. ｡:+* Ambiguity: Learning to navigate in uncertainty is a crucial skill. To foster this, the app's open-ended game world – Dojo Islands – enables free exploration and encourages children to make their own decisions and solve problems by experimenting with different methods and strategies in the game. Children are rewarded for perseverance and hard work. Maybe the most crucial aspect of ClassDojo is how it prioritizes open-ended learning, encouraging curiosity and practical skills. They emphasize the importance of being a community of students, teachers, and families, continually gathering feedback from their user base to shape an ever-evolving platform. ClassDojo is a shining example of how community-centric classrooms can revolutionize the education landscape. The traces of success they have made are incredible so far! I’m excited to see how they continue transforming the future of education. At Patron we believe learning should feel more like a game you want to play everyday. If you're building a new version of education get in touch, I'd love to hear from you. To learn more listen to the podcast episode in the link commented below! #classdojo #venturecapital #seedcapital #ycombinator #ycalumni #founders #entrepreneurs #edtech #gaming