Right to the point, and everything in order.
Filing applications
How the set went for us is a mystery. We are a group of guys from a small town and one of us received an invitation to this event in the mail. It was required to choose a topic, make a presentation and record a short video about what we are. We didnāt soar much about it, did everything in 1 evening, sent it, confirmed participation and a few days later we received a notification that we had passed. As usual, the video is absurd, the presentation is blundering, apparently there were not so many applications, and the organizers recruited everyone. By the way, their site didnāt work quite correctly, on the links to which they had to confirm their participation, confirmation was not the first time, which is why we were very nervous (in vain).
Tasks
The most important thing. The tasks were difficult, or if not difficult, then at least very intricate. And here they are . Our choice fell on task number 8, at first glance it seemed the easiest, in fact, far from it. Experts (people who help to better understand the task) did not crawl out of the room, we alone could not understand anything and constantly asked questions. A complete understanding of the solution came only in the second half of the second day, which, of course, was too late.
Organization
That one has something to say. Feels better.
First day: Hospada, how cool it is, and so, we distribute the time, from 60 hours, 8 to sleep, 3 to other needs, the rest to cooood! Here, after all, the restaurant is whole with its waiters, and how much food! It's so atmospheric and cool!
Second day: will you feed us something past the buters? Why is the restaurant closed? Where are the liters of coffee? And yes, I slept today for 3 hours sitting.
Third day: We donāt have time! We need to work faster, they opened a room with coffee and now I definitely will not fall asleep!
Fourth day: Everything, everything is delivered, now we are waiting for the results. What? Us not included in the lists? Wonderful! Thanks! Who did win? Yes you are kidding! Their program does not solve any of the tasks, it is simply a pre-made product for other purposes. Give me these judges. Well, at least the food is normal. ABOUT! They brought a vinyl, but here itās already not bad.
About pizza
As for the first day, everything was really good. Grand opening, food. But on the first day something happened and not very good. From above I wrote about 800 pieces of pizza, it was not enough from the word at all. This is where I hated programmers. After we brought all these pieces, we sat for another 5 minutes per pc, it was difficult to distract, in the end, when we noticed people carrying 2 pizzas in their bare hands (not a slice, but a whole pizza), we realized that we may not to get it, it happened when we approached, it was like a scene from the Walking Dead, dozens of hands reaching for the last pizza and grabbing it for a split second. Upon returning to the hall with a disgusting mood, hatred for the code and everyone involved in it, I noticed a picture in which 3 adult men (30+) were sitting with a huge mountain of slices (3-5 whole pizzas), I was ready to tear and throw, but they were not alone, and the hope of victory was stronger than the love of pizza. Donāt do it, friends, itās very ugly.
After this incident, they began to feed poorly. They gave 1 small buter, and even little things, yes, it was possible to go several times if they didnāt burn, of course, but it was still not comfortable. I understand them, I wonāt scold them. If they had not done so, 2,000 people would have pulled everything apart in a matter of seconds, and so no one will get anything. In this regard, everything was thought out poorly. I would suggest not letting you take food with you. If you want to eat, eat at the table, then everyone will get it.
About the workplace
I didnāt like the jobs. There were no partitions, office chairs, sitting for a long time - sweating, no tables for standing work. At the expense of partitions - this is really an important topic. Due to the fact that everyone sees everything, I had to close the laptops every time you move away from them. The scouts wandering between the tables and looking out for your idea were enough. We suspect that our decision was impudently stolen by other participants, but stolen crookedly, as is usually the case. Fortunately, they did not win. And how many are the same? Also, there was no wired Internet in place, only wifi, but it worked ..., oh yes, it did not work. You go to the organizers, you say - your wifi does not rob you, do something, for which you - everything robes. There was no wired Internet, I asked for a cable, they didnāt have it either. It would be a little impudence to ask them to ask them, but Iāll do it, we donāt have laptops (we donāt need them), I had to take what is and what is - it would be better not. It would be great if they put on a pc for each person, but got rid of professional waiters and the orchestra. Fortunately, you could work anywhere and no one bothered you.
About a dream
Quiet places were. Somehow I did not manage to take a picture, I went there 1 time, I did not spend more than a minute. The fact is that all this looked like some kind of shelter. Naked air mattresses, on them people covered with some rags, again no personal space and partitions. Snores alone - everyone does not sleep. We slept either on the stairs (in the first video), or in the lounge area. Although most often did not sleep at all
About shower
He was not, although promised. Muscovites still rode home to wash, while the rest a day later emitted depressing odors. We had to use wet wipes. This is a serious minus.
About the organizers
All the time there were organizers (or volunteers) in the building, the guys who answered us organizational questions, helped with everything that was needed and prompted. They are really great, they ran without stopping (I donāt know if they slept at all), I hope they were paid.
About ratings
Here is a serious puncture, in my opinion. The assessment was carried out according to 4 criteria:
- Performance (from 0 to 4 points).
- Originality of the idea (from 0 to 4 points).
- Scalability (from 0 to 3 points).
- Monetization Model (0 to 3 points)
If the criteria are still adequate, then the presentation is not. For a speech before the judges 3 minutes + 3 minutes were given answers to questions, which, for me, were categorically small. 5 minutes is the minimum required for this. During this time, it was impossible for the judges to properly show either the program or tell about the reason for the decision. Another time, I hope there will not be such a rush.
About our result
If anyone is interested. We did not have time to complete the task, the time was given not 60 hours, but 50, 10 hours before the end it was necessary to hand over everything and the repository would close, it is not clear why, because the check was on the trail. day appointed. We didnāt have enough for revision. In the end, they threw everything away, then they remembered that they had forgotten about the database, talked to the organizers, we were allowed to drop the database on Google Cloud or git, which we did. But then we were told that we were not included in the lists at all. Although later I found out that the reviewer was giving ratings to our team. What is the most offensive. Yes, most likely, it is our fault and there is nothing to blame something on someone here. We plan to continue the work, the expert evaluated our solution as very promising. Made some interesting connections.
About everyone
Backpacks with sweaters were handed out at the very beginning, it was nice. Although I said that we fed a little, but we did not starve. For all the days have not spent a dime. In the end, steaks and Caesar were served at all. At the close, a concert was arranged, which was also very good.
Total
I like it. If not for minor flaws, such as food, soul and jobs - it would be generally class! If they asked me if I would go again, I would definitely answer yes. Thanks to everyone who helped us and everyone who organized this event, I hope that next time you will take into account past mistakes and do better.
PS: according to the article, it may seem that because of the abundance of minuses the event did not work out, which is not so. Yes, there are cons, but in the light of the other advantages, they are lost. Thanks.