I snagged 1st place at HackMIT ((world's most selctive collegiate hackathon, 1,000 hackers, $100k prize pool) and racked up $10K in prizes from my wins! People often ask: "What's your secret to crushing hackathons?" Tip #1 : 𝐈 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐝𝐞. When you write your pitch first, you're forced to answer: - WHO has this problem? - WHY does it matter to them? - WHAT proves you solved it? Your product becomes proof of your pitch. (We did this with Infosys track for our EcoAI project-simple, impactful, gives direction before going in on the idea and it sealed the win.) If you want a full thread on strategies like team picks, idea brainstorming, and pitch perfection, smash that like/reply "YES" below! Who's in? (fyi : I'm in the red t-shirt :) ) #Hackathon #HackMIT #HackathonTips #WinningHackathons

Everyone loves the word startup. Very few like the reality. Building isn’t about hype, decks, or demos. It’s about surviving weeks where nothing works and still showing up like it does. Founders don’t quit. They adapt. #Founders #StartupLife #BuildInPublic #FounderJourney

Meta acquiring Manus is a reminder: Great tech is optional. Distribution isn’t. Mark @finkd gets that better than almost anyone.