Tech Events and its Folks

I expected my Summers to be a lot of things, exciting, hectic, and full of learning but I thought I wouldn’t have time to do something I have come to love – attend tech events. But old habits die hard and that’s how I found myself attending and participating in more events I could have imagined for the given time frame.

First Up : Tech In Asia Summit, 2016. This was a start-up pitch event and not one of the hackathons I was used to. But a line up of great speakers and promise of free goodies made me take few hours off work and end up at it’s gates. Before this, I never saw myself coming up with a StartUp of my own, having worked at some (because they are exceptionally fun to work at), I had seen the amount of grit and hard work that goes into being the person behind the wheel and was wary of my capacity for it, but this event was abuzz with the kind of energy that is seldom found inside any corporate four walls. I was able to attend perhaps one talk and preferred to spent all the rest of the time talking to some of the great people around. The opinions I received and debates I had with the founders of the startups about their products, the current market and my own experience were scintillating and exhilarating. I was hesitant at attending an event without any real purpose there but found myself at home in this hive of tech lovers and entrepreneurs. There, I learned more about the products, the people and about myself as a person on whether I would like to be a part of one these. I would recommend attending similar events for those looking for internships or jobs in coming years, or just to have some interactive fun. Mentionable products: Flock, BeeHive, Recipe Book

Next Entrant: AngelHack Bangalore, 2016. What can I say? When your life becomes an endless hackathon, your enthusiasm to do the same on weekends has to dim down. The sole attraction for the event was its location at JW Merriot and the food it would have. I discovered spending less time on the problem statements, the coding and more on the environment around me. For the first time in all the hackthons I attended, I went to every sponsor’s desk and chatted about their involvement and expectations. Interesting conversations with fellow participants from across nearby states sprouted up. The more time I have spent interacting, I have begun to realize that you can learn from a 10 minute conversation with the right person than a night of coding (though I in know way discourage one to do so at hackathons), but point being the awesomeness of these events comes from the people attending it and it would be a shame if that opportunity is led to waste. Our team going on to win the HPE Grand Prize and the much coveted prize of GoPros happened in one of the least expected fashions. Being able to connect with female developer community in Bangalore was also one of my motives for the event and was fulfilled to some extent though the participation levels still left something to be desired.

Three days spent at my comapany’s internal hackathon was perhaps the only true amount of coding and product building I undertook. Unfortunately, I lack the liberty to disclose the details for the same.

These events took place in a back to back fashion and at the end of the month of July I was left reevaluating my earlier assessment and it seemed that time for the things you like can be made in any circumstances. They gave me a quick and thorough insight about myself as an individual and techie. The very fresh and diverse perspectives I gained from all those I had a chance to connect with will influence my decisions in times to come.

Chhavi P. Gupta – Evangelist and Community Organizer For Women Who Code Delhi
Chhavi P. Gupta on LinkedIn
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