Sparking Innovation & Collaboration: Inside Mercari India Hackathon 2.0

At Mercari, we’re driven by a spirit of innovation, an eagerness to build solutions that redefine landscapes, and our value of going bold. It is this culture and spirit that has helped us design a product and platform that is a market leader and growing consistently. Never is this spirit and culture more visible than during our annual hackathon. The first iteration of this hackathon happened with great success last year, and therefore, when I got the opportunity to be on the organizing team for Hackathon 2.0, I was beyond excited!

It was, of course, going to be bigger than ever! The hackathon was evolving into a global Mercari construct where winners from different geographies would come together and compete for the ultimate recognition at the finale in our Japan HQ. But first, why even do a hackathon? We do it because it creates a unique space for employees to think outside the box and challenge themselves. In a structured work environment, it’s easy to get engrossed in daily responsibilities and deadlines. A hackathon allows us to hit the pause button on these routines and encourages team members to brainstorm solutions that might not typically emerge. This not only sparks innovation but also cultivates a sense of ownership and pride in one’s ideas.

Building the Construct

Step 1 of the process was putting together a dream team that would help us put an event of this magnitude together. For this, we searched across experience levels, job roles and domains to put together a diverse team. This was critical so that we could bring in different kinds of perspectives and cover all aspects that would go into making this event successful. The team – Rafael Marcos da Silva, Priyanka Sharma, Gaurav Bansal, Sanu Satyadarshi, Samkit Jain, Yogesh Gophane, Adarsh Gupta, Noush , Manjunath R and Sreenath T– then came together to design the construct, dates, formats, judgement criteria – all aspects that would be important for the smooth execution of the event. Our brainstorming sessions themselves felt like mini-hackathons and each one offered so much learning!

Driving the Excitement

Step 2, once all the formats had been finalized, was announcing the hackathon and driving excitement around it through various constructs. We announced the launch of the hackathon during the monthly all-hands with our leaders. This was followed by regular conversations over Slack as well as weekly hackathon open doors where we gave opportunities for members to pitch their ideas, form teams, and even participate in fun games such as Tech Pictionary. The open doors also featured our leaders coming in and helping participants with their ideas and also motivating them. We also used these open doors to announce the exciting prizes that participants stood to win!

Bringing Ideas to Life

Teams came together with a common goal: build something impactful. We had employees from different departments who collaborated on diverse projects. The ideas ranged from leveraging AI / ML to simplify listing on the platform, AI chatbots, to even ways to make the platform more usable and streamlined for our customers. Each team brainstormed, coded, and built their concept, then presented it to an esteemed panel of judges. The creativity and problem-solving skills demonstrated were impressive, reflecting the true potential of Mercari India’s talented workforce. Our judges had a tough time deciding our winners because all the ideas were very well thought through and amazing!

Fostering a Culture of Collaboration and Learning

One of the greatest highlights of the hackathon was the camaraderie it fostered. Cross-functional collaboration helps us leverage different perspectives, leading to well-rounded solutions that are innovative yet practical. Beyond teamwork, hackathons offer a hands-on learning experience. Team members learn from each other, enhancing their technical, problem-solving, and communication skills.

Our Commitment to Innovation

The hackathon was more than just a day of coding; it was a testament to Mercari India’s commitment to continuous learning, collaboration, and exploration. We believe that innovation happens when people are passionate about what they do and are given the freedom to explore new avenues. At Mercari, we’re excited to continue providing opportunities for employees to innovate, grow, and shape the future of e-commerce.

By Priyanka Sharma
Senior Technical Recruiter
TA – Mercari India