nCino’s 2023 Hackathon: Pushing the Boundaries of Innovation
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At nCino, two of our core values are “Be a Winner” and “Have Fun,” and our annual Hackathon is one way we live these values while fostering friendly competition and pushing the boundaries of innovation.
A Hackathon is a social coding event where individuals or teams come together to collaborate on solving problems and creating innovative solutions to real problems facing bankers. Over the span of a short time frame, typically between a day and a week, participants use their skills and creativity to brainstorm ideas and build prototypes. At the end of the event, teams present their projects to the broader company, with focuses on themes such as coding, design, social impact, and artificial intelligence (AI).
During nCino’s Hackathons, employees are able to showcase their abilities and build platforms, products, and tools for networking, learning, and driving innovation. These events also encourage teamwork, experimentation, and rapid problem solving to foster a competitive yet collaborate environment.
“The Hackathon provided us with an opportunity to address the business needs of a new set of users to nCino and build something entirely new,” said Ellie Coelho, Pratik Mody, and Gary Shou, who created the nIQ Compass, which ultimately tied to win the Sparkle Innovator Award. “It was exciting to have the flexibility to move fast and just see what we could build in a week.”
nCino’s 2023 Hackathon
This year, presentations were conducted through a live Zoom stream, allowing the active participation of competitors from all office locations, as well as remote employees. Teams consisted of diverse roles and positions, with several teams spread across time zones and global office locations.
The nCino Hackathon winners were carefully chosen by a panel of experienced judges, consisting of nCino leaders and executives. Winners were chosen in each of the following categories:
Internal AI Impact: A project that optimizes nCino’s internal processes for profitable growth using large language models and generative Al.
Customer AI Impact: A project that revolutionizes our customer experience with the power of AI.
Guru Innovator: A cutting-edge product that pushes boundaries and brings visionary ideas to life.
Sparkle Innovator: A project with an extra touch of brilliance.
People's Champion: The best overall innovation, selected by vote from nCino employees.
Over 40 teams and individuals submitted projects, and participants were evaluated based on various criteria including business potential, innovation, data-centricity, responsible use of AI, user experience, and the quality of the technical solution. This year’s Hackathon also placed a strong emphasis on AI, which was a recurring theme in many presentations.
The competition in each category was fierce, but the following projects rose to the top and took home this year’s awards:
Bill Stuart, Brett Dooies, Josh Kraszeski, and Keaton Baughan took home the Internal AI Impact Award for their project which uses machine learning algorithms to predict user navigation choices.
Cody Poole and Trey Wilson revolutionized the underwriting process through AI-driven financial data analysis, securing the Customer AI Impact Award.
Edwin Estrada and Thomas Taylor claimed the Guru Innovator Award by venturing to deliver value to nCino customers by doubling efficiency and ROI.
Garrett Wade created a personalized relationship manager powered by AI in a tie for the Sparkle Innovator Award.
Ellie Chelho, Pratik Mody, and Gary Shou facilitated portfolio and product level changes using machine learning, tying for the Sparkle Innovator Award.
nCino employees gave the honor of the People’s Champion Award to Hoyong Jung, Oleg Simonov, Tanner Holle, and Daniel Steele for a Slackbot peer recognition program.
“Anytime there is an industry-pivoting innovation, it takes agility for any established company to seize the moment,” said Sparkle Innovator award tie winner Garrett Wade. “It's great to see nCino challenge the status quo and carve time out to let its people exercise their creativity to push the industry forward!”
Winners received cash prizes, trophies, and of course, ultimate nCino glory!
“Hackathon has always been a great time to learn something new, and it is one of the best tools we have to promote innovation,” said Customer Impact Winners Cody Poole and Trey Wilson. “Working for an innovation-focused company offers opportunities to push boundaries, contribute to impactful projects, and continually expand skills in a dynamic and forward-thinking environment.”
We already can’t wait until next year’s Hackathon to see how our extraordinary and creative employees will continue to challenge the status quo and lead with innovation!
To learn more about nCino’s core values and award-winning company culture, visit our Careers page.