How do you bring a growing, global team together to create solutions for a better customer experience? For me, the answer came during meetings with colleagues, especially those working remotely, who often don’t know each other or don’t have an easy way to share their ideas. I saw great thoughts and creativity but no clear way to bring it all to the table.
That’s how the idea of a hackathon was born.
We’re in a stage of exciting growth as a company, but with that growth comes challenges. Not everyone understands the “end game” or sees the full picture of what’s missing for the customer. Relationships don’t form naturally when everyone is juggling their own priorities, especially across time zones.
So, I thought, what if we create a space where people from different teams come together, not just to work, but to think and innovate? A two-day hackathon felt like the perfect way to do that. A chance to brainstorm new ideas that might not emerge through the usual working interactions.
Bringing teams together
We started by designing challenges focused on customer retention: detecting dissatisfaction, proving value, assisting with renewals. Eight challenges in total, each with the potential to make a real impact. Teams were split to ensure a mix of skills and perspectives.
It was amazing to see how quickly connections formed. Developers who had never worked with HRs, business operations, suddenly found themselves collaborating on innovative solutions. Customer success managers brainstormed with the Backend Lead. Even our CEO rolled up the sleeves, working remotely with a team.
For me, one of the highlights was seeing our Ukraine team meet face-to-face for the first time. They don’t live near each other, but for those two days, they were together, building relationships that continue to grow today.
More than just work
This wasn’t a mandatory event, anyone who wanted to join could participate. That made the atmosphere so much more vibrant and creative. It felt less like “work” and more like an adventure.
Our office manager did an incredible job setting the scene. Each team had its own Zoom room, the walls of the office in Tel Aviv were covered with slogans, ideas and notes, and the kitchen was stocked with food to fuel the brainstorming. At one point, we almost had a fire in the kitchen - nothing like a little chaos to bring people together!
Even remote teams stayed deeply involved, collaborating on Zoom late into the night. Seeing the energy and commitment from everyone, regardless of their location, was inspiring.
The results
At the end of the hackathon, we evaluated the ideas based on three main criteria:
1. How innovative was the solution?
2. How quickly could it be production-ready?
3. What impact would it have on customer success and retention?
The judges had a tough time because every idea brought something valuable to the table. In the end, the winning idea stood out and is already on its way to being implemented in our product, with a potential release before the end of the year.
But for me, the real success wasn’t just in the solutions. It was in the connections we built, the creativity we unlocked, and the teamwork we saw in action.
What we learned
Events like this allow people to shine in ways that aren’t always possible in daily work. Team members demonstrated leadership, explored new technologies, and looked at problems from fresh angles. It also gave everyone a chance to learn about each other: building relationships that make our work culture stronger.
Looking ahead
As we plan for our next global hackathon in 2025, there’s so much to look forward to. I want to bring more people together physically to the HQ in Tel Aviv to deepen those connections even further.
This hackathon was a chance to think, connect, and innovate together. It showed me that when you give people the right environment and a little nudge, they can achieve incredible things. And for us at Vicarius, this is just the beginning.
.png)
