1inch Success Story: Unicorn rising from Hackathon!

Whether we’re in the office or at school, we all share a common dream of becoming successful entrepreneurs or leaders. Each day, as we navigate the mundane routines of work or sit through tedious classes, our minds are filled with innovative business ideas. These ideas aren’t perfect, but it’s the hard work and recognition from competitions and hackathons that fuel our confidence. Today, we’ll introduce you to an inspiring company that had its roots in a hackathon.

When It All Began

Here is an inspiring story of Sergej Kunz, co-founder of 1inch Network who rose from nothing to becoming a huge success. How did he do it? Sergej’s journey is one of self-discovery and relentless passion. At just 13, he delved into computer tinkering instead of gaming. By 17, he was a self-taught programmer, securing freelance work.

He worked as a senior developer at Commerce Connector and Herzog, mastering a wide range of coding skills. From 2015 to 2019, Sergej managed projects for major clients at Mimacom consultancy, ultimately securing a full-time role with Porsche. In 2012, he first ventured into the world of crypto, experimenting with crypto mining. During this time, he launched his YouTube channel, where he conducted live security audits of smart contracts and had the chance to meet Anton Bukov!

The Journey Behind the Success

Sergej and Anton’s adventure in the business world began with a simple hackathon in Singapore. They participated and, surprisingly, they won a prize. This was just the start. They went on to join more hackathons and won more prizes, even scoring two big awards from Ethereum Global. Their names were getting recognized in the world of cryptocurrency.

In May 2019, they took part in another hackathon in New York City. It was one of those intense events where you code day and night without sleeping. During this time, they came up with a cool idea. At first, they were thinking about making a tool that could show cryptocurrency prices from different places so users could find the best rates. It was a good idea, but they thought they could do more.

You see, Sergej had been working on something special before the hackathon. He had created something called an arbitrage bot. This bot could find opportunities to make money by buying and selling cryptocurrencies on different exchanges.

Inception of 1inch

So, they had this idea: what if they made a tool that could find the best deals for users by using multiple exchanges? It’s like shopping at different stores to get the best price, but for cryptocurrency.

At the hackathon, their idea didn’t win a big prize, but it was the start of something great. That idea became the foundation for 1inch, a successful crypto platform. So, from that simple hackathon in Singapore to the bustling streets of New York, their journey shows that small ideas can lead to big success, and it all began with a little competition and a lot of determination.

The Unicorn Status

1-inch made its first significant mark in the DeFi space during the Deversifi Hackathon in 2020. This hackathon provided a stage for 1inch to demonstrate its potential. Following this, they scored their victory in the ETHGlobal Hackathon, after which they received a significant grant from Uniswap, one of the leading DEXs. This grant enabled them to further develop their platform and enhance the user experience.

In December 2020, just a year after its inception, 1inch achieved a major milestone by becoming a unicorn. This meant that 1inch was valued at over $1 billion, a testament to its rapid growth and the increasing recognition of its value in the crypto market.

Conclusion

Hackathons and competitions are a vital part of an individual’s path to becoming an entrepreneur. They link you with smart folks and experienced pros, giving priceless advice for your ideas. The experience you gain from such enriching competitions is beyond measure.

At BizThon, we keep hosting business hackathons with colleges and organizations. Right now, our Web3 Hackathon with Internet Computer is live on our website, featuring a prize pool of $50,000, which is over 40 lakhs in INR. To learn more, just click here.

Feel free to mail us at social@bizthon.com for any queries related to this hackathon or for any queries regarding the submissions.