Take a page from these digital nomads that got shit done in 2018!
2018 was a huge year for Hacker Paradise. We took more trips than ever, which means more alumni than ever, culminating with three groups being on three different continents at the same time. And then there was our rebrand and entire website redesign (hello 80’s reboot). NBD.
Looking back at the work we put in this year to make it all happen, it made us think about our HPers, and all the cool shit they are doing with their own projects, both on and after trips.
An alumni’s new app looking for beta users may not make our Instagram or Facebook, but it definitely makes its way into our Alumni Slack channel, and in front of the eyes of 750+ alumni. So as the New Year starts, and you’re thinking of what projects you want to tackle in 2019, here are some inspiring projects that came out of Hacker Paradise trips in 2018.
Craig Condon, Tandem
HP Alumni Craig Condon created a user interface builder called Tandem that’s like Photoshop or Sketch, except that Tandem allows people to create designs that compile to real software. It allows people to build production-grade web applications and works with various languages and frameworks.
Craig worked on Tandem during Hacker Paradise trips to Colombia, Cambodia, and Cape Town as a side hustle, given that he was also working full time for a San Francisco based company.
When asked about the feedback he received from others on our trips, Craig enthusiastically replied; “Yep, got a lot of feedback from people on the trips I went on. People have been so willing to help out, and it’s been super valuable to have 1–1s with people on HP trips. Everybody used the application differently, and testing the app in person has helped me out a ton around what features were needed, and holes around user experience.”
Matt Bowles, The Maverick Show
Matt Bowles launched his podcast The Maverick Show this October after interviewing guests across 3 Hacker Paradise trips in Da Nang, Osaka, and Seoul.
We are more than slightly biased, but two of our favorite episodes are with our CEO Spencer Jentzsch (Episode 11) and HP Alumni Ali Greene (Episode 12) where they discuss insights and tactics to working remotely, emotional intelligence, company culture, and valuable lessons learned on their path to location independence and lifestyle freedom.
Matt is super thankful for the support, encouragement and positive reviews on iTunes from HP alums and his podcast is a weekly show he will continue to work on during future HP trips.
Dvir Hazout, Mmris App
Dvir Hazout has been traveling as a digital nomad for just over a year, and got inspiration for his app from wanting to have a cool recap video of all his travel photos while he was in Mexico with Hacker Paradise. He felt the existing free video editing tools were too tedious so he designed his own. Dvir designed the Mmris App to be so user-friendly that anyone could create a video in one click and even incorporate emjojis of each country to the photos that were taken there.
Dvir also consulted with HPers after the trip using our alumni chat and got insights he felt he could only get from those who also “lived this nomadic lifestyle” and added “I hope I’ll join another HP trip sometime in future and hopefully develop this project further. I already have plans!”
— Carly Rhodes
If you’re like us and don’t want to create in a vacuum, love a little group accountability, feedback, and support, check out where you could join us this year or schedule a time to chat with us!
Originally published at www.hackerparadise.org on January 3, 2019.
