From Yerevan to Silicon Valley: The Story of VEON Digithon and How to Go for Glory
Hackathons are quite the scene. You may find a large number of empty energy drinks. You could see programmers releasing pent-up coding frustration by throwing playdough at the wall (wait, what?). Or perhaps you’ll watch teams bounce ideas off each other seemingly faster than the speed of light.
In short, you’ll probably have your mind blown. After all, hackathons are about taking transformative ideas and coding them into reality.
That’s precisely the goal of VEON Global Digithon. As Lionel, the Digital Business Operations Manager who organized the winning team’s prize trip to Silicon Valley, said of the competition:
“The main purpose of Digithon is to foster innovation and cooperation by mixing up teams. It lasts 24 hours, so teams have to move quickly. It’s really exciting.”
That’s pretty awesome, isn’t it?
Now, let’s hear more about the story of VEON Digithon, the winning team and their trip to California, and how you can aim for the stars.
1. Getting the band together!
Sure, you could go at it alone. But that means you won’t be able to make as much noise as you could with a group.
That was a key theme of the Digithon competition: Working together to create something better.
We even took this idea a step further. Since we work in many different markets at VEON, we decided to first hold a national digithon. Winning teams then traveled to participate in the global competition in Yerevan, Armenia.
“We didn’t want a country versus country competition. We are one. So, we mixed up the teams. It was amazing to see our team members travel abroad and work with colleagues from different operating countries,” states Lionel.
For Chynara, a Program Manager in the strategic development department at Beeline Kyrgyzstan who played a big role in organizing the digithon, seeing employees from around the globe work together gave her a big insight.
“We work for a global company. Everyone is so talented and you have to leverage those talents. When we went to Silicon Valley, I realized there’s so much we can leverage with our internal network,” says Chynara.
That’s a great takeaway. For those who participated, they experienced firsthand the benefits that cooperating with different colleagues can bring.
“I quickly realized there’s no value in isolation or putting yourself first. You can create value by working together,” attest Nimra, who was part of the winning team and serves as a manager for the digital channels and partnerships function at Jazz Pakistan.
2. We are one while playing many different instruments
If you have a band of five guitarists, the music you can make would have its limits. When each member has a different specialty, then creativity can be unleashed. Just think if you had this guy who uses fences as instruments in the band (yes, it’s real).
Anyway, the point is this: Teams can be more productive if they have complementary skill sets. That’s what we went for when selecting the teams for Digithon.
The winning team at Digithon include an array of talents, from those specializing in engineering and design to those in strategic partnerships and communications.
“The biggest part of the entire journey was to meet and collaborate with different people who speak different languages and come from different countries and have had different experiences. It was about how to bring them together to strive towards a particular goal,” describes Nimra.
So, it’s not just about having a diverse team with a range of skills. It’s about uniting the group under a common vision, too.
At Startup Grind, the conference the winning team attended in California, our team also learned the value of having partners and mentors. Guidance and external opinions can help see the best way forward.
This is why Chynara is bringing in outside companies and startups to help out with Digithon 2018 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It will give the team more resources to use, and help them develop an even better solution.
3. Thinking about where to jump in
Albert Einstein once said, “If I were given one hour to save the planet, I would spend 59 minutes defining the problem and one minute resolving it.”
This displays the need to ask the right questions. It’s the only way to find the right problem to solve. That’s exactly what the winning team at Digithon did.
“We wanted to solve a real issue, a real problem and took time to ask ourselves the right questions,” notes Nimra. “In traditional messaging apps, there are too many notifications and spend too much time in chats. Things that are important can be missed. Our solution is an AI / Machine Learning smart chat solution that has the capability of knowing what messages were important, check below for more.”
That sounds very useful, doesn’t it? For next year’s participants, Mubin’s advice echoes this idea of pinpointing the right issues — not just a sleek and fancy solution.
“Focus on the problem. There are tons of problems everywhere. Whatever project you’re given, consider the pain points, the reasons behind the problem,” affirms Mubin.
As you can see, Digithon has motivated our employees to innovate in new ways. It’s why it’s such a great event.
As Chynara says, “We set up Digithon as a great way to connect the company as well as build a culture of innovation. It’s one of the most successful initiatives because it’s bonded so many people. We actually help each other and solve problems.”
4. Pushing boulders over mountains
Do you think it’s impossible to push boulders over mountains? If so, transform the way you think.
“The main reason for taking the trip to California was to expose our team members to the Silicon Valley mindset,” says Lionel. “It’s about believing any challenge can be met and having the willingness to take bold steps.”
The winning team at Digithon did build up a can-do attitude while attending Startup Grind and touring the grounds of big tech giants like Facebook and SalesForce. Mubin has some particularly insightful takeaways:
“I heard two great nuggets of wisdom at Startup Grind: One was, ‘If you don’t know that something may be impossible, there’s a possibility that you can succeed.’ The second was, ‘If you always think about the challenges, that will let you down. Look at how you can achieve great things.’”
Clearly, it’s about having the right mindset. That’s the only way we can have the drive necessary to pursue big dreams.
5. Enjoy the fog (and life!)
The team did take time to soak up the fun of San Francisco — and even take note of the iconic fog that permeates the city.
“We went to Chinatown during the Lunar New Year celebration, walked along the piers, and ate great food. We really became a close-knit group during the journey,” tells Lionel.
Without a doubt, the journey from national competitions to Yerevan to Silicon Valley was amazing. In particular, in Armenia, Digithon took team members out of their comfort zones by mixing up employees from different countries. It showed us all the
“I hadn’t worked in such a diverse environment before. It was truly a transformative experience, both enlightening and fun” states Nimra.
The path ahead for VEON Digithon
We all learned a lot from VEON Digithon. Indeed, magic can be made when we come together and blend talents, ideas, and experiences. Stay tuned for the next Digithon. We’re certainly excited about it.
