Like many software companies in the iGaming industry, we develop our solutions at a very high pace. This,  leaves us with very limited time to socialize and build strong team bonds during our work day.

For that reason, we have a tradition of organizing various team buildings: weekend getaways in nature, competitions in the office, birthday celebrations, XBox gaming, board games night and so on. These activities tend to enhance team cohesion and boost developers’ motivation.

Recently we came up with the idea to try something new: Team-building hackathon.

Hackathons act as incubators for innovation. There is real power in getting a group of ambitious talented minds on one place to work towards a shared goal. Add a bit of competition and the magic happens. Hackathons have been referred to as a great recruitment tool. However, more and more companies are organizing internal hackathons.

Traditionally, the R&D department or a handful of people within the team are responsible for coming up with new ideas and innovative approaches for development. Today, companies are encouraging innovative thinking across teams and departments.

Internal hackathons have been referred as a great tool to:

• inspire creative thinking;
• boost motivation;
• build company spirit;
• drive creative problem solving;

Following the example of hackathons, we decided to do something similar with our team in Tbilisi, Georgia. We went to the Kakheti region for three days of uninterrupted work. Ok, we did pause to awake the competitive spirit with a few games.🤓

Shout out to Ioseb Koplatadze who won the coding challenge.

Also we couldn’t miss the traditional wine testing at “Gvirabi”. Because wine boost cognitive ability, remember? 😉

Anyway, the change of environment really did wonders. We eliminated a few bottlenecks and had some really fruitful brainstorming sessions. The final outcome was a more clear vision for the upcoming projects and enhanced team spirit.

Having everyone on one place focused on a single topic improved the team’s productivity. Also, empowered networking and socializing among the teammates.

More photos on our FB page. Until next time!