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How We Won $70,000 at a Hackathon and Turned It into a Real Business for Our Client

Imagine: a month of intense work, days full of experiments, nights spent rebuilding everything from scratch.

Dozens of teams, fierce competition. We pushed ourselves to the limit—and in the end, we won $70,000 in prize money. But for us, this wasnt just about winning. Instead of simply taking the money, we did something bigger—we used this prize fund to turn an idea into a real, working business for our client. We are not just a team of developers. We create real, functional solutions that deliver results for our clients.
How did we do it? What project led us to victory? Lets break it down.


How It All Started: An Idea That Came Just a Month Before the Deadline

It all began in the distant year 2022, when on January 20, our long-time client, Mykolay Perkov, came to us. — "Guys, I found an amazing hackathon! I have a great idea that I want to pitch. But there's almost no time left—the deadline is February 21, and today is already January 20. Lets use your team and the WeCanDevelopIT team, put together a solid case, and go for the prize!" And just like that, everything started rolling. We had only a month—not just to prepare for the hackathon but to come up with a truly working solution that would impress the judges and bring real value to our client.


About the NEAR MetaBUILD 2 Hackathon

NEAR MetaBUILD 2 was an international online hackathon hosted on Devpost, running from December 22, 2021, to February 21, 2022. Its goal was to help developers create scalable, secure, and easy-to-use decentralized applications (dApps) on the NEAR Protocol.

For those unfamiliar with NEAR NEAR Protocol is a modern Layer 1 blockchain platform designed for mass adoption of Web3. Its key features include:

  • Scalability Powered by the Nightshade mechanism, NEAR can process up to 100,000 transactions per second.
  • Simplicity Developer-friendly tools make it easy to create decentralized applications (dApps) within minutes.
  • Cost-efficiency Low fees and high-speed transactions make NEAR an ideal choice for Web3 projects.

The protocol was developed by programmers Illia Polosukhin (Ukraine) and Alexander Skidanov (Russia) and has grown into one of the leading blockchain ecosystems today.


How the Hackathon Worked

The NEAR MetaBUILD 2 hackathon gathered 3,838 teams, with a total prize pool of $1,000,005. Participants could choose from two main tracks:

  • The Welcome Track For developers looking to integrate blockchain into their apps or those new to Web3.
  • The Natives Track For experienced developers building infrastructure solutions and ecosystem tools.

The goal wasnt just to write code—it was to prove that a project could work in the real world and deliver real value. Winners not only received cash prizes but also had the opportunity to further develop their projects within the NEAR ecosystem.


What We Built: Meta Ads — The Advertising Protocol for the Metaverse

For the hackathon, we presented Meta Ads, an innovative advertising protocol that bridges Metaverses and real-world advertising platforms.

The Idea

The DOOH Digital Out-of-Home) and VDOOH Virtual Digital Out-of-Home) advertising markets are fragmented. Brands and advertising platforms operate within their own closed ecosystems, limiting the effectiveness and scalability of ads. Meta Ads solves this problem by introducing a unified Web3 standard for advertising in both the Metaverse and the real world.


What It Brings to the Table

  • Brands can seamlessly place ads across multiple Metaverses without restrictions.
  • Advertising platforms can monetize their virtual and physical spaces with full transparency.
  • Developers can test and implement new business models, increasing the efficiency and profitability of advertising.

How It Works

Meta Ads integrates offline and online advertising spaces using the NEAR blockchain:

  •  Advertisers create NFTs from their ad creatives.
  • Advertising platforms (both in Metaverses and the real world) place ads via NEAR Smart Contracts.
  • The decentralized protocol automates transactions between ad space owners and brands,ensuring fair pricing and reputation protection.

Challenges We Solved

  • Synchronizing offline and online advertising — One of the most complex tasks, which we successfully addressed.
  • NEAR permission management — Users on NEAR couldn't delegate ad placement rights via tokens, and we developed a solution.
  • Content flexibility — Different Metaverse platforms require varied approaches to ad display: some need streaming endpoints, while others use direct content commands.

Results

  • We developed an MVP, enabling ad space owners to list their inventory and brands to find and book advertising spots in a user-friendly format.
  • We implemented NFT-based ad management models.
  • We integrated automated payments via smart contracts

Video

The Final Push and Long-Awaited Results

After completing all the work, we successfully submitted our project and managed to launch the MVP before the deadline. We sent in our application and began the long wait for the results. Then came the moment of truth. To our great excitement, we not only secured second place, but we also received a special award — Welcome Track | Best Use of Technology.

For us, this was a major achievement, validating the value of our solution and giving our team a strong motivation to keep building and expanding the business. We knew we were on the right path — and this was just the beginning. 


This Was Just the Beginning

The journey didnt end there. After the hackathon, we refined our website created new pitch deck and began gradually integrating and applying our ready-made solutions in the
metaverse space.

We launched several unique use cases in collaboration with our partners. During this process, we found an amazing advisor—Carl Fravel, a major landowner in Decentraland. This partnership allowed us to evolve our MVP into a fully-fledged product, which could be used not only in Decentraland but also in other metaverses such as Cryptovoxels, Roblox, and Spatial.
Moreover, we developed a powerful analytics module that not only tracked who, when, and for how long viewed the ad creatives but also provided deep insights into audience behavior. We integrated on-chain and off-chain analytics for our advertisers, allowing them to receive detailed data on user interactions with billboards. Brands could now track not only views and engagement but also conversion paths within the metaverse, giving them unprecedented control over their ad performance.
One of our key technological breakthroughs was the introduction of heatmaps, available in both 2D and 3D. This feature enabled landowners to identify critical areas within their virtual spaces.
By leveraging these insights, they could optimize their land plots, enhance user experience, and improve overall land value.

video

This analytics tool became a game-changer in metaverse advertising, providing our clients with full control over the effectiveness of their campaigns. Thanks to our intensive work and continuous growth, by the end of the year, we won the Intema Metaverse Accelerator and secured a place in the Top 100 Metaverse Innovators. We found ourselves among industry giants such as Epic Games, Meta, Unreal Engine, Nike, NVIDIA, Metamask, and Animoca Brands.

This was a powerful validation that we were building something meaningful—Meta Ads was no longer just an experimental project, but a real tool capable of revolutionizing digital advertising in the metaverse.


Why We Are Your Reliable Partner

We dont just see ourselves as developers who write code—we are your strategic partner, helping you launch a real, working business. With experience and a deep understanding of the market, our primary goal is to take your idea from concept to MVP and then to a fully functional product that delivers real value. We always aim not just to write code, but to create high-quality, well-thought-out, and profitable solutions. Our mission is to ensure that our clients generate revenue and scale their businesses, turning technology investments into growth opportunities. Developing corporate or any other software is an investment in the future of your company. Don't waste time—reach out to us, and well help your business grow! 


Reed also: 

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Best Programming Languages To Learn In 2025      Clever Wallet: Your All-in-One Solution for Financial Management

How We Won $70,000 at a Hackathon and Turned It into a Real Business for Our Client

Imagine: a month of intense work, days full of experiments, nights spent rebuilding everything from scratch.

Imagine: a month of intense work, days full of experiments, nights spent rebuilding everything from scratch. Dozens of teams, fierce competition. We pushed ourselves to the limit—and in the end, we won $70,000 in prize money. But for us, this wasnt just about winning. Instead of simply taking the money, we did something bigger—we used this prize fund to turn an idea into a real, working business for our client. We are not just a team of developers. We create real, functional solutions that deliver results for our clients.
How did we do it? What project led us to victory? Lets break it down.


How It All Started: An Idea That Came Just a Month Before the Deadline

It all began in the distant year 2022, when on January 20, our long-time client, Mykolay Perkov, came to us. — "Guys, I found an amazing hackathon! I have a great idea that I want to pitch. But there's almost no time left—the deadline is February 21, and today is already January 20. Lets use your team and the WeCanDevelopIT team, put together a solid case, and go for the prize!" And just like that, everything started rolling. We had only a month—not just to prepare for the hackathon but to come up with a truly working solution that would impress the judges and bring real value to our client.


About the NEAR MetaBUILD 2 Hackathon

NEAR MetaBUILD 2 was an international online hackathon hosted on Devpost, running from December 22, 2021, to February 21, 2022. Its goal was to help developers create scalable, secure, and easy-to-use decentralized applications (dApps) on the NEAR Protocol.

For those unfamiliar with NEAR NEAR Protocol is a modern Layer 1 blockchain platform designed for mass adoption of Web3. Its key features include:

  • Scalability Powered by the Nightshade mechanism, NEAR can process up to 100,000 transactions per second.
  • Simplicity Developer-friendly tools make it easy to create decentralized applications (dApps) within minutes.
  • Cost-efficiency Low fees and high-speed transactions make NEAR an ideal choice for Web3 projects.

The protocol was developed by programmers Illia Polosukhin (Ukraine) and Alexander Skidanov (Russia) and has grown into one of the leading blockchain ecosystems today.


How the Hackathon Worked

The NEAR MetaBUILD 2 hackathon gathered 3,838 teams, with a total prize pool of $1,000,005. Participants could choose from two main tracks:

  • The Welcome Track For developers looking to integrate blockchain into their apps or those new to Web3.
  • The Natives Track For experienced developers building infrastructure solutions and ecosystem tools.

The goal wasnt just to write code—it was to prove that a project could work in the real world and deliver real value. Winners not only received cash prizes but also had the opportunity to further develop their projects within the NEAR ecosystem.


What We Built: Meta Ads — The Advertising Protocol for the Metaverse

For the hackathon, we presented Meta Ads, an innovative advertising protocol that bridges Metaverses and real-world advertising platforms.

The Idea

The DOOH Digital Out-of-Home) and VDOOH Virtual Digital Out-of-Home) advertising markets are fragmented. Brands and advertising platforms operate within their own closed ecosystems, limiting the effectiveness and scalability of ads. Meta Ads solves this problem by introducing a unified Web3 standard for advertising in both the Metaverse and the real world.


What It Brings to the Table

  • Brands can seamlessly place ads across multiple Metaverses without restrictions.
  • Advertising platforms can monetize their virtual and physical spaces with full transparency.
  • Developers can test and implement new business models, increasing the efficiency and profitability of advertising.

How It Works

Meta Ads integrates offline and online advertising spaces using the NEAR blockchain:

  •  Advertisers create NFTs from their ad creatives.
  • Advertising platforms (both in Metaverses and the real world) place ads via NEAR Smart Contracts.
  • The decentralized protocol automates transactions between ad space owners and brands,ensuring fair pricing and reputation protection.

Challenges We Solved

  • Synchronizing offline and online advertising — One of the most complex tasks, which we successfully addressed.
  • NEAR permission management — Users on NEAR couldn't delegate ad placement rights via tokens, and we developed a solution.
  • Content flexibility — Different Metaverse platforms require varied approaches to ad display: some need streaming endpoints, while others use direct content commands.

Results

  • We developed an MVP, enabling ad space owners to list their inventory and brands to find and book advertising spots in a user-friendly format.
  • We implemented NFT-based ad management models.
  • We integrated automated payments via smart contracts

Video

The Final Push and Long-Awaited Results

After completing all the work, we successfully submitted our project and managed to launch the MVP before the deadline. We sent in our application and began the long wait for the results. Then came the moment of truth. To our great excitement, we not only secured second place, but we also received a special award — Welcome Track | Best Use of Technology.

For us, this was a major achievement, validating the value of our solution and giving our team a strong motivation to keep building and expanding the business. We knew we were on the right path — and this was just the beginning. 


This Was Just the Beginning

The journey didnt end there. After the hackathon, we refined our website created new pitch deck and began gradually integrating and applying our ready-made solutions in the
metaverse space.

We launched several unique use cases in collaboration with our partners. During this process, we found an amazing advisor—Carl Fravel, a major landowner in Decentraland. This partnership allowed us to evolve our MVP into a fully-fledged product, which could be used not only in Decentraland but also in other metaverses such as Cryptovoxels, Roblox, and Spatial.
Moreover, we developed a powerful analytics module that not only tracked who, when, and for how long viewed the ad creatives but also provided deep insights into audience behavior. We integrated on-chain and off-chain analytics for our advertisers, allowing them to receive detailed data on user interactions with billboards. Brands could now track not only views and engagement but also conversion paths within the metaverse, giving them unprecedented control over their ad performance.
One of our key technological breakthroughs was the introduction of heatmaps, available in both 2D and 3D. This feature enabled landowners to identify critical areas within their virtual spaces.
By leveraging these insights, they could optimize their land plots, enhance user experience, and improve overall land value.

video

This analytics tool became a game-changer in metaverse advertising, providing our clients with full control over the effectiveness of their campaigns. Thanks to our intensive work and continuous growth, by the end of the year, we won the Intema Metaverse Accelerator and secured a place in the Top 100 Metaverse Innovators. We found ourselves among industry giants such as Epic Games, Meta, Unreal Engine, Nike, NVIDIA, Metamask, and Animoca Brands.

This was a powerful validation that we were building something meaningful—Meta Ads was no longer just an experimental project, but a real tool capable of revolutionizing digital advertising in the metaverse.


Why We Are Your Reliable Partner

We dont just see ourselves as developers who write code—we are your strategic partner, helping you launch a real, working business. With experience and a deep understanding of the market, our primary goal is to take your idea from concept to MVP and then to a fully functional product that delivers real value. We always aim not just to write code, but to create high-quality, well-thought-out, and profitable solutions. Our mission is to ensure that our clients generate revenue and scale their businesses, turning technology investments into growth opportunities. Developing corporate or any other software is an investment in the future of your company. Don't waste time—reach out to us, and well help your business grow! 


Reed also: 

Web3 Wallet:  What It Is and How It Works      

Best Programming Languages To Learn In 2025      Clever Wallet: Your All-in-One Solution for Financial Management

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