BrickQuest Hackathon Runner-Up — Still Can't Believe It

Still doesn't feel real.

🔬 Finals Day

March 19th, Agentic AI Summit '26 Spring. 10 finalists out of 260 teams took the stage. From the finals, they picked 1 Grand Prize and 3 Runner-Up winners, while the Encouragement Award went to 5 teams selected separately from all 260. Somehow, I was fortunate enough to receive Runner-Up.

The venue was Takanawa Gateway Convention Center. Google Cloud as host — the scale was overwhelming. Got there at 9 AM for rehearsal, and I was the only one who seemed nervous. Everyone else was so professional, running through their pitches like it was nothing. Meanwhile my hands were shaking.

Each project had an exhibition panel with a dedicated space where visitors could come learn about your product. The level of preparation was seriously impressive.

The finals format was a 5-minute pitch in Japanese + 2 minutes of judges' Q&A. Everything I stressed about in note 019 became very real. I was so nervous I barely remember how I got through it. But I think I managed to show what I'd prepared.

🏆 The Moment

Honestly, my goal was just to get a Google t-shirt. But somehow, I ended up receiving the Runner-Up title.

When they called my name, my mind went blank. The other teams were incredibly strong, so this feels like more than I deserved. I think I got lucky.

During the qualifying round, the judges left selection comments — they said the approach of analyzing your LEGO bricks through image recognition and suggesting what you can build was "unique value not found in existing block building experiences." They also mentioned wanting to hear about "the appeal of the user experience created by connecting with the real world" in the final pitch. I built my presentation around that, though I'm not sure how well it came across. Still, just having them see that much was something I'm grateful for.

👨‍👧 The Best Test Result

I started building BrickQuest for my kid. But during development, I kept getting scolded — "Papa, you're always working!" Then the demo app was ready, and we built LEGO together. That smile was better than any test result I could've asked for. At the end of the day, that's what it's all about.

💡 Looking Back

In note 019, I wrote "just don't finish last." I meant it at the time. But looking back now, maybe I was secretly hoping for more.

The hackathon journey overall:

- Qualifying — Made TOP 10 out of 260 teams. That alone felt like enough

- Prep — Still finished everything on deadline day, but somehow got it done

- Finals — Learned so much from the other teams

It was a great experience thanks to the other participants, the organizers, and the judges.

🎯 What's Next

I don't want to stop here. I want to take the feedback and grow BrickQuest into a real service.

An incredibly generous day. I won't forget this gratitude, and I'll keep working hard.