How AI changed Elementor's 2025 hackathon
Originally posted on LinkedIn, July 17, 2025.
Elementor's 2025 hackathon showed how quickly teams can now build an impressive product and a polished demo. In 24 hours, 14 groups with 10 participants each built projects around one common theme: AI.
The response across the company surprised me. People from every department joined in, hungry for a good kind of unusual experience. I worked with a group of 10 talented people, some of whom I had never met. Put people in a room for 24 hours with a shared goal, and they connect remarkably fast.
HR took care of everything: swag and surprises, barista stations, piles of shawarma for lunch, Belgian waffles and crepes for dessert, carts with shots and gummy snakes, afternoon beers, music, drinks, and plenty of energy. Music played throughout the day, there was a small party in the kitchen, sushi arrived for dinner, and sleeping bags and sheets were ready for anyone who stayed and crashed overnight.
What made this year different was the widespread use of AI tools. Teams used interface builders including Lovable, Base44, and Bolt, along with more image and video generation tools than I can list. AI models helped create presentation content and powered the projects themselves.
That changed the hackathon from the usual PowerPoint presentation paired with an ambitious demo that only partially implements a tenth of the idea. The next morning, every team presented its work in exactly 6 minutes, with the time limit strictly enforced. Teams worked until dawn and, in some cases, until the final minute. At 9:59, we were still making last-minute changes to our presentation content.
The projects went much further than I expected. Teams presented complete, working interfaces that integrated AI everywhere: as standalone products, inside the product, and in tools for internal company use. The competition was tough.
The best part was taking second place. 😎