From January to March, Convex hosted the Zero to One Virtual Hackathon with the challenge “Build fullstack apps at light speed with Convex.” The hackathon was completed with over 2400 participants and 79 full-stack apps submitted. After an intense round of judging, the top winner of the Best Overall App was Konrad Hylton, who built LaunchPie. LaunchPie represents a unique approach to improving equity distribution among startup employees. Below is an interview with Konrad on building LaunchPie and his Convex experience.


## **What is the core problem that LaunchPie solves for startups and investors?**

LaunchPie helps founders make informed equity decisions. It provides a framework for fair equity distribution that values each founder's contributions—whether time, expertise, or resources—in a balanced and equitable manner. This not only motivates teams but also provides investors with clear insights into the company's operations and commitment levels.

As startups mature and founders seek a more stable equity structure, LaunchPie facilitates this transition with cap tables and scenario modeling.

In other words, LaunchPie provides clear answers to questions like 'How much equity should a new co-founder receive?' or 'Will my equity dilute after a rights issue?' ensuring founders have the knowledge to make informed decisions.

## **What experiences led you to build LaunchPie?**

As a corporate attorney, I've seen more than my fair share of equity disputes. It's a frequent and ugly problem. Founders generally have good intentions but often fall into the same traps. Having witnessed these conflicts first-hand and experienced similar challenges myself, it's clear to me that much of this is preventable.

After a deep dive into equity management, I began working on LaunchPie. I designed it to preemptively address the root causes of equity-related tensions by providing a clear, automated framework for equity distribution.

## **How did you learn about Convex?**

The first time I heard about Convex was through AI Town. Not long after, I began seeing @YTCodeAntonio and @webdevcody using it in their projects. What stood out was the real-time dashboard, which allowed for live edits and instant updates. It looked like a good way to improve my workflow so I began checking out their docs.

## **What was your developer experience like building LaunchPie on Convex during the Zero to One Hackathon?**

I don’t say this lightly: Convex offers the best developer experience available for a backend as a service today. If I ran into trouble, the support from their Discord was instant and always helpful— though I rarely needed it, given the quality of Convex’s docs. Their docs have a well implemented fuzzy search that grabs relevant matches from their docs, stack blog and existing Discord discussions. This is complimented by their chatbot that had no trouble deciphering my vague, error riddled prompts and provided very useful answers. Regardless of your skill level, it’s impossible to feel lost when building on Convex.

Convex also simplifies many of the more time-consuming parts of backend development. Security, real-time updates, and caching are either ready out of the box or greatly simplified. However, the dashboard truly stands out. It gives you an intuitive GUI that lets you test functions, view logs, edit data, monitor cron jobs, and inspect uploaded files, all in one place. It’s hard to express just how much this streamlines development until you’ve experienced it firsthand.

## **What top Convex features help build LaunchPie?**

If I had to choose the three features from Convex that helped most in building LaunchPie, they would be:

1. Indexes: These allowed me to query documents quickly and efficiently, invaluable for managing a data-intensive application.
2. File Storage: I used this to store and serve important company documents as well as audio files from board meetings.
3. Vector Search: LaunchPie uses a lot of AI. Convex’s built in vector search and ability to define vector indexes made storing and retrieving embeddings pretty easy

## **What advice would you give to developers just learning about Convex to dive in to start building their app?**

First, go through the Quick Start in their docs, then jump into their Stack. It’s full of well-thought-out articles, walkthroughs and perspectives on how to use and think about Convex. Find an article that aligns with your interests and use it as a springboard for your next project.

If you get stuck, use the search feature in their docs or consult their chatbot.

## **What’s next for you and LaunchPie?**

I’m turning LaunchPie into a fully-fledged business. I spent the last few weeks speaking with entrepreneurs to make sure there’s a real demand. I’m also reaching out to potential investors and strategic partners who are interested in getting involved. If you’re interested in joining the waitlist or learning more about LaunchPie, check out [launchpie.com](http://launchpie.com).

Earlier this year we ran a hackathon to find who could use Convex's features the best to build an application from scratch. From 2400 participants, Konrad Hylton pulled it off with Launchpie.

LaunchPie’s Experience Winning the Zero-to-One Hackathon

We are thrilled to announce the winners of the [Zero to One Hackathon by Convex](https://convexhackathon.devpost.com/), where thousands of developers and startup founders showcased their skills in building fullstack apps with Convex. The competition was fierce, with participants building applications spanning many different sectors and backgrounds. From measuring soil moisture for farmlands, to AI job finders, to apps helping people connect over food and location, it was humbling to see the many high-quality submissions come in day after day. After careful judging, we're excited to announce the winners.

## Winners and Prizes

### Best Overall App

- **Winner**: LaunchPie
- **Description**: LaunchPie is an application that tackles startup equity distribution in a unique way by including transparent tracking of ownership and productivity as it relates to ownership. It includes some productivity tools in addition to equity management. Check out the video demo [here](https://youtu.be/ja1X9c04fks?si=MlN5bv2k4Ij9cWHR) and the submission on DevPost [here](https://devpost.com/software/launchpie).
- **Why we chose it:**  LaunchPie functions like a ready-to-be-backed startup on the backend that takes full advantage of many Convex features, templates, and past tutorials to showcase a functional platform on Convex.

### Best Multiplayer App

- **Winner**: Quizzex - Realtime Quizzes
- **Description**: Quizzex offers fun games with other players in real time right in your browser. Choose from a selection of games, join or host an online, realtime battle, and look back on your victories! Check out the video demo [here](https://youtu.be/t8kdQA7CGzg?si=8wz1Hq9qwHMatU3q) and the submission on DevPost [here](https://devpost.com/software/quizzex-realtime-quizzes).

<GitHubRepo url="https://github.com/AnsellMaximilian/quizzex" description="Quizzex" />

- **Why we chose it:**  The judge’s comment was “Clever, multiplayer, fun.”  Quizzes show the value of Convex’s real-time and multiplayer features in a fun and challenging way.

### Best Startup Idea

- **Winner**: Farmware
- **Description**: Farmware uses satellite imagery to provide historical soil moisture readings for farmers. Check out the video demo [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSb6Nx-GLEs&) and the DevPost submission [here](https://devpost.com/software/farmware-omy1wa).
- **Why we chose it:** At Convex, when we think of startup ideas, we think of the impact that solves a real problem. Farmware does this effectively by leveraging Convex’s image storage and actions along with APIs and satellite imagery.

### Best AI App

- **Winner**: ConvJobs - Find Jobs the better way
- **Description**: ConvJobs is a recruiting platform that leverages Convex Vector Search to find candidates that match search criteria efficiently. Check out the DevPost submission [here](https://devpost.com/software/convjobs-find-jobs-the-better-way).

<GitHubRepo url="https://github.com/mithileshchellappan/convjobs" description="ConvJobs" />

- **Why we chose it:**  ConvJobs combined several opportunities into one by building an AI recruiter tool that leverages Convex features to assist recruiters and job seekers in finding a connection.

### Most Viral App

- **Winner**: recapit
- **Description**: Master your memory by recapping what you learned. Check out the submission on DevPost [here](https://devpost.com/software/recapit-bnyc8t) and the Tweet that got a lot of attention [here](https://twitter.com/jashwanth0712/status/1770707650529165650).

<GitHubRepo url="https://github.com/jashwanth0712/recapit" description="RecapIt" />

- **Why we chose it:** Jashwanth went above and beyond to share recapit with his community on various social media channels. It’s a great way to get early customer feedback as well. Thanks for sharing, Jashwanth; we’re excited to see you continue to build recapit.

### Most Valuable Feedback in the Convex Discord or Feedback Form

- **Winner**: Reece Yang of Figo
**Why we chose Reece:**  We always look for ways to improve Convex for the developer community and startup founders. We value all feedback, and Reece provided excellent feedback to improve Convex and the developer experience. Thank you. Check out their [Devpost submission here.](https://devpost.com/software/figo-43zeax)

### Discord MVP

- **Winner**: Trace of PostIT
**Why we chose Trace:** Thanks to Trace for being super helpful to all the hackathon participation in the [Convex Discord](https://convex.dev/community). If there were a second place for Best Overall, it would be Trace's PostIT submission. Check it out. [here](https://devpost.com/software/postit-share-with-your-group)

### Congratulations to All Participants!

We are incredibly grateful to all participants for their excitement and dedication throughout the hackathon. We encourage you to explore new ideas and build your apps with Convex.

### Thank you to our panel of judges!

![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ts10onj4/production/fc552b73c775f2c98aabfb49938a2109cc332bd8-799x335.png)

- Anjana Vakil, Independent Developer & Educator
- Jason Lengstorf, Host of Learn With Jason
- Shawn Erquhart, Product Engineer
- Ian Macartney, Developer Experience Engineer at Convex
- Wayne Sutton, Head of Community and Events at Convex
- Jamie Turner, Co-Founder / CEO at Convex

We’re extremely grateful for the time and expertise of our judges in evaluating the submissions. Your insights and feedback have been invaluable in recognizing the outstanding achievements of our participants.

Congrats again to the winners! Stay tuned for future events and opportunities with Convex. Keep building, and see you in Discord!

Contestants have been hard at work with our Winter Hackathon that we ran with Devpost. In this post, we announce the winners and their prizes!

Zero to One Hackathon Winners

Using Convex, 4 web devs built their own fullstack app based on this prompt:

> Build a way to show real-time updates on the website for a Dungeons and Dragons-themed small business!  

See what they built, learn how they did it, and watch their reactions to each other's work in this installment of the "4 Web Devs, 1 App Idea" video series.


Featuring projects by:

[Web Dev Cody](https://www.webdevcody.com/)
- Live app: [the-obsidian-forge.vercel.app](https://the-obsidian-forge.vercel.app/)
- Source code: [github.com/webdevcody/the-obsidian-forge](https://github.com/webdevcody/the-obsidian-forge)
- In-depth explainer: [stack.convex.dev/wdc-coding-challenge-with-jason](https://stack.convex.dev/wdc-coding-challenge-with-jason)

[Anjana Vakil](https://anjana.dev/)
- Live app: [anjana.dev/questferret](https://anjana.dev/questferret/)
- Source code: [github.com/vakila/questferret](https://github.com/vakila/questferret)

[Tom Ballinger](https://ballingt.com/)
- Live app: [partyisfull.com](https://www.partyisfull.com/)
- Source code: [github.com/thomasballinger/your-party-is-full](https://github.com/thomasballinger/your-party-is-full)

[Jason Lengstorf](https://jason.energy/links)
- Live app: [dnd-lamp-store.netlify.app](https://dnd-lamp-store.netlify.app/)
- Source code: [github.com/learnwithjason/dnd-lamp-store](https://github.com/learnwithjason/dnd-lamp-store)

Using Convex, 4 web devs built their own fullstack app based on this prompt:

> Build a way to show real-time updates on the website for a Dungeons and Dragons-themed small business!  

See what they built, learn how they did it, and watch their reactions to each other's work in this installment of the "4 Web Devs, 1 App Idea" video series.



4 Devs, 1 Idea, 4 Apps in 4 Hours(!!) with Convex

Learn With Jason

A few months ago, CodeWithAntonio put out [a tutorial](https://youtu.be/0OaDyjB9Ib8?si=4oomxf_Yq2mJnz-u) detailing how you can create a Notion Clone from scratch in an eight-hour, detailed masterpiece. This tutorial, notably, used Convex as the backend, creating many collaboration opportunities for us and potential builders. With a myriad of possibilities for extending features on top of the framework Antonio created, we decided to launch a [Build Bounty](https://stack.convex.dev/build-bounty-jotion) to find engineers that could create the coolest features on top of the project.

[CodeWithAntonio](https://www.youtube.com/@codewithantonio) and his community were a blast to work with and we're here to announce the winners of the Notion Clone Build Bounty!

## Best multiplayer/collaborative feature ($1000)

The best multiplayer feature created for the build bounty was made by [Konrad Hylton](https://github.com/konradhy), who went above and beyond to implement multiple key features for this category. The two most notable things he built were a sleek UI for adding and removing collaborators and realtime cursor *presence*. [Presence](https://bootcamp.uxdesign.cc/ux-word-of-the-day-presence-a54a6a81280f) is defined by the ability to see fellow collaborators in realtime as they are editing the shared document, a key feature for working with others. It should also be noted that adding and removing collaborators happens in realtime due to Convex's native realtime capabilities, something that Konrad specifically designed around.

While these two things are already quite impressive on their own, Konrad also took the time to implement the following features, making him a clear winner for this category:

1. UI for syncing changes made by other editors
2. Three new *slash* commands, each using AI to generate text in a different way
3. Document search, using Convex-indexed search

Here's the GitHub repository for their submission:

<GitHubRepo url="https://github.com/konradhy/build-jotion" description="Notion clone with presence, collaboration, deep search,and more" />

## Best use of Convex features ($1000)

The best use of Convex's base features was [Shreyas Chaliha](https://github.com/trace2798), creator of a Notion clone with chat features and image storage using Convex's native image store. We thought this was particularly notable from a Convex angle due to the following two criteria: 

1. Shreyas created a new table to manage chat messages, meaningfully engaging with organizing data in a new way with Convex.
2. Shreyas moved the project's image storage off of an external tool to leverage the benefits of Convex's native image store. This showcases understanding of what needed to be reconfigured to maximize Convex's benefits as a builder.

Here's the GitHub repository for their submission:

<GitHubRepo url="https://github.com/trace2798/jotion_convex_extented" description="Notion clone with chat and Convex image storage" />

## Runner-up for best multiplayer/collaborative feature ($500)

Our runner-up for the best collaborative feature was from [Shyam Raghuwanshi](https://github.com/Shyam-Raghuwanshi). His submission was particularly notable because of the way he implemented adding and removing collaborators. Instead of letting anyone add and remove collaborators, he added an Admin role that could be given or taken away.

Here's the GitHub repository for their submission:

<GitHubRepo url="https://github.com/Shyam-Raghuwanshi/my-notion" description="Notion clone with role-editing style collaboration" />

## Honorable mention ($500)

Finally, our honorable mention for the project was created by [Dr. Sajjad Mahmood](https://github.com/DocSJ1980). Similar to previous submissions we have gone over, he added collaborative features. Here's an overview of what he added:

1. Sharing capabilities with other users, excluding users that have already been added
2. User objects stored in a Convex table
3. Avatar component at the document TopNav for quick sharing and unsharing

Here's the GitHub repository for their submission:

<GitHubRepo url="https://github.com/DocSJ1980/notion-clone" description="Notion clone with collaboration and avatar presence" />

## Conclusion

We had a great time talking to the members of the CodeWithAntonio community that participated in the challenge and look forward to hosting more events like this; Convex's modular nature makes adding new features a straightforward experience, so we're looking to leverage that as much as possible. As mentioned before, thanks to [CodeWithAntonio](https://www.youtube.com/@codewithantonio) and his moderators for helping out with the challenge.

We hosted a hackathon for building features on top of a Notion clone created by CodeWithAntonio. Here are the results.

We Hosted a Hackathon for a Notion Clone

In October, Code with Antonio demonstrated using Convex to build [Jotion, a Fullstack Notion Clone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OaDyjB9Ib8&t=15643s) with Next.js 13, React, and Tailwind. The live tutorial resonated within the developer community, leading to a surge of hundreds of developers crafting their Notion clones, forking the tutorial, and starring the repository on GitHub.

To support & reward those keen on further developing this project, with Antonio’s blessing, we’re excited to introduce our inaugural Build Bounty: Jotion.

# What is a Build Bounty?
Imagine a hybrid of a Hackathon, a bug bounty, and a contest – that constitutes a Build Bounty. The Convex Build Bounty is your chance to contribute new features to the Notion clone, collaborate with the community, and have bragging rights as one of our first Build Bounty winners.

# The Timeline
- Start Date: Thursday, November 16th
- End Date: Sunday, December 3rd
- Winners Announcement: Tuesday, December 12th
- Prize Pool: $3000

## Getting Started
1. Inspiration: Begin by watching the "Code With Antonio's Fullstack Notion Clone (Jotion]" video [here](https://youtu.be/0OaDyjB9Ib8?feature=shared).
2. Fork the Project: Access the Notion Clone tutorial repository on GitHub [here](https://github.com/AntonioErdeljac/notion-clone-tutorial).
3. Join the Community: Engage with fellow participants in the #build-jotion channel on our Discord community at [convex.dev/community](https://discord.gg/zqTEs4Hj). All Build Bounty updates and submission guidelines will be shared in our Discord #build-jotion channel.
4. Start Developing: Use your skills and creativity to enhance Jotion.

## Build Bounty Requirements
1. Base your project on Antonio's Jotion, starting with a fork of his repository.
2. Use Convex in your project.
3. Introduce innovative new features.

If you’re looking for ideas for new features to add to Jotion, here’s a list.

- document sharing
- multiplayer editing
- content search
- comments
- browse/restore history
- teams/teamspaces
- native mobile version

## Prizes at Stake
- Top Multiplayer/Collaborative Feature: $1000
- Use of Convex features (vector search, indexes, etc.): $1000
- Most Innovative/Surprising Feature: $500
- Honorable mention: $500 

## Meet the Judges
- Jamie Turner, Co-founder & CEO, Convex
- Ian Macartney, DevX Engineer, Convex
- Wayne Sutton, DevX/Community, Convex
- Anjana Vakil, Independent Developer & Educator
- Simen, (Eventyret) Solutions Engineer, Strapi 

## Judging Criteria
- **It works:** Your app functions as intended without glaring bugs.
- **It’s better:** Your project implements additional functionality compared with the original Jotion.
- **It’s Convex:** Your backend & client code follows Convex best practices.
- **It’s solid:** Your codebase is well-tested & documented.

# How to Submit
To submit your project, step one is to join the #build-jotion channel in the Convex Discord. Look for the submission form to drop the last week of the Build Bounty. 

A 1-2-minute demo video of your Convex dashboard is in the submission form.

Submissions are due on Sunday, December 3rd at 11:59 PM your time.

## Save the Date: Jotion DevJam
Join members of the Convex team and meet other jotion developers participating in the build bash on Wednesday, November 29th at 9:00 AM PT. The Jotion DevJam will take place in our [Discord community here](https://discord.gg/zqTEs4Hj).

## Need a starting point?
Check out our **[hackathon guide](http://convex.dev/hackathon)**, and don't hesitate to pose questions in the #jotion-build channel in our Discord community at [convex.dev/community](https://discord.gg/zqTEs4Hj).

We can’t wait to see what you build!
<details>
	<summary>Convex Build Bounty Legal F.A.Q. </summary>
- **Who can participate in the Convex Build Bounty?**
    - Eligible Individuals are those who have reached the age of majority in their residence at the time of entry.
- **Can I participate as a team or individually?**
    - You can work on your Jotion project as a team or individually, but prizes will be awarded per project regardless of the team size.
- **Can I submit more than one submission?**
    - Yes
- **Who can not participate in the Convex Build Bounty?**
    - Any individual or organization whose involvement in the Convex Build Bounty, at the sole judgment, leads to a real or perceived conflict of interest.
    - Individuals residing in, or organizations based in, countries, states, provinces, or territories where U.S. laws or local regulations forbid participation or receipt of prizes in the Convex Build Bounty.
    - Convex employees and contractors, investors, board members, or their family members, encompassing the employee's or contractor's spouse, children and stepchildren, parents and stepparents, and siblings and stepsiblings.
- ****Intellectual Property****
    - All submissions remain the intellectual property of the individuals or organizations that developed them. By submitting an entry, individuals agree that the Convex will have a non-exclusive license to use such entry for judging the entry. Entrants agree that Convex will have the right to promote the submission and individuals contributing to submission in any materials promoting or publicizing the Convex Build Bounty and its results during the Convex Build Bounty and afterward. Convex Build Bounty submissions may be displayed to the public.
    - Your entry must: (a) be an original creation by you, your team, or your organization; (b) be exclusively owned by you, your team, or your organization without rights or claims from others; and (c) not infringe upon the intellectual property or other rights, including but not limited to copyright, trademark, patent, contract, and privacy rights, of any third party.
- **Prohibited Content**
    - Entries should be appropriate for general audiences, suitable for publication, and must avoid including anything harmful, illegal, or indecent.

</details>

Learn how you can win cash prizes for building features on an open-source Notion clone.