Innovate Memphis’ Post

Knowledge sharing and rain pouring down in buckets.  Who could have thought this would turn out to be such a great match? 😂 Last AKD before — well, not really yet but — summer! 🌞  Rain or not, our day was packed with knowledge sharing and many interesting sessions given by our community. 💡 👉 Niko explained how to effectively handle 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 while keeping proper track of the velocity of your team. 👉 Edwin showed how to efficiently transition from 𝐇𝐓𝐓𝐏 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐉𝐖𝐓 𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐬 using a smart phased approach. 👉 Johan and Kathleen provided insights on the 𝐀𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝 and its impact on integration. 👉 Joost gave a 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 on composability and how business aspects present the greatest challenge in this area. 👉 And last but not least: the winning team of the 𝐂𝐁𝐗 𝐡𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧 showcased their demo for a fraud detection solution for the healthcare sector! We closed off the day with some team building: first we battled each other in the laser shooting arena, after which we enjoyed a very tasty barbecue! 😋 Now summer can finally begin! 

This was an amazing project for an amazing cause. More awareness should be brought to persistent predatory behaviors in chat rooms and adequate steps taken to identify perpetrators early. Semantic analysis and complex word embedding can be just the right tool for the job! 🥳💪 #semanticanalysis #python #SAS

If your founder isn’t hopping on demos over the weekend… are they really a founder? 😂 On a serious note—I’ve always had this intuition about some of our users being founders and brand owners. And the data confirms it. The weekend isn’t “off” for them. It’s actually when they lock-in. "Quiet hours" let them dive deep into the big topics: analyzing data, solving foundational problems, and finding new ways to grow. So, I opened my calendar to see what would happen... Turns out, my girlfriend might not be thrilled—I’ve already got a bunch of demos lined up for the weekend (and she's getting a date night next week, I promise). But that’s who we are at Polar. We stay close to our customers, observe how they use our product, and show up when it matters—even on Weekends. Special shout-out to Reiss from AYBL Group —one of the most locked-in founders I know. He’s building something massive, yet he's still grinding on Polar over the weekend. Here’s to the ones who never stop pushing.

for tomorrow is not promised.

🌍 If you could use satellite data to solve one problem, what would it be? At the 7th CASSINI Hackathon Poland, you’ll get the chance to answer that question - and actually do something about it. Find the registration link in the first comment

Did you know - time is linear and the end of the year is fast approaching? It may be time for some 2025 planning. At the top of your list, put: ✏ Attendance at gate.Crash gate.Crash is Atlanta's newest hackathon - and it's coming in March 2025, so you've still got a lot of time to plan. 🔗 Links in the comments.

💡 Local-first is the next level for any type of app! 🚀 Decentralized web (DWeb) principles are shaping the next generation of apps—secure, fast, and truly leveraging the most powerful edge device: your own. This roundup from the Local-First Weekend highlights some amazing progress in building apps that prioritize privacy, offline-first experiences, and user control. If you're interested in how we can move away from cloud dependency and create a better developer + user experience, check it out! 👇

I attended EntreFEST last week and as I reflect on the various presentations, I wanted to share a few of the takeaways that stuck with me. - Outsource the things that you don't love to do, and the things that will prevent you from scaling - Some questions are irrelevant (not stupid, but off track for your purpose) Improv can improve teamwork- trust is needed and it is fun! - There are no mistakes, only opportunities - Businesses should have a purpose (Mission Statement, Core Values, and Vision). People should also have a purpose and they are not necessarily tied to each other - Give people ownership to help unlock their potential Mike and I also presented a talk on how “Not Every Company Needs to be a Tech Company”! We were very excited about the response we received and I thought I could share a few takeaways from our presentation as well. - Your core purpose is the most important. You use technology to enable your purpose, service, or product. Therefore, every company is a "technology-enabled" company - Create a learning organization by using information and strategically embracing technology - Use technology to take a customer-centric approach to product development Thank you to EntreFEST for the opportunity to attend and the organizers for a smooth conference! 

Here are all the outputs from the recent Account Planning Group of Canada - APG Canada and POCAM - People of Colour in Advertising & Marketing hackathon tackling how to underscore diversity within our ad creation process. Add these to your strat planning toolkit!

🚀 DAY 2 Ministry of Justice Hackathon! 🚀 This is an incredible Power Platform Hackathon featuring talented teams including ALB’s from the UK Ministry of Justice. The event is a fantastic showcase of innovation, collaboration, and problem-solving skills. The participants  are tackling real-world challenges using Microsoft Power Platform tools, including Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI. The creativity and want to improve the current paper based status quo is amazing. 🌟 Highlights: - Innovative Solutions: Teams developed cutting-edge applications to streamline processes and enhance efficiency within the Ministry of Justice. - Collaboration: The hackathon fostered a spirit of teamwork and knowledge-sharing, with participants learning from each other and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. - Impact: The solutions presented have the potential to make a significant positive impact on the justice system, improving services and outcomes for all. A huge thank you to everyone who is participating. We can’t wait to see how these innovative solutions will be implemented and make a difference! #PowerPlatform #Hackathon #Innovation #Collaboration #UKMinistryOfJustice #ANSGROUP