How I Unexpectedly Joined a Hackathon in Da Lat
I didn’t plan to join the Da Lat Build Week Hackathon. I came to Da Lat to heal from back pain, and the city became my sanctuary for recovery. But as I started feeling better, I decided to drop by the event just to check out the vibe—and that’s when I met Mai.
Mai pitched an idea that instantly clicked with me: building an online/offline wellness community for Da Lat. It resonated deeply because I am that user—someone who came here to heal and found peace. I realized if I could help build something to help others find the same recovery, I had to do it.
We assembled a dream team on the spot. My wife jumped in as our UI/UX designer, and I took on the Fullstack roe. We also brought on a younger friend looking for work experience, plus two developer friends who volunteered to help with research and support.
The result is Wellhoods—a wellness platform with Reddit-like communities, chats, and events. People can create wellness activities, join group chats, and share wellness-related topics. The technical side wasn’t too challenging for me, but I’m happy I could contribute and help build something meaningful. The website is now live at wellhoods.com and we are the Third.
About the hackathon, there are 4 teams and we are given a week to build. Though, some of the application are done earlier based on my understanding. But our was build within the timeframe we got provided. The teams are…
- Item exchange app (Based on my understanding it’s not ready, but they win First Prize)
- General events app (Second Prize)
- Wellness-focused (events/community) app (Third)
- Media style magazine
My takeaway from this experience is that the hackathon was more focused on community and people than pure tech. It’s not enough to be good with tech and building stuff, you will need to prepare for presentation, ideas and connections.
If you’re in Da Lat and interested in wellness or just looking for a supportive community, check out Wellhoods!