Three times I didn't win first place (and what stuck more than the wins)

My hackathon record has three first prizes in it, but the finishes that actually changed how I build are the ones where I didn't win outright.

Top 3 at IIT Kanpur

A top-3 finish at an IIT Kanpur hackathon sits right next to my three wins on the resume, and it taught me the same lesson every near-miss does: the gap between first and third is rarely the code. It's almost always the last ten minutes of the pitch.

1st Runner-Up, Cyber Security Awareness Event

At VSICS Kanpur's Cyber Security Awareness Event, my teammate Ujjwal Mishra and I placed 1st runner-up. The event deepened my understanding of real threats and preventive measures — the kind of foundational security thinking that shows up years later in decisions like FaceVision's embeddings-only backend.

2nd Runner-Up, Perspectives Unleashed

In a debate competition organised by the Computer Applications Department at VSICS, I placed 2nd runner-up arguing a position I didn't personally hold. Every rebuttal sharpened my ability to think on my feet in front of a room — a skill that has mattered more in client pitches and mentorship sessions than any algorithm I've written.

Why near-misses are worth writing about

A trophy tells you what worked. A near-miss tells you exactly what didn't, in specific and uncomfortable detail. If you're a student and you just lost a competition you thought you'd win, write down the specific moment it slipped, before the memory softens it. That note is worth more than the certificate would have been.