The Economics of Running Hackathons in India | Breaking Prod #14

running hacker labs, microgrants, and film festivals at 18 with suhas sumukh | breaking prod #15

suhas sumukh sold his first app at 15. by 18, he's running localhost which is a launchpad for early-stage founders, giving out microgrants through evm capital, hosted india's first ai film festival at the royal opera house in mumbai with bollywood on the panel, and flew to 15 cities across india to find builders nobody was looking at.this episode is about what happens when you don't wait for permission.00:00 intro to suhas00:52 the kid who didn't wait08:11 building with high agency22:26 ai film festival mumbai31:02 indian vs global founders37:02 the sudo command---hosted by: vivek nigam https://twitter.com/viveknigam_find suhas on: https://twitter.com/suhasasumukhLocalhost https://localhosthq.com/AI Film Festival https://www.mumbaifilmfestival.ai/---Breaking Prod is your window to the Indian Tech Scene. It's a running documentation project of the stories, observations, insights, and experiences of people building tech in India.

The Economics of Running Hackathons in India | Breaking Prod #14

There are two places I have stopped going to now, not because i dislike them but more because they mess up my sleep schedule and don't provide much value to me now as they did when I was younger. Those two places are - loud party clubs and developer hackathons!Siddharth is the founder of one of India's largest hackathons, called Hack This Fall https://hackthisfall.tech and I sat down with him to understand how it all works behind the scenes. This means the economics of a hackathon, allocating and creating budgets, what do sponsors need, and how do scaling it to 10k+ hackers and developers over the past 5 years.00:00 Siddharth is here00:55 An innovative first hackathon08:18 Philosophy of a Hacker Experience12:00 v0 of Hack This Fall (HTF)16:33 Planning a Hackathon20:48 All about money and budgets24:19 Dealing with big sponsors27:00 Unit economics of a hackathon31:09 The toxic culture of sleep deprivation34:27 Reasons to continue this path37:20 Looking at the future of HTFFind Siddharth On 👨‍💻- Instagram https://www.instagram.com/siddharth_hacks/- X https://twitter.com/siddharth_hacks- LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthdayalwal/Find Me On 👋- X https://twitter.com/viveknigam_- Instagram https://www.instagram.com/viveknigam3003- LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/viveknigam3003/- Website and blogs https://www.viveknigam.io/Breaking Prod is your window to the Indian Tech Scene. It's a running documentation project of the stories, observations, insights, and experiences of people building tech in India.

Your Coding Skills Expire in 3 Years | Breaking Prod Podcast #13

In this third and final episode of our "Standing Out as a Developer" mini-series, we dive deep with founding engineer and Criclang creator Manthan Gupta into the art of continuous learning while juggling a day job. With AI reshaping the industry and technical skills becoming obsolete faster than ever, this episode is a masterclass on staying ahead of the curve.In this episode: - Why junior engineer roles are decreasing with AI advancement - The "algorithm hacking" strategy for curating your learning feed - Building a learning funnel. - The single word that can transform your upskilling approach - Research papers as your secret weapon for cutting-edge insights - How to approach mentors the right way (and avoid generic advice) - Project-based learning lessons from building Criclang in 20 days - Why you need to stop relying on your job for knowledge growthchapters 00:00 In this episode 01:03 Breaking Prod intro 01:27 The upskilling crisis in AI era 03:05 AI impact on junior engineers 03:37 "Deer in headlight" moment 08:21 Algorithm hacking masterclass 09:13 Curating your feed for tech discovery 10:01 The learning funnel strategy 11:05 The power of asking "WHY" 12:02 International interview insights 12:46 Research papers: The hidden hack 14:03 How to approach research papers 15:09 Reading books the right way 16:16 Project-based learning approach 16:55 Criclang: 20-day programming language 18:13 Breaking the "it's too hard" mindset 18:25 Swift Mac app project example 20:26 Finding the right mentors 21:01 Mentor misconceptions 21:29 How to approach mentors correctly 22:24 Showing up and building reputation 23:04 AI tools lowering learning barriers 24:03 Final advice: Stop relying on your job 24:25 Asking "WHY" as a superpowerManthan's Socials - Twitter https://twitter.com/manthanguptaa - GitHub https://github.com/manthanguptaa - CricLang https://manthanguptaa.in/posts/criclang/ - Website https://manthanguptaa.in/Manthan's latest AI Project - https://manthanguptaa.in/posts/water/Vivek's Socials - Twitter https://twitter.com/viveknigam_ - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/viveknigam3003 - Website and blogs https://www.viveknigam.io/About Breaking Prod Breaking Prod is the no-fluff tech podcast where curious builders break down real-world systems—and themselves—to rebuild smarter, stronger, and more human. It's a home for anyone who's building, breaking, or just figuring it out.

Dealing with heavy burnout taking in tech jobs with Manthan Gupta | Breaking Prod Podcast #12

In this second episode of our “Standing Out as a Developer” mini-series, we have a chat with founding engineer and Criclang creator Manthan Gupta who took a 8 month sabbatical in his early career to deal with burnout.in this episode - how do you identify burnout? - how do you deal with developer burnout? - manthan's sabbatical experience in early career - productivity hacks for preventing burnoutchapters 00:00 in this episode 00:45 breaking prod 01:10 signs of burnout 07:00 breaking out of burnout 09:13 taking a sabbatical (in early career) 16:08 confessing burnout to your manager 18:28 hacks to prevent burnout before you crash 22:38 closing noteManthan's Socials - Twitter https://twitter.com/manthanguptaa - GitHub https://github.com/manthanguptaa - CricLang https://manthanguptaa.in/posts/criclang/ - Website https://manthanguptaa.in/Manthan's latest AI Project - https://manthanguptaa.in/posts/water/Vivek's Socials - Twitter https://twitter.com/viveknigam_ - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/breaking.prod - Website and blogs https://www.viveknigam.io/About Breaking Prod Breaking Prod is the no-fluff tech podcast where curious builders break down real-world systems—and themselves—to rebuild smarter, stronger, and more human. It's a home for anyone who's building, breaking, or just figuring it out.

Remove your fear of posting online with Manthan Gupta | Breaking Prod Podcast #11

In this first episode of our “Standing Out as a Developer” mini-series, Vivek chats with founding engineer and Criclang creator Manthan Gupta about the art of getting noticed without the cringe.Manthan breaks down: - how every job he’s landed started with a tweet thread - using Twitter & LinkedIn as a living resume. - mindset for showcasing your work to the world - cheat code to get confidence on your workand much more.Chapters 00:00 in this episode 00:24 about this mini-series 02:11 authentic personal branding 06:52 network effects of posting online 08:15 unlocking opportunities 10:24 easiest way to post online 12:44 building presence inside a company 15:49 cheat code for getting approvals 17:08 understanding your audience 19:53 start doing this todayManthan's Socials - Twitter https://twitter.com/manthanguptaa - GitHub https://github.com/manthanguptaa - CricLang https://manthanguptaa.in/posts/criclang/ - Website https://manthanguptaa.in/Manthan's latest AI Project - https://manthanguptaa.in/posts/water/Vivek's Socials - Twitter https://twitter.com/viveknigam_ - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/viveknigam3003 - Website and blogs https://www.viveknigam.io/About Breaking Prod Breaking Prod is the no-fluff tech podcast where curious builders break down real-world systems—and themselves—to rebuild smarter, stronger, and more human. It's a home for anyone who's building, breaking, or just figuring it out.