The Many Ideas Behind the BIG IDEA

Behind every BIG IDEA lies a chain of thoughts, some brilliant, some wild, and many fueled by an abundance of coffee, pizza, camaraderie, and a touch of insomnia. And, of course, an unshakable belief in the power of innovation.

This was exactly the scene at the recently concluded #bytebattle2025, the internal Tech Hackathon of ANAROCK. Over 48 electrifying hours, from January 30 to February 1, 2025, 110 tech wizards from across our three businesses – ANAROCK Technology, ANACITY, and myHQ, came together for an intense marathon of ideation, business case development, and rapid prototyping.

These brilliant minds formed 15 teams, each working on a unique idea, culminating in 15 crisp presentations. And all this with an average of just 7–8 hours of sleep across two days!

A Hackathon is only as good as its Jury, and we were privileged to have a stellar panel of experts: Sanjay Agara – Unit Technology Officer, Consumer Goods, Retail & Logistics, Infosys (our Chief Jurist), Rohin Shah, Co-Founder of ANAROCK, Manisha Kadagathur – Senior Advisor-HR, ANAROCK, and a former tech startup founder with a successful exit, and Sunil Mishra – CPTO for ANAROCK Technology & Chief Strategy Officer, ANAROCK.

While Manisha provided sharp insights into the business impact and holistic viability of each idea, Sanjay dove deep into the tech stacks, questioning the use of LLMs (should they have been used at all? 😊) and helping teams optimise their tech choices for maximum business impact. I pitched in with domain guidance, helping refine ideas into disruptive (or at least value-accretive) roadmaps.

The Making of #bytebattle2025

Pulling off an event of this scale isn’t easy. Our core organising committee met umpteen times over three months via video conferences, ironing out everything from – team formation rules, jury rating formula, access to LLMs & cloud resources, and selection of jury members, amongst others.

And, of course, the finer details – sleeping bags & bean bags for power naps, meal planning, booking meeting rooms for 48 hours and not the least personalised tees for all participants!

The Business Impact

So, what did we walk away with?

• One moonshot idea – a potential game-changer for the real estate transactions industry
• Three high-impact projects – with the potential to boost productivity by 30-40%
• Ten non-overlapping innovations – each with a clear roadmap to implementation

And the ROI? If we measure Hackathons that way (which we don’t, but hey, why not? 😊), this one could deliver 10x returns if these ideas are implemented effectively.

#bytebattle2025 wasn’t just about coding; it was about pushing boundaries, testing ideas, and proving that innovation thrives in the right environment. And if the past 48 hours were any indication, the future of technology at ANAROCK looks brighter than ever.

I look forward to our next #bytebattle…..see you soon in 2026!