From Idea to Podium: Our 1st Runner-Up Win in the Foursquare Hackathon on HackerEarth

Hackathons always bring a mix of excitement, late-night coding, and a dash of uncertainty.

As usual, we couldn’t miss the chance to be part of this hackathon, we participated in the “Building Agentic, Location-Powered Applications With Foursquare Places API” hackathon on HackerEarth, under the theme:

“ Unlocking Contextual Place Information “

We decided to take part with an idea that felt fresh, unique, and worth pursuing.

We prepared our fantastic PowerPoint, submitted it, and waited...

A few days later, the good news landed in our mailbox: we had advanced to the next phase.

But, like most hackathon stories, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Critical deadlines and internal tasks delayed our start. Eventually, we regrouped, aligned on the workflow, split responsibilities, and began building module by module.

On the final day, we stitched everything together and submitted it along with the final demo video.

Then came another waiting period ⏳…

And guess what? Some time later, an email arrived with the subject line every hacker dreams of:

“Congratulations! You have won.” 🎉

Announcement Mail of Our Win from Foursquare

That moment was beyond words — a mix of joy and pride in what we had created.

Announcement of Our Win Officially from HackerEarth

The Idea: Lookate

Agentic AI-driven Personalized Route Planning with the Foursquare Places API.

What Lookate Solves

Lookate makes exploring your surroundings easier and more personalized. Imagine uploading a picture of food, fashion, or a product you like. Lookate uses AI to understand what’s in the image, cross-references it with the Foursquare API, and considers your location and preferences. Then, it serves up the best nearby matches prioritized by availability, distance, reviews, open hours, or even your personal to-do list.

Finally, recommendations are presented on an interactive map, making it effortless to navigate and discover.

Key Features

Key-features of our Lookate

APIs & Tech Stack

• Foursquare Places API & SDKs
• Search API
• ReactJS (Frontend)
• Flask (Backend)
• LLM (Gemini) for understanding content
• OpenStreetMap for maps

Our Journey

• Planning: Started with an idea, pitched via PPT, and made it through the first round.
• Building: After initial delays, we mapped out workflows and distributed tasks.
• Execution: Developed each module individually, then integrated everything on the final day.
• Submission: Shipped a working prototype under deadline pressure.
• Victory: Weeks later, the email confirmed our win — a reminder that persistence and innovation pay off.

Reflections

This hackathon reinforced some timeless lessons:

• Unique ideas stand out — focus on solving real-world problems differently.
• Don’t wait for the “perfect moment” — start small, iterate fast.
• Integration matters as much as innovation — a complete, working flow always impresses.
• Celebrate teamwork — no win happens alone.

What’s Next?

We’re excited to keep refining Lookate, adding more intelligence to the recommendation engine, and possibly testing it with real users. Who knows, this could become more than a hackathon project.

Gratitude

Huge thanks to Foursquare for providing such powerful APIs, the organizers for hosting this hackathon, and my amazing teammates Fazil & Ramachandranram for making this win possible.

Final Thoughts

Hackathons are more than just competitions. They’re a chance to test ideas, challenge limits, and most importantly — learn. This win with *Lookate* is just the beginning, and I’m excited about what’s ahead.

If you’ve built something similar, or have thoughts on AI + location-based applications, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Hackathon #HackathonWin #Innovation #AI #Foursquare #APIs #DeveloperLife #ReactJS #Flask #GeminiAI #LocationIntelligence #Teamwork

Co-author: Fazil