AI In A Box Hackathon: What We Built, What We Learned, and All the Data

When I kicked off the AI In A Box Hackathon, my main goal was simple: get people actually using AI In A Box on ServiceNow. Honestly, I thought if I could get enough folks building with it, the value would speak for itself and maybe I’d land a few new customers.

That didn’t happen. At least, not yet.

But here’s what did happen (and it’s worth talking about).

What Worked

• We made it possible.
  Six teams built and demoed real AI solutions in ServiceNow—something you couldn’t even try unless you were willing to pay enterprise prices. For a lot of builders, this was their first hands-on with AI in ServiceNow.

• The community showed up.
  Votes, comments, likes, and plenty of cheering from the sidelines. LinkedIn hit over 4,000 impressions, and the polls got hundreds of votes.

• People tried, learned, and taught.
  We got feedback, new use cases, and some wild creativity. People who had never met before teamed up and shipped working demos in 24 hours.

What Didn’t (and What I Learned)

• No customer pipeline—yet.
  Nobody converted from participant to customer. Turns out, the journey from “cool demo” to “take my money” is longer than I’d hoped.

• Hackathon drop-off is real.
  Tons of teams formed (22 total!), but only 6 actually shipped demos. That’s normal—life happens, and time is short.

• Momentum fades fast.
  After the event, most folks went back to their day jobs. Keeping that energy rolling is its own challenge.

• Lesson:
  The real win here was access, energy, and proof that the community wants to build with AI if you let them.

#DATA — The Numbers That Matter

Here’s the full breakdown—no fluff, just what actually happened.

Tournament Results

• Finals:
  • Team F*ck it. Ship it: 201 votes
  • Team Techdragoo (The Syndicate): 191 votes
• Other matchups:
  • F*ck it. Ship it vs SNPDG: 131 vs 120
  • Techdragoo vs UK Now Hack: 138 vs 85
  • Techdragoo vs Checklist Pro: 55 vs 32
  • AInsteins vs SNPDG: 10 vs 30

Engagement Highlights

• LinkedIn polls: Up to 251 votes per poll.
• Demo videos: 6 unique solutions, each with public demos.
• Community: Dozens of comments, reactions, and reposts.

The Teams & Their Solutions

Wrapping Up This Chapter

Was this event a failure? Nope. Did I get what I wanted? Not exactly. But I got what I needed: proof that when you lower the barrier to entry, people show up, build cool stuff, and push the platform in new directions.

If you’re thinking about running your own hackathon, do it. Just be ready for the outcome to surprise you—and remember, sometimes the best result is seeing what’s possible.

That’s a wrap for this hackathon. AI In A Box isn’t dead—it’s just getting started.

On to the next one.

Links

• AI In A Box Events — See past and upcoming events
• Hackathon Wrap-Up on LinkedIn — The final thank-you post