To DoraHacks Team, Our Users, and All Hackathon Communities

Today marks the 10th anniversary of DoraHacks, and it's been 4 years since we launched dorahacks.io. A friend recently asked me, “10 years is a long time—you must have a lot of thoughts. Are you celebrating?” I paused for a moment and replied, “Not really, there’s so much to do. Let’s just keep building!”

And that’s exactly how it feels. On the surface, not much has changed—we’re still surrounded by many of the same amazing people who started this journey with us. But now, our team has grown to almost 50 people, and every day is filled with building, planning, and problem solving for our products and team. While daily life feels the same, the numbers tell a different story.

We’ve grown significantly: over 15,000 BUIDLs (projects) have been created on our platform, and we’re adding around 1,500 more each month. We’ve hosted 363 online hackathons and over 100 grants. Since March of this year, when we committed to creating “user-friendly and seamless product experiences,” we’ve executed swiftly. The data speaks for itself—DoraHacks has entered a phase of rapid growth.

Honestly, it feels surreal. I never imagined I’d be part of something like this, let alone help drive it. I’m deeply grateful to every team member of the DoraHacks team. They are thoughtful, responsible, and deeply aligned with the vision to build up the global hacker movement. They care about our users, are curious, excel at identifying challenges, and solve problems effectively. I often say every team member embodies the spirit of a hacker.

I also want to thank everyone who has ever been a part of DoraHacks—whether as a volunteer, participant, or user. Each of you has left an important mark on our growth.

Many people have asked me, “What kept you going for 10 years?” The truth is, when you’re doing something you love, persistence doesn’t require much thought. Passion fuels you to move forward.

During the difficult early years from 2015 to 2018, when the world wasn’t optimistic about what we were building, I always felt the immense vitality of DoraHacks, like a seed just breaking through the soil. That vitality captivated me and made me love this journey even more. Today, that seedling has grown into something resembling a tree, and it still have enormous potential to become a forest.

As a platform that incentivizes and supports hackathons and builders, DoraHacks has always focused on early-stage hackathon startup projects. From 2016 to 2017, the blockchain communities started to play a vital role in fostering the Web3 developer ecosystem. At global conferences, we often hear Web3 founders and developers say, “I participated in one of your hackathons before.” Those moments touch me deeply—proof that DoraHacks has made a meaningful impact.

When I was in my 20s, I thought “changing the world” was just a naïve and unrealistic phrase. Now, I believe it’s happening. The work we’re doing is quietly shaping lives, places, and futures.

This year, we also supported early-stage hackathon communities in quantum computing and other sections on the open source tech tree  They remind me of DoraHacks in 2014—just beginning to sprout but full of potential and vitality. We’re committed to continuously improving the DoraHacks product ecosystem to help these projects and communities thrive and grow into something like a tree.

Additionally, we’ve supported university hackathons, encouraging them to return to the true essence of hackathons: building for innovation rather than simply serving as a recruitment tool.

To everyone who has been part of DoraHacks’ journey, thank you for believing in us and walking this path with us.

10 years is just the beginning. Our story is far from over, and we’re excited for what’s next.

Let’s Build. Let’s Hack.

— P.Y @ DoraHacks