From an Idea to Grand Champions: Building Foodie in 24 Hours

“What if perfectly good food didn’t have to end up in a bin while people nearby were struggling to afford a meal?”

It all started with this one single question, the one that would eventually become the foundation of our Buildathon journey.

We are Z, two university students who share a passion for building technology that solves real-world problems. We had previously attended the Cursor Café event and were already part of the community. So when we saw the announcement that registrations for the Cursor Colombo 24-Hour Buildathon had opened, we immediately decided to team up and give it a shot.

Our goal was simple: to learn, build something meaningful, and challenge ourselves. The event brought together over 400 university students from across Sri Lanka to build innovative solutions within 24 hours. Teams had to choose a specific track and compete against others in that category. Participants received Cursor credits to build, along with credits for their selected track. We chose the Convex Track. We never imagined that 24 hours later, we would be standing on stage as Grand Champions.

How Foodie Was Born

The challenge was to solve a real-world problem. As soon as the theme was announced, we spent the morning discussing different ideas. We kept coming back to a problem that exists all around us: food waste and hunger. Every day, restaurants, cafés, bakeries, and grocery stores throw away perfectly good food, while many people struggle to afford meals and NGOs work hard to support communities in need. The more we discussed it, the more we felt this was a problem worth solving.

That is how Foodie was born.

Foodie is a platform that connects businesses with surplus food to nearby consumers and NGOs. Instead of throwing food away at the end of the day, businesses can list available items on the platform. Consumers can purchase them at affordable prices, while NGOs can coordinate donations for people who need them most. We loved the idea because it tackles two problems at once, reducing food waste and helping fight hunger. What made Foodie unique was its ability to create value for everyone involved: businesses reduce waste, consumers get affordable meals, and NGOs gain easier access to food donations.

24 Hours to a Working Product

Once we settled on the idea, development moved quickly. We used Cursor credits given by the organizers to generate the initial project structure, had lunch, and then started improving and polishing the application. We divided the work between us, with one person focusing on the frontend while the other handled AI integration and APIs. Looking back, one of the most exciting parts of the experience was seeing an idea discussed over a table in the morning slowly turn into a real, working product by the end of the night.

Like every Buildathon team, we faced our share of challenges. Around midnight, we started deploying the application and fixing bugs. What we thought would be a simple deployment turned into hours of troubleshooting. By around 3 a.m., after plenty of debugging and determination, we finally had Foodie successfully deployed on Vercel. With the hardest part behind us, we completed the documentation, demo video, and final submission before the deadline. Those late-night hours tested our patience, but they also taught us the importance of staying calm and working through problems as a team.

Convex Track Winner

While waiting for the results, we felt confident that we would place well in the Convex track, but we were not sure if we would make it to the finals. In fact, we spent more time discussing where to go for lunch than worrying about the results. Hearing our name announced as the Convex Track Winner and qualifying for the finals came as an exciting surprise.

The next challenge was the final pitch. The finalists consisted of the winners from each track, all competing for the overall Grand Champion title.

The Final Pitch

In previous competitions, presentations had often been our weakest area. This time, we were determined to improve. With only 30 minutes to prepare, we refined our slides, practiced our delivery, and focused on telling the story behind Foodie. During the presentation, the judges were incredibly supportive and engaged, constantly nodding along. Their encouragement gave us even more confidence and helped us deliver one of our best presentations.

When the winners were announced, hearing our team’s name called as Grand Champions was a dream come true.

Since our very first year at university, we had faced setbacks, reached finalist stages, and left competitions wondering what we could have done better. Those experiences taught us resilience, teamwork, and the importance of never giving up. Every competition, whether we won or lost, helped us improve and prepared us for this moment.

We would like to thank Team TechTalk360, the organizers, along with the judges, mentors, sponsors, and everyone who supported us throughout the Buildathon.

Seeing our name beside the Grand Champion title is something we had dreamed of since our first year at university. And we finally made it. Every late night, challenge, setback, and lesson learned made that moment even more special.

What’s Next for Foodie

But winning the Buildathon was not the end of Foodie’s journey, it was just the beginning. With the support, credits, and opportunities we received through the competition, we are currently working on turning Foodie into a fully developed application. We’re excited about what’s ahead and look forward to sharing our progress. Stay tuned for the next chapter of Foodie.

Try Foodie

– Z