Winner Sean Devlin was one of 27 teams competing in event hosted by Austin-based T3 featuring mobile applications for convenience store giant 7-Eleven in just 12 hours.
“I wanted to create an application that would be accessible to all of 7-Eleven’s customers, not just those with smartphones,” said Devlin, co-founder and director of product development at Front Rush, a collegiate athletics recruiting software company. “While smartphones are certainly more popular than ever before, over 70 percent of people around the world continue to use feature phones. This app provides all of the useful content of a smartphone app through a seamless SMS transaction. This platform also appeals to 7-Eleven’s global brand, as international travelers typically do not have data plans. They are able to access the convenience of 7-Eleven while they are abroad without paying for incredibly expensive data plans. I focused on the fundamentals of what 7-Eleven stands for, and I am very excited with the result.”
HackATX started at 6 p.m. on March 8 at T3 headquarters featuring local bands and beer. Coding began at 8 p.m. and lasted until 8 a.m. Saturday, March 9. Hackers were given access to the APIs as well as 7-Eleven and T3 representatives to provide assistance. The winner was selected by a panel of industry-leading judges based on a combination of functionality, design and presentation. The first place winner received $3,000, with the second and third place winners receiving $1,500 and $500 respectively.
T3, who participated in and won last year’s HackATX event, is a technology-fueled creative advertising agency that transforms businesses and brands to thrive in a constant-change world. T3’s clients include 7-Eleven, Chase Bank, UPS, Sprite, Windows Phone, Philips 66, Allstate and others.
