CodeLaunch is a start-up accelerator competition with a two-day hackathon portion partnering software engineering teams and start-ups to speed up their technology offering. This year, the BJSS team, led by Tony Cardella, partnered with GLYDR, an analog dual-foot controller for video games and virtual reality (VR) that can be mapped to keyboard or game controller setups.

CodeLaunch startup selection 

Forty-four start-ups applied to enter the CodeLaunch competition. Over the course of three months, the initial cohort of applicants that demonstrated the most proactive attitude and met the targeted execution milestones progressed to the semi-final. In the semi-final round, the 10 remaining start-ups must undergo several pitch meetings to demonstrate a deeper level of understanding of their submitted application. From these semi-finalists, the six draft picks were selected. 

GLYDR is a start-up developing a unique foot-operated controller for video games and VR. GLYDR is compatible with most PC video games out of the box, can be set up in minutes, and is easy to learn to use. 

Co-founders Rick Tett, John Warren and Peter Bartnik want to provide their customers with a convenient way to get up and running and to enable users to create and share diverse ways to use the device. Tett is an experienced software engineer who recognised the need for a tech team to help ideate and develop a proof of concept (PoC) for both the front-end and back-end of their platform. As the GLYDR team entered the CodeLaunch competition, they zoomed in on the need for a state-of-the-art web application for users to log in, find, and share GLYDR configurations or “profiles” with each other.  

The PoC that the BJSS team created during the 24-hour hackathon provided GLYDR with a solid starting point for online capabilities. The PoC shows how users can find and use GLYDR configuration profiles to play their favourite games, quickly and easily. The three BJSS front-end developers created a visually appealing and functionally rich website using REACT to display information about profiles and games, with a search capability based on game setup, genre, type of game, and style of play. 

"GLYDR recently completed a Kickstarter campaign and is in the process of raising additional investment as it prepares to manufacture, deliver, and market their product. The rich web platform PoC developed by BJSS will enable GLYDR to continue to refine the ‘GLYDR Community Hub’ concept for their user and supporter communities."

Rick Tett, CTO and Co-founder, GLYDR

Understanding the problem

Each hackathon team competing in CodeLaunch had two 12-hour days with a team of four, totalling 96 development hours. The work was condensed into a 30-second video that became part of the four-minute pitch from each start-up at the finale event.  

SPARCK, the design and innovation arm of BJSS, worked with GLYDR and the development team during the discovery stage to understand the profile of a GLYDR user before identifying the journey that the GLYDR team wished to portray, highlighting key areas and functionality. Utilising lean design thinking and innovation to iterate through user behaviours, the team identified goals, tasks and pain points associated with a GLYDR Community Hub user in order to prioritise the user journey GLYDR wished to highlight. Having understood these key points, lo-fi wireframes were developed, giving the team a solid foundation to deliver value within a brief time window. 

"It was a rewarding process working with GLYDR, understanding their users' needs and desires when using GLYDR hub. Identifying solutions to user journeys and the branded designs to make sure we create the best experience for GLYDR users is key to what SPARCK does."

Leonie Collier, Head of SPARCK

Delivering the solution

The development team generated high-level tasks that were prioritised to start development. This was achieved in alignment to the desired tech stack from GLYDR and technical solution decisions. During the run up to the hackathon, Rick at GLYDR was accepted into the Microsoft for Startups program, which provided a free platform for developing a cloud-based solution. The project was hosted on Microsoft Azure with GitHub and GitHub actions were utilized for the CI/CD solution and project repos. This enabled the development team to rapidly build and deploy implemented changes to the react frontend and the C# APIs in a controlled manner. 

"Given the narrow scope of the project and the tight time deadlines, having CI/CD pipelines in place enabled us to coordinate our efforts and allow the team to quickly integrate changes. This rapid development process meant that the Glydr team were able to offer feedback on development in a timely manner."

Tony Cardella, BJSS Houston CodeLaunch Captain

Code launch final

The CodeLaunch final event took place on Wednesday 28th February at the Bayou Music Center in Houston. The high-energy event hosted all the finalists, the development teams, and enthusiastic supporters from the local tech community. Each finalist and engineering team hosted individual exhibitor stands that provided an excellent opportunity for networking and highlighting their products.  

The finalists took to the stage and each team pitched their company, product, and vision in a head-to-head battle with another start-up and answered questions from judges, following which CodeLaunch attendees would vote for the winning team via text. Following the head-to-head voting, the three start-ups with the most votes went through an additional 30 second unscripted presentation time to promote their company and answer questions from the judges. This was followed by another round of voting to decide the winner. 

With a diverse range of technology on display by startups including gen-AI, digital twins and mobile game solutions, Houston CodeLaunch 2024 demonstrated a range of technology and innovation in a dynamic environment. 

Although SeekerPitch left the official winner of the competition, hearing the unique journeys of those involved with startups and taking part in the rapid development process of CodeLaunch allowed all finalists to experience the challenges many startups go through and come home with valuable professional software development skills.