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about 2 months ago

The finish line is in sight: Submissions are due March 16th

With a powerhouse model like Amazon Nova at your fingertips, the floor is high, but the ceiling is nonexistent. To move from "cool prototype" to the winner’s circle, you need to think like a judge. We aren't just looking for code; we’re looking for a story, a solution, and a spark.

🧠 How to "Wow" the Judges

  • The Name: Give it a soul. Instead of "Nova UI Automator," try something like "GhostCursor" or "SwiftStep."

  • The "Why": Start your description with the problem. "Every day, 5,000 managers struggle with X..." Then explain why Nova was your secret sauce.

  • The Demo: Show, don’t just tell. Get to the UI/CLI within the first 30 seconds. If you're building with Nova 2 Sonic, show the user's reaction—human connection wins every time.

  • The Repo: A clean README is your resume. If we can't understand the architecture or how to run it, we can't judge it.

✅ Submission Checklist

Use this list to ensure your project isn't disqualified on a technicality:

[ ] The Core: Does your app use an Amazon Nova foundation model (Nova 2 Lite, Nova 2 Sonic, Multimodal Embedding) or the Nova Act service on AWS?

[ ] The Team: Are all teammates added and have they accepted the invitation?

[ ] The Video: Is your demo ~3 minutes? Does it include the #AmazonNova hashtag? (Pro tip: Record a screen capture with voiceover.)

[ ] The Code: Is your repo link accessible? If it’s private, have you granted access to testing@devpost.com and Amazon-Nova-hackathon@amazon.com?

[ ] The Bonus: Did you publish your blog post on builder.aws.com? This is your chance to show the "Day 2" potential and real-world impact of your build.

One final piece of advice: Build something you actually want to see exist. Your passion is the one thing an AI can't replicate, and it will shine through in your demo.

Stop reading, start polishing, and let’s see what you’ve built!

Best of luck