Smart Contracts, Project Managing, and a Unique Reflection
Tanvi's Monthly Updates: December and January
Hey! If you’re new here; I’m Tanvi, I’m 16 years old, and I’ll make sure that you take away something valuable from my experiences every month. I’m passionate about blockchain technology, and you’ll hear a lot about my progress as I learn the ins and outs of the Web3 world and work on projects within the space. But, as I start this journey of action, each month will be full of hustle, hitting roadblocks, and tackling the challenges that come with doing the not-so-average things a 16-year-old would do! I’ll break down my experiences, and reflect on the shifts in mindset that I make to face adversity, stay motivated, and 10x myself this year.
Speaking of, I’m a part of The Knowledge Society this year, a program that exposes me to emerging technologies, an amazing global network, opportunities like conferences, global hackathons, consulting challenges, and real-life skill building (you’ll hear a lot about it throughout the year!).
This newsletter will be a bit different than my older ones. As I took some time for myself over the December break, I decided to write up a two-year month update of finishing the year 2022 with a bang and starting 2023 with fresh new momentum and intentions. I really started to see the compounding effect of my hard work these past two months, so here’s a breakdown of all my experiences, good and bad.
Consulting for a Fortune 500 Company
Yep, you read that right.
This past month, my team and I got the amazing opportunity to work on a retail innovation project alongside Walmart Bluelabs; Walmart’s innovation incubator. This was a 3-week challenge sprint, with our final deliverable being a complete recommendation deck submission to Walmart Bluelabs; including our research, solutions, timelines, implementation plan, prototypes, and professional validations.
The Bluelabs team will be inviting the top teams to pitch their proposal to the executives and CEO of the company. Most people spend their entire careers hoping for an opportunity like this. My team and I realized that this isn’t normal, and there is no limit to what we can make of this challenge.
The future of retail has tremendous potential and it was going to take creativity and problem-oriented solutions for Walmart to implement our solutions into its business strategy.
Fast forward to January 16; our team was chosen as one of the Top 5 teams globally that will pitch their solutions to Walmart!
Mid-newsletter update
We made it to the Top 5 and I just pitched to Julia Perlotto, Colton Schwenk, and Juan Caride last week!
Not only did they appreciate our breadth of ideas and research-backed answers, but their feedback on identifying successful innovation and their process of scaling ideas also left us with such valuable insight; much more than any research we could have done.
We are extremely grateful to have had this experience at 16, and honored that the Bluelabs team is considering our ideas and recognizing the impact they can have at Walmart soon :)
Simple and Scalable Innovation
We were given the following prompt by the Bluelabs team:
"How can Walmart improve the customer experience by developing simple & scalable in-store digital touchpoints or experiences that further connect customers into our digital journey?”
Check out our complete recommendation deck here:
Check out our appendix for an in-depth detail and breakdown of each of our solutions, but here’s a brief run-through:
Frontend and backend digital touch points throughout the customer's journey to create a seamless in-store experience with personalized incentives, time-efficient visits, and an emphasis on community engagement.
Customers can ‘Start Their In-Store Journey’ through the app to shop under an ‘omnichannel profile’ for a personalized shopping experience through real-time recommendations, reminders, and individual incentives based on aisle location and dwell time using beacon technology.
SparkYourRecipe, an interactive recipe shelf integrated with a new community engagement tab on Walmart’s app. A physical display of weekly popular in-store ingredients and uniquely curated recipes for customers to try and be inspired by. Recipes reflect diverse cultures in the community; all necessary items are within hands reach with a click of a button. Customers receive rewards when sharing their dishes, reviews, and memories on the app, also allowing them to see their posts in-store, further increasing engagement within the Walmart community.
LineBuster. Quantifying real-time store footfall data and queue demand to predict cashiers needed up to 15 to 30 minutes ahead of time. Ensures checkouts are running efficiently by reallocating employees where needed to reach Walmarts’ wait time quotas of no more than 3 customers in line at a time.
An Authentic Breakdown
Okay, but it’s time to get more real. This challenge was stressful, hard, and full of setbacks. It was the first time that any of us had experienced this type of responsibility, and understanding how to best optimize the three weeks was something we learned only after a week in!
What it takes to manage a team
As the PM (project manager) of the team, I had quite a different experience than my group members. Going into this challenge, I had one thing in mind: the entire team will be responsible for the success, but the PM will be responsible for the failure. I kept telling myself this as I pm’d this project; not as a means to intimidate myself, but as a reminder that this was an incredibly large responsibility that I have taken on. It was up to me to follow through and gain the most value from this experience, both for myself and for my incredible team Priyal Taneja, Vinaya Sharma, Krish Mendapara, and Zara Ali.
I’m planning on writing an entirely different article just on my takeaways of PM’ing a project for a Fortune 500 Company, but here’s what here are some tidbits from the extensive reflection I did after this challenge 🙂
Ambitious people need direction and a strict schedule, especially when working under a tight timeline + loads of pressure. My team was amazing, to say the least, and their ideas were not only innovative but feasible solutions with concrete research backing them up; ready for Walmart to implement. But, I needed to make sure that every tiny detail of every idea was effectively conveyed on time in order for the Walmart team to see the potential. Near the beginning of our sprint, we would have very extensive discussions, bouncing off of each other's ideas to come up with the smallest iterations that would make or break the entire solution.
This also meant we had a very extensive task that was not recorded anywhere or delegated, often lost amongst the larger priorities. At this rate, the recommendation would’ve still reflected the outdated ideas, with the small, crucial details non-existent to the Walmart team, even if we had the ‘complete’ picture in our minds.
As the PM, I realized quickly that the work would never get done unless it is delegated with a clear timeline. I started to schedule daily syncs to make sure the smallest tasks, whether it was specific research, a necessary outreach, or a detail of a prototype, were completed by the end of each day.
Each upcoming meeting that I scheduled accompanied a complete structure and breakdown of what would be discussed, our top goals, and what needed to be completed by each person prior to it. I also posted action items for each member immediately after each meeting to make sure all discussed thoughts were acted upon right away and clearly reflected in our final deliverable. Although this took much more hard work and really challenged my organizational skills, working under loads of pressure (I was stressed), the satisfaction of meeting the crazy expectations for ourselves was worth it.
But, I’ll be honest. It’s hard to commit to this position and consistently put in the extra hard effort for three weeks straight. I’ve still got a lot to learn as a PM, and hope to iterate on my experience with the next global challenge (coming up in a few weeks with even larger companies!)
Professional perspectives
I also recognized the importance of primary research. Along with a thorough qualitative analysis of the retail industry and its climate/trends, the company’s competition, customers, current in-store shopping experience, and consumer psychology, we recognized the value of a professional perspective:
We had some incredibly insightful discussions with:
Lee Jeyes - Head of Innovation at Blue Labs Walmart Canada’s Innovation Incubator
Lynn Jennifer Kulli - Executive Project Specialist @ Nexii Building Solutions
Najeeb Khan - Product Innovation Director @ Sonavox Canada Inc.
Sophia Story - Co-Founder @ 3 SIDED CUBE
Lauren Fraser - Innovation & Expansion @ Kraft Heinz | Ex. Walmart | Strategy |
These incredible individuals gave us authentic information on identifying successful innovations, app prototyping, curating recommendations, scaling/implementing solutions, and strategies to mitigate the setbacks in each phase, based on their experiences. We learned so much from their failures and regrets and knew exactly what not to do: which is the best type of direction that we received for our project. We all agreed that we appreciated it the most and attribute the depth of our solutions to the experiences that they were so open to sharing with us. We were taught to be sensible and understand what truly makes a pleasurable experience for customers after a long day of hard work. We’re impacting real people here, and surface-level thinking, ignoring customer emotions and beliefs, was not going to cut it.
Here’s a memo of our research methodologies and findings that I decided to write up as a summary.
The End of a Memorable Year
Check out an end-of-year reflection podcast that two of my close friends and I recorded! We talk about how we spent our time this year, who we spent it with, and why we’re grateful for the struggles and setbacks that we faced.
2022 was my best year yet, but definitely not because it was the smoothest. I’ve had the most setbacks and adversity than any other year, but also the most exposure to new people, experiences, and opportunities, which make up for the struggle without question. Part of the struggle was because of this overwhelming exposure; there was so much uncertainty and unfamiliarity in my day-to-day life last year. I’ll be honest, this was very uncomfortable and intimidating. But, the growth, confidence, knowledge, and relationships, as a result, cannot even compare.
Looking back at this year, it was one with the most travel and adventure, dance, conversations with complete strangers, stressful decisions, and just doing things that would never cross 10-year-old Tanvi’s mind as a possibility. Most importantly, I took my first step into an incredible community of driven, ambitious people that have such big visions for the world’s future and confidence in themselves for the impact they want to make. I’m grateful that I don't see my age as a barrier anymore, and just go and do whatever I set my mind to.
It's crazy to think that I’ve had meaningful conversations with people much older that have impacted millions, but they still saw the value of having a conversation with a 16-year-old. I’ve realized that the people that have actually made an impact only look at your drive and curiosity. This is what has gotten them so far, which is why they are willing to go to any extent to guide the people that reflect or remind them of their younger selves.
I’m looking forward most to the continued guidance and knowledge from the amazing mentors I’ve gained in the past year.
Instead of an unstructured and messy reflection that always went goes off track, I decided to take another approach this year. Here were some different ways that I reflected on 2022:
Friends for any circumstance
We had a global virtual session at TKS in December (youth from 70+ nations in one call), and we did something pretty unique. We were asked to write down all the people that come to mind that fit into each of these categories:
F: Founder friend - collaborative, productive, growth mindset
R: reassuring friend - share emotions with
I: incidental friend - class project, sports team
N: networking friend - knows everyone, helps with connection
D: deep talk friend - clarifying thinking with
S: soul friend - shared values, helpful, growth
Friends, and the people you surround yourself with, are a clear reflection of your personality and behavior. That’s why having friends in each of these categories is equally important and necessary; you’ll have their unique support and won’t rely on the same friends for every type of problem you face. I’m glad that I have friends under each of these categories, but I know that I can spend more time building deeper relationships with some of these people.
Insight from mentors
Thanks Skylor Lane for really pushing us to do this exercise.
Another activity I set time aside for was The Day In My Ideal Life. I came back and added to this reflection 3-4 times in December, but found it the best way to visualize and break down my ‘ideal’ day in the future. I wrote down every detail of the day, from the specific time that I would wake up, where I would be living, how I would get to work, the specific tasks I’m completing when I’m ‘at work’, and how I would spend my evenings. This was a way to map what I need to do now in order for this ideal day to come to life in the future. It all goes back to the daily habit accumulation that I mentioned last month; my goals are always going to be far out into the future if I don't work toward them today in the form of daily habits. That’s why my major goal this year is just to be consistent with the habits that I know will be valuable and accumulate in the future.
Navid Nathoo, the founder of TKS, wrote a small article called ‘To My Younger Self’ a few years back. I’m so glad I came across it this year.
Every day you’re learning new things about yourself and changing. This could also imply that you’re a slightly different person every day. He recommended writing the following things down every couple of months and seeing how these aspects that define you are always changing:
What you’re good at
What you’re not good at
What you enjoy
What you don’t enjoy and don’t give you value
People you like being around and help you grow
People that hinder your growth
Now, all it takes is action. It takes doing more of the things you’re good at, doing more of the things you enjoy, and spending more time with people that help you grow. This doesn’t happen overnight, but not many people have a list like this written down, which means they’re not consciously putting in the effort to make the changes. It all comes down to rethinking how you spend your time. Its simple.
Deploying a Web3 App + Ethereum Smart Contract
One of the coolest things about Web3 is the way it opens up so many possibilities for innovation and creativity. It has the potential to completely democratize the web and allow a much more diverse range of people and organizations to participate in creating and shaping the online world, something our lives now revolve around.
I just shipped my first decentralized application (dApp): MusicPortal, and although this was my first experience with building in Web3, I wanted to create something that added some type of value to my users’ lives, even at the smallest scale. My application gives users the opportunity to experience the diversity of our world’s rich culture through music, this powerful element that everyone around the globe holds so much value and respect for. Although my technical growth was exponential as I built this project, I hope my application will introduce users to new music they can be impacted by and gain a deeper appreciation for.
Check out my GitHub for the back-end and front-end code project:
Check out my Medium article on a step-by-step tutorial for developing this dApp.
Check out my demo video
Trusting the process
This was a very ambitious first project, and I found myself stuck on errors for hours at a time simply because I hadn’t cleared the fundamentals. The number of times I wanted to stop and start something completely really new…
This project really tested my resilience; at times, I had no idea where I was going wrong, nor did I know what to troubleshoot or tweak. I literally had no clue what to do. Everything about this project was new and unfamiliar, which was not only intimidating but also tested my patience in trusting the process. My knowledge curve just with this project was truly exponential, and I’m glad that I stuck to the challenge.
Programming is fundamentally a logic game. With this project, I found myself creating mental flow charts as I ran and deployed my smart contracts. Essentially, they acted as visual representations of the logic of my program. Doing this revealed the components of the new network I was working in and the connections I was initiating between them through my code. This was the greatest skill I gained from this project, no doubt.
But, I’m going to take some time circling back to the basics before I start my next build in Web3. I was contemplating doing this as it’ll slow down my progress and I'll be ‘behind’ in the plan I have for my projects, but I’ve realized that it's important to create ‘stepping stones’ for yourself in personal projects like these, even if the entire process takes longer and is much more difficult than you anticipated. There’s still a long way ahead of me, but I’m glad I took this first step and made forward progress, which I’ve learned, very recently, is the true indicator of success.
The Refugee Identity Crisis: AI + Blockchain
Thank you to Reeya Pandya, Vinaya Sharma, Vani Grover, and Praveena Chenthooran for 24 hours that I will never forget. The chaotic memories, the late-night laughs, and the last-minute grinds were the highlight of this experience. Although our setbacks weren’t outweighed, I’m grateful that I had an amazing team with the biggest visions to set things straight again… right in time.
EmpowerRefuge
EmpowerRefuge is an implementation at UNHCR Blue Dot camps, which uses convolutional neural networks and on-chain smart contracts to create secure digital identities for refugees, so they can build back their life. Right now, only 1% of 45 million refugees are able to do so. Their identity is verified through an Interpol criminal scan using CNNs upon arrival, and their profile is verified on the tamper-proof blockchain, through which they can:
receive auto-allocated funds/relief packages into their blockchain wallets through smart contracts based on their vulnerability and needs, reducing mismanagement of UNHCR relief funds and an unbiased/fair allocation of resources.
verify their qualifications and skills to create a reliable professional identity for employers to assess, giving them an equal opportunity to be considered and restart their careers without losing their career progress.
Check out our deck for the complete technical breakdown of the functions of each smart contract, and how our users can register for secure digital identities to interact and leverage their profiles on-chain after verification.
Here’s to an amazing year ahead
Thanks for checking in every month! Feel free to follow my Medium account for more content about Web3 and experiences that a not-so-average 16-year-old would have! Connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter and check out my full portfolio to stay updated on my projects and experiences!
Love the authenticity and depth of reflection Tanvi! :)