Brandon Kessler, ’96CC, ’07BUS, founded his company in 2009 as ChallengePost a platform for online competitions (challenges). They won big customers, built a large community, and powered hundreds of competitions. In the summer of 2015 Brandon changed the name to Devpost because it more accurately describes the venture and what they do.
In 2013 Brandon noticed that their most successful and inspiring competitions were about software and tech, which also happened to be growing fast. Hence the pivot toward a focus on hackers. Hackers make stuff and exhibit imagination, ingenuity, self-confidence, and a collaborative spirit. “That’s who we are too” said Kessler “and we wanted to support the community around it.”
Today, Devpost has powered over 700 in-person hackathons and are by far the most popular hackathon platform in the world. They also doubled-down on online hackathons with partners like Oculus, Uber, Evernote, Twitter, AT&T, Samsung, Microsoft, IBM, and many hundreds more, who use us to grow their developer communities.
Next, Devpost added portfolios — where hackers can showcase all of their projects and discuss the story behind the code. We’ve seen hackers use their portfolios to apply for jobs, find collaborators, and get amazing recognition.
April 2015, Devpost introduced their hacker feed, a curated stream of projects, upcoming hackathons, updates, comments, and activity from the hackers you follow. It’s the best way for developers at companies, at school, with a side-project, or at a hackathon to learn and be inspired by the work of others.
In addition to the new name, they’ve releasing their first ever Student Hacker Report, which highlights the most popular tools, technologies, and languages which students are using right now around the world. Check it out → studenthackers.devpost.com.
We’ve grown a lot in the past six years — users, customers, features, employees — and our new name Devpost reflects our path. Rest assured, we’ll still support online & in-person hackathons, provide excellent service, and strive to build a community you’re proud to be a part of.
If you ever need help or want to talk about your latest projects, contact us Devpost email, Twitter, or Facebook. They can’t wait to see what you build next!
Side note: Brandon’s prior company, Messenger Records, is a record label he started in his dorm room while an undergrad at Columbia and ran for twelve years.