Event Portal

Off-the-shelf event platforms were costly, generic, and unable to support the live auction format required for Founder's Pit. The organizing team needed registration, team submissions, operational oversight, and real-time bidding in one system.

I founded and built the platform end to end: participant registration, team submissions, the live operations dashboard, and the WebSocket auction. I also operated the system during Founder's Pit 2026, turning production feedback into live-event decisions.

A React and Vite client powers participant and organizer workflows. Node.js and WebSockets handle auction events and presence, while PostgreSQL stores registrations, teams, and submissions. The operations dashboard brings real-time activity and event data into one view.

• Use WebSockets for the auction

  Bids and presence had to reach every participant immediately. A persistent connection avoided polling delays and kept the shared auction state responsive during the live event.

• Design operations around visibility

  The organizer dashboard exposed live activity and system state in one place, making it easier to detect issues and coordinate the event before they affected participants.

• Model teams separately from submissions

  Separating team identity, membership, and submitted work kept registration data reusable across event stages and reduced duplication in organizer workflows.

Founder's Pit 2026 ran on the platform for 270+ participants and 75+ teams without a production failure. The system received more than 4,500 visits and now provides a foundation for future EDC events.

“Software used in a live room must make its own health visible; operational clarity is part of the product, not an afterthought.”