How puzzle solving can prepare the Fintech world for the future
What would you do to go to the edge of space? Typically, you have to train for decades in high-flow programs run by space agencies such as NASA or ESA, the European Space Agency.
But there is another way: Solve puzzles. The Hack The Galaxy competition, powered by Rapyd, is giving away three tickets to the edge of space on a Space Perspectives capsule.
“The idea came about when we were thinking about how we create a home for developers – and fintech developers more specifically,” says Brendan Miller, vice president and head of global marketing strategy and operations at Rapyd, whose idea was the Hack The Galaxy competition. Rapyd is a financial technology company that helps businesses create great local commerce experiences wherever they are in the world, and develops the technology that helps make cross-border payments easier. And having been founded by Arik Shtilman, a developer himself, the idea of solving problems and puzzles logically has always been in Rapyd’s DNA.
“It was also an opportunity to educate developers about the possibilities that lie in fintech,” adds Miller. Many developers create tools that matter to the world and can be monetized through fintech – but often don’t realize the potential to profit from their work. “We thought there was an opportunity to do education, have fun, solve puzzles and get Rapyd users through the process as well,” he says.
Hack The Galaxy was launched in June 2022, under the leadership of David Kwong and Dave Shukan, who are both master puzzlers. The goal is to encourage the Rapyd developer community to engage with and tackle weekly challenges set by Kwong and Shukan. To participate, developers must join the Rapyd developer community and solve weekly challenges. There are 42 in all, each representing the chance to win a trip to the edge of space – or a galaxy of other prizes. Solving each puzzle reveals a password that unlocks an entry into the grand prize draw.
“There’s a series of little, little hunts that are themed and have a meta answer, and then there’s interstitial puzzles as well,” says Kwong. “What Dave and I try to bring to these projects is the mantra that a good puzzle makes the solver feel smart.” It is also innate in all of us. “Humans are puzzle solvers,” says Shukan. “Puzzle solvers are someone who likes to make sense of what seems like a disordered world. It’s very difficult to leave them alone, and very satisfying to be able to say, ‘I know why this is there.’
