Inspiration

Since we all use Outlook at work, we share a lot of the same frustrations. And so we decided to make Outlook a little friendlier, more colorful, and smarter.

How it works

An Outlook user will log into our web application with their credentials, and our application will retrieve the most recent e-mails and place them into main categories (For example: travel, finance, sports, etc.). Users are also able to select their VIP contacts. With those selected, any incoming emails from those contacts will trigger a text-message sent to your mobile phone.

Challenges I ran into

Staying awake was definitely a big problem for us. But with enough redbull, food, coffee, and the right jokes, we managed to tough through it. We also ran into challenges in getting our logo designed. But our team managed to put it together even though it definitely wasn't our strong suit.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

We utilized many data sources to put together an elegant and useful application. We didn't mash together a bunch of API's, just so we can get our foot into the door, but we actually tried to address a problem that many of us share.

What I learned

We learned that working as team at hackathon is very different than your usual workplace. Coding without impeding others' progress is of the upmost importance. We learned that an extremely agile development process was needed, and so each member focused specifically on different pieces of the stack (front-end, integration, back-end, data source research, and team support).

What's next for Mailroom

The workplace. We believe that Mailroom is an elegant solution for users at the office. Of course with our upcoming features (calendar integration, contacts section, voice memos, and note taking), we believe our product would be the ideal solution for any major enterprises.

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