April Newsletter: Microsoft Finalists & a Moonshot Pivot

April was a short month, but a powerful one. We doubled down, took risks, and came out on top.


🏆 Microsoft Challenge: Finalists

After weeks of building, refining, and learning — our team became finalists in the Microsoft Challenge. We’re presenting our solution to actual Microsoft executives.

We built a prototype that helps optimize energy usage at scale, with real potential to impact Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure costs. It’s smart, scalable, and grounded in real needs.


🚀 The Moonshot Pivot

We started the month working on one idea — and ended up shipping something completely different.

We made a bold pivot halfway through our Moonshot project, betting on something more ambitious and impactful. It paid off.

We won top of our Moonshot cohort.

🛰️ Check out the live Moonshot project here: 👉 https://nymara.vercel.app/

Sometimes, you need to trust your gut and go all-in. That’s what we did. No regrets.


đź’­ Quick Reflection

Startups, sprints, and moonshots — April reminded me: execution beats ego.

We didn’t get attached to our original idea. We listened, learned, and changed. And that made all the difference.

Now onto May, and onto whatever’s next 🚀

— Malek Hammoud