buildspace and beyond
lessons from a summer of coding, community, and showing up for yourself
we are what we leave behind.
when i first stepped foot onto pier 39 in san francisco for buildspace’s irl event for season 5 of nights and weekends, i was ecstatic. thousands of people from all over gathered for one weekend to share what they’ve been building for the past 6+ weeks. but amidst the interesting conversations and new faces, one thing caught my eye: a simple phrase embroidered on someone’s backpack — "we are what we leave behind."
it stuck with me. at first, it was just a catchy phrase, one you might see on a bumper sticker driving down the road or as a poster hung up on a wall by a teacher in their classroom. but the more i thought about it, the more it resonated with my buildspace journey. at the end of the day, what really matters is the impact we make, the things we create, and the connections we leave behind.
buildspace was an amazing community, started by farza and later backed by two of the biggest names in tech — y combinator and a16z. its mission was straightforward: unite people from different backgrounds and empower them to turn their boldest ideas into reality. it was all about the excitement of creating, the challenge of overcoming obstacles, and the joy of bringing your vision to life.
during the summer, i began building algorhythm, a music discovery tool that allows musicians to have control over their recommendations with an emphasis on discovering hidden talent. the idea for the project stemmed from a conversation i had with verite last year, specifically after reading her blog post about how artists struggle being seen in the algorithm driven attention economy. i began to wonder, what if musicians had control over their algorithm instead?
that question sparked the journey of building algorhythm. countless coding sessions at my local coffee shop, powered by turkey, pepper jack cheese, and raspberry mayo croissant sandwiches and way too many espresso shots, mixed with conversations with people in music and tech whose enthusiasm for algorhythm fueled my own, and late-night debugging marathons that made me want to tear my hair out, eventually led to a working prototype.
it’s been a month since i demoed my project, and honestly, i haven’t had as much time as i'd like to dedicate to it. in the free moments i’ve found, i’ve started working on the front end. the perfectionist in me makes it tough, but i keep reminding myself of the best advice i heard all summer: get the fuck off localhost. if you’re proud of your first launch, you waited too long.
shortly after departing san francisco, farza announced he was shutting down buildspace. while his decision was heartbreaking, i’m thankful i was apart of something special and reminded that everything has its season, and the changing of those seasons are necessary to make space for the new adventures life brings.
summer 2024 has been a wild ride. algorhythm was a big part of it, but so were the little things — traveling, spending time with family and friends, and soaking up the sun. coding marathons blurred the days, but stepping outside reminded me to find balance, take breaks, and recharge. funny enough, taking a step back from being in founder mode sparked some of my best ideas. i guess that’s the beauty of summer — the space to breathe and reflect.
no matter what happens, i love you,
nadine ❤️🔥
Love the piece, Nadine. It was great to share this journey with you :)