In August 2025, over 950 developers, founders, and innovators from more than 50 countries gathered in New York for ETHGlobal NYC, one of the largest Web3 hackathons. Participants explored cutting-edge areas, including ZK Proofs, DeFi, Layer 2s, and Interoperability, competing for a $275,000 prize pool to support future development.
At ETHGlobal NYC 2025, dozens of highly skilled teams of developers, designers, and innovators came together to transform bold ideas into fully functional Web3 prototypes within just 36 hours. Among the mentors supporting these teams was Mykola Savenko, a Principal Engineer at DocuSign with more than 13 years of experience in advancing web and blockchain technologies.
Mykola Savenko introduced participants to his rapid prototyping methodology – a structured approach that helps teams move from raw ideas to functional prototypes within 36 hours. The method aims to follow a clearer concept of prototype development: focusing on a specific application area, choosing proven frameworks rather than creating new ones, and early testing of hypotheses through rapid iterations. This helped teams follow a practical plan and deliver working prototypes on time.
From Idea to Prototype: How Mentorship Shapes Breakthroughs
Behind all successful hackathon projects is a mentor who helps transform chaos into clarity. At ETHGlobal NYC 2025, the mentor selection process was as competitive as the event itself. From a diverse group of experts from around the world, only a small group of professionals joined the hackathon’s mentors, including Mykola, chosen for his outstanding experience in blockchain and software development.
As a mentor, Mykola Savenko worked with teams across different areas of Web3, including DeFi, developer tools, and blockchain security. In a short amount of time, he guided them not only through complex technical challenges such as debugging smart contracts and optimizing algorithms, but also focused on inspiring teams to work cohesively and diligently so they could bring all their ideas to life.
At ETHGlobal NYC, projects were assessed based on technical execution, originality, practicality, usability, and, importantly, their overall wow factor. With victory never coming easily, Mykola Savenko shared his structured rapid prototyping methodology, which enabled teams to achieve strong results under pressure.
According to Pascal Rüger, Mentorship Lead of the hackathon, Savenko made a significant contribution to the event. Several finalist teams credited his advice as crucial in helping them accelerate development and make key decisions. His ability to sharpen participants’ focus on a clear idea – and drive it all the way to a working prototype – is what defined his impact as a mentor.
AI as the Key Enabler and Driver
AI in hackathon projects is the defining trend of 2025. Nearly a quarter of all hackathon projects integrated AI in some form. Even those who didn’t build AI directly into their products still used it to solve development challenges. According to Mykola Savenko, this trend can be observed in three directions: fast prototyping, acceleration, and decision support.
For example, NeuroSwap applied AI algorithms to route liquidity across multiple networks. Other teams integrated AI agents for performance monitoring, smart contract generation, cross-chain solutions with built-in analysis, and more.
Mykola Savenko believes that in such cases, AI can act as a kind of “second mentor.” Tools like copilots or code generators speed up the process and lower the entry barrier for less experienced developers. This opens the door to a broader range of promising ideas, because not all breakthrough projects are created solely by veteran engineers. “I experienced this first-hand when one hacker, with only limited knowledge of programming languages, was still able to build a functioning prototype by effectively orchestrating AI agents. He used copilots not just to generate code, but also to debug and refactor it on the fly. When he showed me his prototype, it was clear that while his fundamentals were still developing, his ability to leverage AI tools allowed him to solve real problems at a pace that rivaled more experienced peers.” That’s how Mykola recalls it.
Rapid Prototyping Methodology
Throughout his career, Mykola Savenko has focused on redefining how large-scale applications achieve reliability and speed. At DocuSign, he led the integration of advanced monitoring systems, which reduced client-side incidents and improved performance and page loading efficiency for millions of users. He also developed a structured approach to rapid prototyping, enabling teams to move from concept to implementation in a clear and focused manner. The philosophy of maximizing efficiency and scalability without compromising quality was the same principle he brought to ETHGlobal NYC 2025, where it helped participants transform ambitious ideas into working prototypes within days.
As a mentor, Mykola Savenko advised hackathon participants to follow several key steps:
- Focus on one clear product use case. Instead of chasing every idea, extract the most valuable feature from your list and make it the centerpiece of the prototype. A team that commits to one outcome creates real impact, while splitting secondary tasks among members keeps progress steady without losing focus.
- Design the architecture by applying proven stacks and frameworks where possible. Reinventing the wheel wastes valuable time. Using proven tech stacks, frameworks, and libraries helps teams move faster, reduce technical debt, and focus their creativity on what truly sets the product apart. With AI in the mix, the advantage grows even more — it can generate boilerplate code, suggest architectures, and speed up integration, so teams can concentrate on results instead of setup.
- Prioritize early hypothesis testing – a process that can be significantly accelerated by delegating part of the work to AI tools. They allow teams to test more assumptions within the same time window.
- Test logging and basic error handling to ensure the prototype represents a functioning product, and not a presentation slide. The prototype should include basic logging and error handling. Without them, debugging consumes valuable time and slows the release cycle, directly impacting time-to-market. Even a simple prototype should behave like a real product: clear logs, meaningful error messages, and fallback options not only reduce troubleshooting overhead but also accelerate delivery.
- Team collaboration and role rotation. Encourage the team to split work across all members and rotate roles during the hackathon projects. By switching roles, such as from design to integration or from coding to testing, presumptions are questioned and gaps that might otherwise go unnoticed are found. This method not only increases coverage but also frees up time to concentrate on producing a finished, functional product.
“Developers may try to impress with a wow effect – doing more, aiming for perfection, or experimenting with niche features for specific users,” Mykola Savenko notes. “In hackathons, winners aren’t those with the best slides – they’re the ones who deliver a working prototype that solves a real problem.”
The Impact of Mentorship on the Future of Web3
Good projects aren’t created solely by experienced professionals; they can also be nudged toward execution by the hand of an experienced mentor, whose advice can accelerate decision-making with just a few proven insights. At ETHGlobal NYC 2025, Mykola Savenko, along with other mentors, helped participants focus on the essence of their product, identify technically sound solutions more quickly, and turn ideas into working prototypes. Savenko’s own methodology for structured hackathon projects demonstrates how mentorship can provide a solid foundation – not only for individual teams but for the future of Web3 as a whole.
A seasoned technology executive with a proven record of developing and executing innovative strategies to scale high-growth SaaS platforms and enterprise solutions. As a hands-on CTO and systems architect, he combines technical excellence with visionary leadership to drive organizational success.
