5 Tips For Staying Motivated While Working From Home

Efficient Ways For Increasing Working From Home Productivity

Working from home is no longer a strange concept for many workers in the modern era. Especially when everything is held at a distance after Covid. It has changed many people's thoughts on an ideal workplace, since it gives you more freedom and less formality than the office. If you work from home, you need to find ways to stay productive so you can stay on top of your work and keep yourself motivated. You can maintain your focus throughout the day, even when domestic conveniences pose a temptation, by making a few changes and establishing some new, easy habits. Read our post to know more efficient ways for increasing working from home productivity. The impact of working from home on employee productivity Company opinion and policy toward WFH is the first factor affecting worker output. When workers believe their company cares about them and is committed to their success, they are more likely to put in the time and effort necessary to complete projects successfully and on schedule. When workers don't have to waste time, money, and energy commuting between home and the office, they're able to put that saved time and energy toward getting more work done. Working from home has both positive and bad effects on productivity. Staff performance can be boosted if they have access to modern resources like computers and other office equipment, as well as technical and logistical help. However, research suggests that workplace efficiency may suffer when employees are unable to interact in person with their coworkers. Other elements rely on employees' attitudes and conditions, flexibility can boost productivity if individuals have self-discipline, planning skills, and a desire to work remotely. The impact of Working from Home on employee productivity Although it's possible that working from home has slowed down productivity in the near term, the trend is growing in popularity. Working from home has been shown to increase output in the long run. Remote work management may be improved, and managerial support can boost working from home productivity. Ways to increase employees working from home productivity More user-friendly IT systems Bad user experiences happen to everyone. Whether it's an app that won't work, a website that doesn't provide the information we need, or a form that's nearly hard to fill out. Unusable or unfriendly software might be the cause that reduces productivity. Selecting business software should prioritize usability. User-friendly software works faster than sophisticated solutions that require months to learn. Provide more user-friendly software Access to IT solution if problem arises Some technologies have unquestionably aided in making people more productive in the workplace. Applications that simplify and streamline otherwise laborious procedures are used by many thriving companies. They're equipped with features that make completing everyday activities faster and easier. Flexible working hours When employees are given more flexibility in determining when they get their work done, they are better able to balance their professional and personal lives and spend more time with their loved ones. Which in turn increases their working from home productivity. Work schedules that are flexible Allow certain employees into offices if remote working is a challenge Although telecommuting has been around for some time now, many people still find the system to be unfamiliar and difficult to adjust to. Those who are not provided with adequate tools and time to complete their work will be unable to meet expectations. As a result, businesses with a WFH policy should accept employees' requests to return to office. Assistance with data & Internet Technical factors can affect productivity, as working from home is highly dependent on technology and technical equipment. Telecommuting is the only option for remote workers to maintain contact with their employers. To be able to do work from home, one needs access to consistent power and an Internet connection. Encourage video call meetings When employees have the option to work from home, they are more likely to get their work done since they are not as likely to be stopped or distracted by their coworkers. However, being socially and professionally isolated at home for an extended period of time has a negative impact on productivity. To maintain constant communication and collaboration, video meetings are more crucial than ever. Video conferencing gets people to talk to each other, which boosts morale and makes your employees happier, therefore increasing working from home productivity. Maintain constant communication with video calls Supervise progress regularly Schedule regular, formal one-on-one meetings with your remote team members so that you may discuss their progress, goals, and other relevant topics. The best method of communication for your group's meetings is the one that is most convenient for everyone involved. Establish and stick to a regular schedule for staff meetings by utilizing technology applications (Meet, Skype, Zoom, etc.). Constantly updating the team with short status reports is an option to consider. Checking with your team Make available resources & equipment Not everyone has the ability to invest in themselves a fully equipped office. Many employees only have a standard laptop, not to mention some might not own a personal laptop. Some businesses have permitted workers to take home essentials like computers and seating so that they may remain productive while working remotely. More access to software & documents After the Covid event, when most businesses had to operate remotely, many companies had to constantly find ways to stay productive. One of the many effective ways that will boost working from home productivity without spending so much is to provide access to a wide variety of software and documents. Provide adequate support systems It is also suggested that establishing a reliable support system as a means to enhance the benefits of working from home. When employees are not provided with support and have problems adjusting to working remotely, it can lead to a significant increase in inefficiencies. For employees to be able to carry out their work at home to the highest possible standard, adequate resources are required. We recommend implementing Today.ly - a virtual office space where you could see your coworkers signing in daily and working as a unit, in real-time, just like in a physical office. Provide adequate support systems Employer must consider challenges with working remotely Remote workers benefit from more adaptable schedules, but their employers face different problems. The challenges of poor communication and poor management are not easily overcome. Employers can seek help from a variety of useful resources and methods to promote higher levels of interaction and communication inside their organizations. Questions-to-ask to improve employee's WFH productivity Want to increase productivity work from home? Here are some questions to ask to better understand your employees' needs. What are your thoughts on working from home?What can I do to improve your remote working experience?Is there anyone on the team who has been particularly supportive of your WFH transition?Are the WFH policies clear and concise?Are your daily work objectives clear? Every week?Do you think your teammates and team leaders communicate effectively?Is it easy to contact your teammates and team leaders when you need them?Do you think your team leader supports and trusts you?Do you have all of the necessary equipment and remote tools to complete your work to the best of your ability? If not, what do you require?What is your most difficult WFH challenge?What can leadership do to help you work while you're at home? Conclusion Remote performance management is different from office performance management, but that's fine. As long as you take the time to figure out what works best for you and your team, have the correct thinking, methods, and goals, you may enhance performance without coming across as a bossy leader. Which will in turn make you feel pleased, less worried, motivated, and more capable of achieving your goals. SupremeTech have shared some tips with you in the hopes that they would increase your team working from home productivity. Keep up with us for more insightful and entertaining information.

Productivity App Features That Resonate With Remote Workers

Even as the pandemic fades into the past, remote and hybrid work have remained widely practiced. One of the main factors underpinning this trend is the emergence of remote working productivity apps that enable teams to perform highly, irrespective of individual members' locations. Many of these apps were already used in workplaces before the pandemic, but some gained more acceptance amongst remote workers. That said, let’s discuss the standout features of productivity apps for remote work: eLearning Capabilities One of the trickier aspects of remote work has been how to get recruits up to speed. Training can be hard to conduct when physical in-person meetings aren’t an option. You must figure out how to transition smoothly from face-to-face conversations to presentations and walkthroughs. Then, there’s the distribution of learning materials. As always, you eventually have to assess the trainee to determine their readiness for specific tasks. This is where virtual classroom software has won the hearts of many. In this case, the ideal tools should enable the trainer to create courses, stock libraries, and deliver exams. Top-notch learning management systems also provide ingenious features like surveys and quizzes that keep trainees more engaged during learning and assessment. To promote flexibility, such tools also facilitate self-paced learning while providing detailed reports and analyses for each trainee. Some popular solutions encapsulating eLearning capabilities include TalentLMS, AbsorbLMS, Trainual, ProProfs LMS, and more. Team Building When an entire team is in the same physical workspace, it's easier to organize and hold fun activities outside their work assignments to strengthen bonds and get everyone into a single mission. However, once everyone is scattered across different locations, all this becomes harder. In fact, productivity may decrease as some team members feel less heard and spend more time figuring out how to assert themselves. Others may get caught up in a vicious cycle of second-guessing their ideas and decisions as they feel they have limited guidance. On that note, team leaders need to dedicate time to team building, and they can do it using apps that provide features like scavenger hunts, puzzles, and other games that bring people closer. Common virtual team-building apps include Playmeo, Scavify, Kahoot!, Good & Co Teamwork, Heads Up! and RallyBright. Remember that not all these tools are about playing games. Some deliver quizzes you can use to profile each team member and see how best they can work together based on their individual strengths and weaknesses. Multimedia Communication While email has massively evolved over the years, it still feels like a formal letter. Moreover, the attachment feature doesn’t fully support the wide range of variations in how remote workers interact. For example, a team member overseas may want to share a video feed of their surroundings since they are near a revered landmark or monument. Another team member may receive a work-related message at a party where texting or calling may be inconvenient, but a quick voice note can work. In essence, remote teams need to communicate in a manner that prioritizes their work but also channels the vibe in their respective remote workspaces. This is best achieved with a strategic mix of video conferencing, file sharing, notifications and reminders, text messaging and group chat, postcards and more. To minimize the cold and ultra-serious atmosphere typically associated with work emails, you can try a solution like Today.ly. What’s unique about such a tool is that its interface emulates a real work environment and offers all the typical communication channels. You can see groups meeting in conference rooms and follow how individuals come and go in real time. The app lets you view availability and instantly start a conversation with a teammate by clicking on their avatar. Thus, instead of having back-and-forth emails for sending meeting links and updating the times on invitations, you can simply click on their avatar. Task and Process Automation For many remote workers, their schedules are constantly in flux. They aren't considerably detached from other aspects of their lives, like childcare and home management, in the same way that office workers are. Secondly, remote teams often include members in different time zones, so some work needs to be ready and submitted when the person working on it is sleeping. This can involve transferring figures from survey forms into a report, sending out newsletters, populating tables, sending reminders, and more. For the lucky ones, it’s one simple task. But in other cases, the work involves more elaborate processes demanding contributions and approvals from various personnel. Accordingly, task management and process automation tools are the best way to tackle this challenge. But before you start, you need to ascertain the different levels at which automation takes place. Firstly, there's the lower level, where you need automation tools for specific tasks. A good example is marketing automation tools like ActiveCampaign, MailChimp, HubSpot and Klaviyo for emailing customers. Above this level, you’re creating end-to-end workflows involving multiple tasks. Consequently, you’ll need tools like Integrify, ClickUp, Wrike, Kissflow, Smartsheet, Zapier and Adobe Workfront. With such tools, you should look out for those that come with pre-built templates and drag-and-drop builders or an equivalent that requires as little code as possible (preferably no code). This way, anyone in the organization can easily create and edit automation without involving IT. The bigger picture As you can see, the remote work toolset can quickly expand depending on an organization's size and diversity. From accounting to HR, legal, IT, and marketing, plenty of work could use a digital solution or two. Therefore, when shopping for Work From Home (WFH) tools for your teams, you should pay close attention to their integrations. You don’t want to end up with many tools that can't link to each other. This will leave you with more work, constantly transferring data between different software and increasing the likelihood of errors. Lastly, it helps to choose tools with reliable customer support. It's even better if the support agents are available 24/7 since problems could come in from team members in various time zones. Wrapping Up WFH productivity apps can benefit an organization on various fronts, like increasing efficiency, improving team morale, and reducing operational costs. That’s why you should think broadly when choosing them. For professional assistance in selecting and managing these tools, contact us for a free consultation.

How Team Người Việc Won SupremeTech’s AI Hackathon 2025 with AI-Assisted Development and Agile Thinking

24 hours. 10 teams. Countless lines of code. One team claimed the spotlight and took half of the 100 million VND prize pool. SupremeTech’s first-ever AI Hackathon was more than just a competition, it was a test of endurance, creativity, and teamwork. For one intense day and night, our participants pushed the limits of AI-assisted development, turning raw ideas into functioning prototypes under extreme time pressure. Among them, three teams rose above the rest. Their solutions not only showcased strong technical execution but also revealed how AI hackathon use cases can bring real business value in areas such as customer experience, automation, and data-driven decision-making. These top three use cases highlight the future potential of AI and the passion of SupremeTech’s people to turn vision into reality. Brought home the Top Prize - Team Người Việc stood out for their sharp strategy and teamwork. Their winning project solved a familiar yet complex issue in the tourism industry: managing group travel efficiently while ensuring every participant enjoys a seamless experience. Presented in clear business logic, executed with agile methodology, and powered by AI-assisted development, their solution proved that innovation thrives when technology meets human insight. Introducing the Team: Small but Strong Team Người Việc brought together a crew of four: Hung Dinh, Huy Nguyen, and Dung Nguyen as front-end engineers, and Khanh Nguyen as the business analyst. While other teams had five members, this smaller team turned their size into strength. With Khanh shaping the business logic and user journey, and the three engineers transforming those ideas into a functional product, they created a strong link between business insight and technical execution. Each member brought a distinct perspective: one focused on monetization and business value, another on operational flow, and others on technical quality and user experience. Together, they created a strong team that has both business insight and technical execution. Khanh shared that: “Everyone respected each other’s opinions. We weren’t chasing perfection, we were building something real, something that worked”. The Challenge: Turning Hot and Heavy Topic into Opportunity When the AI Hackathon began, the participating teams didn’t get to choose their challenge. Each team drew a topic randomly from a pool of three, and fate handed team Người Việc a challenge that was both broad and complex: Destination and Experience Management System for Tourism. Instead of seeing it as an obstacle, the team saw great potential in this topic: “It’s actually very close to what SupremeTech does,” one member shared. “Tourism and service coordination are among the industries where our clients face similar pain points. If developed further, this could even become a real product for the company”. For most teams, tackling something this wide in just 24 hours would be overwhelming. But for Người Việc, it became the perfect opportunity to combine business logic, agile thinking, and AI-assisted development into a single solution. Dũng, one of the front-end engineers shared: “We didn’t see it as just a travel problem. It’s a coordination problem that every company faces because of too many people, too little time, and too many things to track.” The Idea: Transforming Tourism Coordination with AI Manual planning and coordination often create time-consuming processes, lack of feedback, and fragmented communication across travel agencies, corporate HR departments, and trip participants. To solve this, Người Việc envisioned an end-to-end platform that connects all stakeholders, from travel agencies and corporate planners to event organizers and trip participants.The system enables users to: Create and customize travel itinerariesConnect directly with travel agencies through a marketplace modelTrack schedules via QR codeProvide instant feedback during the trip. In short, it bridges the gap between demand and supply in hospitality, creating a more transparent, interactive, and seamless travel experience. The Process: From Brainstorming to AI-Assisted Development What set Người Việc apart was their strategic mindset before touching a single line of code. Instead of rushing to use AI tools right-away, the team began with a face-to-face brainstorming session, mapping out what a real group trip looks like from start to finish: from planning and agency communication to real-time updates and user feedback. To validate their ideas, they even called friends working in hospitality to understand pain points from the field such as: how agencies handle client requests, where information gets lost, and what travelers actually expect. Only after this discovery phase, the team moved into design and development. They first created clear user stories and workflows on their own, then applied story-based prompting by feeding those stories into ChatGPT and Copilot to generate database schemas, API endpoints, and code snippets. This structured use of AI helped them align technical output with business logic and speed up development. Their approach became a model of how AI-assisted development and agile methodology can complement each other, keeping logic clear while boosting speed. Their mantra throughout the process was simple yet powerful: Think first, then use AI smartly. This mindset kept their workflow focused, turning AI into a productivity multiplier instead of a shortcut, and became a highlight in their AI hackathon journey.Without a QC member, the team stayed flexible and shared responsibilities across roles. Each member could take on multiple tasks when needed, but they still kept a clear structure in how they worked. The PTL and BA stepped in as real users, testing features and giving feedback from a user’s point of view. After defining their user roles and business logic, Team Người Việc translated their ideas into a working prototype. Their platform acts as a bridge between corporate planners and travel agencies, creating a space where requests, itineraries, and feedback flow seamlessly in real time. The system’s core features included: Trip creation and customization: HR or operation teams can build itineraries, adjust timelines, and submit requests tailored to their needs.Agency collaboration: Travel agencies receive those requests, update details, and negotiate directly through the platform, no more back-and-forth emails or lost messages.Participant tracking: Each trip generates a public QR code, allowing members to follow updates, view schedules, and send instant feedback during the journey.Transparency and engagement: The platform closes the communication loop, giving every stakeholder a clearer view of the process. With these key flows completed, the team delivered a functional MVP, a product with clean logic, smooth handoffs between roles, and enough structure to be reused or scaled for other industries. Modern Tech Stack Built for AI-Driven Innovation To bring their concept to life within 24 hours, Team Người Việc designed a tech stack that was modern, lightweight, and AI-friendly. Every layer from frontend to deployment was chosen to balance speed, scalability, and maintainability. Frontend Layer: Fast and Built for Clarity The team developed the user interface using Next.js 15 to handle both page rendering and API routes. Combined with TypeScript, it provided type safety and consistency across all modules, reducing human errors in the rush of development. For styling and components, they used Tailwind CSS and shadcn/ui, which allowed them to quickly create a clean, responsive design without spending time reinventing basic UI elements. Despite the tight schedule, the frontend still delivered a cohesive experience from trip creation to QR-based tracking, proving that with the right stack, agility doesn’t mean sacrificing structure. Backend Layer: Structured Logic and Data Flow Behind the interface, the team used Prisma ORM to manage the database layer. Its schema-first approach, paired with TypeScript integration, helped them maintain data consistency while iterating rapidly. The backend services were also written in Next.js, utilizing server functions to keep everything unified and easy to deploy. This setup gave the team clear control over their data models and allowed them to focus on the business logic, ensuring that trip creation, feedback collection, and participant interactions all flowed smoothly without manual handling. Infrastructure & Deployment: Stability under Pressure To keep their development-to-demo pipeline fast and reliable, Người Việc deployed their system on AWS using Dokploy - a self-hosted CI/CD solution that automates Docker-based deployments. This environment allowed them to push code, test changes, and release updates seamlessly without dependency conflicts. By using Docker containers, they replicated production conditions from the start, ensuring that the MVP remained stable and demo-ready throughout the hackathon. The setup was simple enough for rapid iteration yet robust enough to be scaled for real client use. AI Tools: A Smarter, Not Faster, Way to Build AI played a key role in the team’s workflow but only after the foundation was set.ChatGPT acted as their assistant for ideation and logic design, helping refine user stories, define acceptance criteria, and clarify user flows. Meanwhile, GitHub Copilot served as their pair programmer, generating clean snippets, suggesting improvements, and handling repetitive coding tasks. Instead of using AI as a shortcut, Người Việc used it as an accelerator by integrating it at the right moments to enhance productivity while keeping control of direction and logic. >>> Read more related articles: AI-Assisted Ecommerce Solution Wins Third Place at SupremeTech AI Hackathon 2025How Human Intelligence and AI Capabilities Can Redefine Software Development | Featuring The 1st Runner-Up of SupremeTech AI Hackathon 2025 Judges’ Feedbacks Business Perspective From a business perspective, the judges saw Team Người Việc as a perfect example of practicality and vision. Their solution showed how AI-driven development can address real client needs, especially in industries like travel and hospitality. However, the judges also provided constructive feedback for future improvement. While the idea covered a broad scope from sales to operations, they suggested narrowing the focus to one specific stage in the travel management cycle. By doing so, the solution could achieve higher feasibility and faster adoption in real-world scenarios. The judges also encouraged documenting the team’s AI-assisted project management workflow as a reference for future AI hackathon journeys within SupremeTech. The final presentation showcased all the best qualities of their teamwork. The judges highlighted Người Việc’s clear storytelling, strong time management, and smooth demo delivery that effectively illustrated how their system worked. The team’s confident, structured presentation left a lasting impression and perfectly captured the spirit of SupremeTech’s AI Hackathon. Technical and Engineering Perspective From a technical point of view, the judges recognized Người Việc as a team that combined strong engineering skill with thoughtful use of modern tools. They developed their product on a well-defined code base with clear development standards, following a structured flow from analysis and design to implementation, which is remarkable under the time pressure of a 24-hour hackathon. The highlight of their approach was the story-based prompting technique, which kept the project’s logic coherent from start to finish. By crafting prompts around user stories rather than isolated tasks, the team ensured that every AI-generated piece of code served a real business purpose. This balance between automation and human reasoning became one of the defining features of their success. Teamwork: Staying Calm When Things Went Wrong No hackathon story is complete without chaos and Người Việc had their moment too. Just before the final presentation, disaster happened: the team’s slide suddenly became inaccessible because their shared drive was locked by the judges. With only minutes left, they borrowed a laptop, rebuilt the slides from scratch, and walked onto the stage calm and composed delivering a confident demo that looked effortless to the audience. The team recalled “After 22 hours of coding, what stayed with us wasn’t exhaustion. It was that moment when everyone looked at each other and said: We'll make it work, no matter what.” Voices from the Winners For Team Người Việc, winning the hackathon was not just about the prize, it was about learning how humans and AI can truly collaborate. Reflecting on the experience, Dũng shared: “We realized that AI isn’t just a tool, it’s a real teammate, if you know how to ‘talk’ to it. Each team used AI differently: some for brainstorming, some for UI design, others for presentation. But the prompts we gave were never the same, and that’s why the results were so different. AI only shows its real power when people know how to guide it.” As winners, the team also offered advice for those who will join future hackathons: “Prepare everything you can beforehand: boilerplate code, deployment setup, tools, and your fighting spirit. Once the event starts, every minute counts. And above all, trust your team” Conclusion Team Người Việc proved that real innovation is not only about technology, but about people working together with purpose. By combining business insight, teamwork, and the smart use of AI, they turned a difficult 24-hour challenge into a real achievement. For SupremeTech, this victory is more than just a competition result. It’s a reminder that the future of development starts with clear thinking, strong teamwork, and the courage to explore new ways of building with AI. Appendix: 1. How the Team Applied AI Throughout the Project StageApproachAI Application/ Tools UsedAnalysis & DesignThe whole team brainstormed together, role-playing as real users to map out workflows and features.No AI used — this was the most human-driven stage focused on critical thinking.User Story writingConverted rough ideas into logical workflows, defined goals, and acceptance criteria.ChatGPT acted as a virtual BA, turning brainstorm notes into professional User Stories and Acceptance Criteria.Coding (User Story Based)Developers implemented each User Story while communicating directly with the AI assistant for suggestions and refactoring.GitHub Copilot served as a coding partner, reading stories, suggesting code, refining syntax, and accelerating implementation.Testing & ReleaseThe PTL and BA acted as real users to test the product, identify bugs, and refine the UX before release.No AI used — manual testing for real-user validation. 2. Team Tech Stack LayerTech StackFrontend & Backend (Fullstack)Next.js 15 (App Router)UI Libraryshadcn/ui + TailwindCSSAI AssistantChatGPT + GitHub CopilotInfra / DeployAWS + Dokploy 📩 Read more articles about us here: SupremeTech’s Blog

AI-Assisted Ecommerce Solution Wins Third Place at SupremeTech AI Hackathon 2025

SupremeTech’s first-ever AI Hackathon was more than just a competition. It was a thrilling test of creativity, focus, and endurance. For 22 hours, teams of passionate innovators raced against time to turn bold ideas into working prototypes that could bring real business value through AI. Among them was team Người Lào, whose project tackled one of the most relevant challenges in modern retail: building an omnichannel e-commerce and loyalty platform supported by AI. The goal was to create a system that connects online shopping, personalized loyalty programs, and in-store interactions into one seamless customer journey.What made Người Lào stand out was their business-driven mindset. Instead of treating the task as a purely technical challenge, they saw it as an opportunity to transform how Vietnamese cosmetic retailers connect with their customers. Their answer was ViEC Beauty, an innovative AI-powered e-commerce solution built on Zalo Mini App, turning a familiar local platform into a powerful tool for digital commerce. Meet The Team Team Người Lào was formed with the simple spirit of having fun, staying friendly, and learning together. Everyone joined with an open mind, ready to give their best once the challenge began. The team brought together members from different backgrounds, covering all key roles in a real project from infrastructure and front-end to back-end, business analysis, and quality control.Phuoc Pham, the team leader, believed great teamwork mattered more than perfect technical skills. What he looked for were people who knew their strengths and were willing to give their all. With that mindset, Người Lào grew into a team built on trust, respect, and laughter, values that ultimately became their greatest strength. When a Familiar Task Became the Toughest Challenge At first, the assignment sounded simple: create a multi-channel e-commerce and loyalty platform for retail stores. Building e-commerce systems was something most members already did in their daily work. But soon they realized that creating a typical shopping app would not stand out. To impress the judges, they needed something fresh, a solution with clear business impact and technical creativity. In just 22 hours, with five members and the support of AI tools, Người Lào had to deliver a product that was practical, scalable, and market-ready. Finding a Small Idea with Big Impact After a few brainstorming sessions, they decided to focus on a small but meaningful niche: the Vietnamese cosmetic retail market. This idea came from observing how many small cosmetic shops in Vietnam were struggling to keep up with the digital shift. While big players like Shopee and TikTok Shop dominate online sales, a large number of small cosmetic stores still lack proper digital tools to compete. These stores serve a loyal base of middle-aged customers who have strong purchasing power but are often left behind in the rush of digital transformation. They do not need complex apps or flashy platforms. What they need is something simple, familiar, and trustworthy. Người Lào identified three major problems these small retailers face: Losing connection with middle-aged customers who prefer personal interaction but no longer visit the store as often.Lack of customer insights makes it hard for shop owners to understand shopping habits or preferences.Being overshadowed by large e-commerce platforms, which are slowly taking over their loyal customer base. With those challenges in mind, Người Lào saw an opportunity to make a real difference. Instead of competing with big platforms, they wanted to empower small retailers with a digital tool that feels local, personal, and easy to use.That was when the idea of building an AI-powered e-commerce solution on Zalo Mini App, namely ViEC Beauty, was born. ViEC Beauty is a platform that could bring e-commerce and loyalty features right into the ecosystem that Vietnamese users already trust and use every day. It was a smart move that combined business empathy, technical creativity, and a clear understanding of the local market. From Idea to Prototype in 24 Hours Once the idea was clear, the real race began. With only 24 hours to bring ViEC Beauty to life, Người Lào jumped straight into action. The plan was simple: divide roles clearly, trust each other’s strengths, and move fast. Hieu Vo, the dev lead, took charge of integrations and overall coordination. Anh Duong focused on building the back end with Laravel and setting up the admin site. Hieu Cao worked on the front end of the Zalo Mini App. At the same time, Huong Nguyen took on both the Business Analyst and Quality Control roles to ensure everything aligned with the initial vision. Meanwhile, Phuoc Pham, the team leader, acted as the bridge connecting everyone - reviewing ideas, making key decisions, and preparing the final presentation slides. With all the key roles covered, the team had a 360-degree view of the project, from technical implementation to business logic and user experience. They spent the first ten hours coding with AI Copilot and documenting the workflow. It was intense but exciting until the team hit a wall. The AI started producing conflicting UI components due to unclear process design in the initial prompts. What was supposed to save time ended up creating bugs that needed hours to fix. But instead of getting frustrated, the team stayed calm, laughed it off, and worked together to debug and refine the product until everything clicked into place. When the final hour arrived, they had a fully working Zalo Mini App—not perfect, but functional, meaningful, and proudly built within a single sleepless day. The Product: Core Features That Matter ViEC Beauty, an AI-powered e-commerce solution built within the Zalo ecosystem, offered small beauty retailers an accessible and familiar way to sell online and engage customers. Core App Features Product Catalog: An easy-to-browse collection of beauty products directly inside Zalo.Basic Loyalty Point System: Customers earn and redeem points to encourage repeat purchases.Admin Dashboard Prototype: A simple dashboard for store owners to manage products, orders, and sales.Zalo Integration Setup: Allows stores to send personalized notifications, skincare reminders, and promotions through the Zalo Official Account. Super Admin System A more advanced panel included: Real-time data analytics for instant business insightsInventory management to track stock levelsCRM tools to maintain relationships and engagementCampaign and promotion management to run and measure marketing activities Even though some features like Group Orders and AI Skin Analysis were still in ideation, ViEC Beauty already demonstrated how a simple, focused solution could bring AI-powered value to small businesses. Tech Stack The team built ViEC Beauty with React and Zalo SDK for the front end, Laravel for the back end, MySQL for the database, and EC2 cloud infrastructure for hosting. They chose familiar and reliable technologies to move fast and deliver results within 24 hours, prioritizing execution over complexity. >>> Read more related articles: SupremeTech’s AI Hackathon 2025: A blend of Product-Focused Spirit and AI-assisted DevelopmentHow Human Intelligence and AI Capabilities Can Redefine Software Development | Featuring The 1st Runner-Up of SupremeTech AI Hackathon 2025 Judges’ Feedback The judges praised Người Lào’s strategic focus on a niche market and their decision to build on the Zalo Mini App, calling it a practical and high-potential approach. They noted that while the product targeted small beauty retailers, a limited market segment, it had strong potential for real-world implementation. They recommended expanding ViEC Beauty into a multi-store SaaS platform, adding community-driven features, and integrating AI more deeply for personalization and competitiveness. On the technical side, the judges commended the team’s clear planning, fast execution, and AI integration. They encouraged the team to make AI applications more visible and explore scalability for larger projects. Overall, Người Lào left a strong impression with a well-executed prototype and a clear vision for future growth. Teamwork Memorable Moments For Phuoc Pham, the leader, the biggest lesson was simple: strong determination makes anything possible. He learned to stay focused, manage effort wisely, and balance ambition with practicality so the team could deliver on time. To him, the real strength of Người Lào came from teamwork, from every member understanding their own strengths and supporting one another toward a shared goal. Huong Nguyen shared that the hackathon was an unforgettable experience, a test of creativity, patience, and collaboration. From ideation to final delivery, every member gave their best and learned how to manage time, communicate, and step outside their comfort zones. Winning third place was a proud moment, but for the team, the valid reward was the experience itself, learning, laughing, and building something meaningful together. Conclusion For Người Lào, the SupremeTech AI Hackathon 2025 was more than a contest. It was a journey of teamwork, creativity, and discovery. In just 24 hours, they turned an idea into a working Zalo Mini App that blended business insight, AI innovation, and human collaboration. Their story proved that success is not just about winning but about learning how to move fast, stay focused, and create with purpose. ViEC Beauty started as a hackathon project, but it carries the potential to grow into something much bigger for Vietnam’s beauty retail industry. Team Phuoc Pham T. - Senior Infra EngineerHieu Vo H. - Senior BE EngineerDuong Nguyen V. A. - BE EngineerHieu Cao K. - FE EngineerHuong Nguyen T.T. - Quality Control Engineer  Tech Stack Frontend: React, Zalo SDKBackend: LaravelDatabase: MySQLInfrastructure: EC2, Cloud 📩 Read more articles about us here: SupremeTech’s Blog