From Hackathon Rejection to 500+ Downloads: The Story of AquaTrace
From Hackathon Rejection to 500+ Downloads: The Story of AquaTrace
One year ago, AquaTrace was just an idea built for the Smart India Hackathon 2024, inspired by a powerful problem statement from the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
We weren’t selected.
But we built it anyway.
And that decision made all the difference.
Today, over 500 people from across the world use AquaTrace to track their water footprint — all without a single rupee spent on marketing.
This isn’t just a story about an app.
It’s a reminder that building in silence and shipping in public can open doors you never imagined.
🧠 Why We Built It Anyway
After the hackathon, it would’ve been easy to archive the idea and move on.
But something about the problem felt too important to ignore.
Water sustainability isn’t just a buzzword — it’s a growing need. And we realized we didn’t need a jury’s approval to make something that matters.
So, alongside my teammate Shakthivel, we kept building.
At our own pace. Without any audience. Just because it felt right.
📱 What is AquaTrace?
AquaTrace is a water footprint tracker that empowers people to monitor and reduce daily water usage — one drop at a time.
It started with a simple thought:
What if people could visualize the hidden water behind their everyday choices?
That became the foundation of AquaTrace.
⚙️ Key Features
1. Effortless Tracking
Log your water usage manually — or snap a photo of your meals, and let our image recognition suggest water estimates.
2. Visual Insights
Understand your habits with clear, intuitive graphs and breakdowns over time.
3. Built for Change
Small changes add up. AquaTrace helps you track those changes and make sustainability a daily mindset.
4. Clean & Friendly UI
Designed using Flutter, the interface is built to be simple, distraction-free, and beginner-friendly.
💡 Why Putting It Out There Matters
It’s easy to underestimate how many people are quietly looking for tools that solve real problems.
We didn’t have a marketing plan. We didn’t know SEO.
But we shipped. And that act alone brought AquaTrace into the hands of 500+ users.
It taught us that:
- You don’t need a launch party to make impact.
- You don’t need permission to publish your work.
- You just need to show up.
📈 How It Grew — Organically
We uploaded it on the Play Store.
And waited.
Week by week, downloads trickled in.
Then came feedback.
Then users from different countries. 🌍
Today, AquaTrace is being used by people on every continent.
All because we decided to hit "publish."
🔥 What I Learned
1️⃣ You Don’t Need to Be Picked
You don’t need to “win” something to start something meaningful.
You can build quietly — and still make an impact.
2️⃣ Sharing Is Part of the Process
Building in public makes you visible.
It invites collaboration, feedback, and sometimes, unexpected reach.
Your idea has no chance if it stays in your folder.
3️⃣ Compound Impact Takes Time
AquaTrace had barely 10 downloads a week for the first few months.
We didn’t stop.
And eventually, we found our users — or maybe they found us.
🚀 Try AquaTrace
If you're someone who cares about sustainability, or just wants to become more mindful of your water habits — AquaTrace is for you.
🙌 Final Thought
You don’t need a perfect app.
You just need a reason to build — and the courage to share it.
Put your work out there.
Even if it’s unfinished. Even if no one’s watching.
That’s where the magic begins.