At Marchex, we like to experiment. For Hack Day, engineers stopped working on their roadmap items and formed new teams. Then they spent two days working on whatever piqued their interest, including disruptive technologies, a Git enhancement, a next generation UI and more.

Ted Bardusch, Senior Director of Engineering, answers a few questions.

WHAT IS HACK DAY?

Hack Days is a period of time, we picked 48 hours, that Engineering gets to do whatever grabs their interest. The goal was to see how people would do if we just let them engage their passions.

 

WHY DID YOU WANT TO DO THIS?

I've wanted to do this at previous companies, but not had the C-level support to do it. Here at Marchex, the idea was not one I had to "sell", it was one everyone bought into as soon as it was brought up. This is a really great place in so many ways.

 

WHY DID MARCHEX TAKE THE TIME FOR THIS?

Marchex believes in its people, and likes to empower them. We believed, and were proved correct, that the results were well worth the time.

 

WHAT WAS YOUR MOST ENJOYABLE MOMENT DURING THE HACKING?

Friday morning, walking around the engineering areas, the energy was palpable. The excitement just radiated from everyone getting the final touches on their ideas.

 

WHAT WAS IT LIKE FOR THE ENGINEERING TEAM?

I've never had as many people come thank me for something, it was hugely popular. A lot of smiles before, during, and after. And of course the winners of the People's Choice and Venture awards were extra happy.

 

ANY SURPRISING PROJECT CHOICES?

Yes, I hadn't expected a tool to calibrate spice ratings. That was certainly not on my "maybe" list I'd anticipated.

 

DID YOU DO ANY HACKING?

I'm not eligible, since I was one of the votes for the Venture award.

 

THINK YOU'LL DO IT AGAIN?

Absolutely, this is now a Marchex institution.