Welcome back to Projects of the Week, our weekly look at some of the most interesting products coming out of the Proof of Usefulness Hackathon.

The bar is pretty simple: build something people actually find useful. Every project featured here tackles a real problem, whether that's through better infrastructure, smarter automation, or a fresh take on an old workflow.

This week, three more projects made the cut. From interactive data visualization and AI-powered consumer research to ecommerce optimization, each tackles a problem that people and businesses run into every day—and offers a practical way to solve it.

Meet the Projects of the Week

Bayan Flow

Dashboards are everywhere, but most still leave users squinting at charts and exporting CSVs. Bayan Flow takes a different approach, building interactive, real-time visualizations that invite users to explore their data instead of simply viewing it. The project caught our attention for treating visualization as a decision-making tool rather than just another reporting layer

GAG Token

Market research is full of expensive panels, slow turnaround times, and survey responses that don't always reflect what people actually think. GAG Token is trying to change that with an AI-powered consumer insights platform that uses token incentives to encourage participation while helping businesses gather and analyze feedback at scale. It's an ambitious blend of AI, Web3, and market research, but what stood out most was its focus on making consumer intelligence faster, more transparent, and easier to act on.

Shugert

Building an online store has never been easier. Building one that actually converts is another story. Shugert helps ecommerce brands bridge that gap with Shopify development, custom themes, technical SEO, and conversion optimization backed by years of hands-on experience. Rather than promising overnight growth, the team focuses on fixing the technical bottlenecks that quietly cost retailers sales—an approach that's already earned the trust of hundreds of merchants and a standout Proof of Usefulness score.

This is Your Sign to Stop Building in the Dark

The internet has no shortage of polished demos, inflated metrics, and products that sound impressive until someone tries to use them. Proof of Usefulness was created to reward something simpler and much harder to fake: products that genuinely work for real people.

Why submit?

1. Instant Validation: Get your Proof of Usefulness score (from -100 to +1000) the moment you submit.
2. The Prize Pool: Compete for $20K in cash and $130K+ in software credits from Bright Data, Neo4j, Storyblok, Algolia, and HackerNoon.
3. Built-in Distribution: Your submission becomes a HackerNoon story, putting your build in front of millions of monthly readers.
4. Rewards for All: Every qualifying participant unlocks a suite of software credits just for entering.

How to Enter the Proof of Usefulness Hackathon

1. Get Your Score: Head to  www.proofofusefulness.com and submit your project details to generate your PoU Report Card.

2. Generate Your Draft: Click the button on your report page to convert your submission into a HackerNoon blog post draft.

3. Refine & Publish: Edit your draft to add your technical "secret sauce," then hit Submit for Review. Once published, you’re officially in the prize queue!

Thanks for building useful things!