Think Like a Champion: Kat & Nicole, Ready to Answer your Grand Prix Questions!

[NicoleJohnson]

Hello Alteryx Community!!

We are @kat and @NicoleJohnson! Back in 2018, we took the Grand Prix by storm and made it the year for women solvers, taking the Grand Prix Champion title home at both Inspire Europe and Inspire North America!! We are excited to answer any questions you have today around our Grand Prix experiences: how we prepared for the race, what the competition was like, our favorite tools to use, best songs on our playlists that got us pumped up... whatever you want to know!!

And if you’re interested in competing in the Alteryx Grand Prix (you should!!), check out this blog post about registering for Grand Prix 2021!

We’ll be online for the next hour (10-11am PST) to answer alllll your questions - just leave a comment below! Ready... Set... Go!

Cheers!

Kat & Nicole 

 PHOTO: Kat & Nicole after Kat's Grand Prix victory in London (along with pit crew extraordinaire, Dan Hare!)

[kat]

That picture brings back some great memories! 🙂

Taking part in the Grand Prix was such an incredible experience, not one I'd want to have missed.

[WillM]

I love this!  If you could give someone that's on the fence about competing one piece of advice to push them over the edge, what would it be?

[CailinS]

@NicoleJohnson  what would you say to someone who's scared to participate because they're worried they will mess up or under perform?

[CailinS]

@kat with Prelims being next week...can you think back and give anyone advice how to make the most out of the 60 minutes?

[LaurenU]

@NicoleJohnson and @kat , I also have a similar question to @CailinS . What was your motive to register as a participant? Why did you decide to do it?

[NicoleJohnson]

@WillM - "If you could give someone that's on the fence about competing one piece of advice to push them over the edge, what would it be?"

My advice would be that there is NEVER any harm in trying - especially this year, with everything being virtual!! I am still not entirely sure how I won haha, and there are SO MANY talented people out there who are true Alteryx wizards... but if you don't try, then you definitely won't win, so why not give it a go?? If anything, it's fun to do Alteryx in a "new" way - really really fast, with a lot of cheering fans!! Certainly not something you get every day at work 🙂 

NJ

[kat]

Great question @WillM 🙂 

Better to try than to miss out on such an experience!

It's an amazing experience and not one that I would want to have missed out on. Yes, it's nerveracking. But it doesn't compare to the feeling of having given it a shot 🙂

[NicoleJohnson]

@CailinS  & @LaurenU - "what would you say to someone who's scared to participate because they're worried they will mess up or under perform?"

Well first, for anyone who watched me in Anaheim in Grand Prix, take a look at Round 2 - classic example of under-performance haha... did. not. even. finish. HOWEVER... what really got me through that was realizing not that I was embarrassed that I had made a mistake... no, I was just plain mad!! And that adrenaline, that feeling that I had to prove I could do it and to fix that mistake, I honestly believe THAT is what pushed me over the finish line. I simply refused to let that happen again... and it worked!! You have to believe that you can learn from your experiences, and that it really doesn't matter what anyone else thinks... do it for YOU. 

[kat]

I think I was actually more nervous before the prelims than before the actual competition.

I had NO idea what to expect during the prelims. Actually doing them was fun though - it was like doing loads of Weekly Challenges as quick as you can.

I'd recommend focusing on what you can do first. Take a few minutes to scan through the questions and start with something you're comfortable with. There are plenty of questions to answer, so answer what you can first. I also tried to at least attempt each question - there are always a few low-hanging fruit to be found. (Looking at you - predictive tools 👀)

Lastly, I'd also recommend not to dwell on a question. Rather move on quickly and attempt the next question.