A couple weekends ago, I went to a hackathon in Seattle and had an amazing time. 30 hours of intensive planning, programming, idea pitching, and workshops. Best part of it all, we won the grand prize! I learned so much from that weekend and wanted to share with you all some tips on how to do well at your next hackathon.
Brainstorm Ideas Before You Come
Although you are only given a very short amount of time to program and implement an application at a hackathon, you have no limit on how early you can start brainstorming ideas. By the time you get to the hackathon, you should have a list of things that you may want to work on and how you would go about implementing them.
What if you don’t have a team beforehand to plan with?
That is okay. You can brainstorm alone and when you form a team you can pitch those ideas.
A Good Idea is Very Important
When you get to the hackathon, you may be itching to just start coding as quickly as possible since the pressure is on and the time is limited. However, remember that a good idea that addresses the challenge directly is incredibly important. You may be able to put together a beautiful UI, implement some challenging algorithms, and have a stunning presentation, but if your idea strays from the guidelines, you are less likely to walk away with the prize. Stay on track with idea pitching.
Research is Detrimental To Your Success
At the hackathon I went to, we were asked to build a tracking system that helps with mobility devices(wheelchairs, powerchairs, etc.) in airports and on flights. The biggest mistake I noticed with a lot of teams is that they came up with ideas that did not address the biggest concerns of individuals with mobility devices. Why? They did not do their research. They did not talk to the people who are experiencing issues first hand. Our team did our research and prioritized our ideas from the perspective of the person in the chair vs the person working at the airline.
Simplicity is Key
There are so many applications already out there. There is an app for everything. Good ideas don’t have to be complex. When thinking of implementation as yourself these questions:
Can I integrate my idea into an existing business or application to reduce app exhaustion?
Is my UX and UI too complex? How many clicks and downloads does it take my user to accomplish their goal?
How do I reduce friction of my user’s problems with this technology?
Prepare Your Presentation
When it comes time to get in front of the judges, be ready. Usually you are given anywhere from 5–10 minutes to present.
Prepare for your presentation. Don’t code until the last minute and put something together haphazardly. Create a slide deck that looks clean and comes across as simple and direct.
Even if you are a great public speaker, run through your presentation once or twice to make sure your content fits the time limit. If you feel uncomfortable speaking or worried about constraining to the time limit, create a video presentation ahead of time.
The most important things to demonstrate in your presentation is your idea and a quick demo. Do not bore your judges with all the details. You might be the 25th group to present, the judges may be tired, and if your presentation is not engaging, you will lose points here.
If after the presentation the judges are asking you clarifying questions about what your product does or what your idea is, your presentation was not direct enough.
Leave Enough Time for Questions
You want to leave enough time for judges to ask you thoughtful and insightful questions. Don’t take up the whole time presenting. If you are worried that you may not know how to answer some of their questions, you can always run down the clock (try to avoid this, unless absolutely necessary).
Do Not Reinvent The Wheel
You have a very limited amount of time to create your working application/project. Use your resources! There are many frameworks, libraries, APIs, and existing applications that you can use to help achieve your goal.
There is so much open source technology out there, it would be a shame to not use it. If you have time you can even contribute to an open source library that you are using!
I Won’t Be Able to Contribute To My Team!
I hear this over and over again. A lot of people are afraid that their coding skills are not advanced enough or they don’t have any skills that they think their team will find valuable.
STOP WITH THIS MENTALITY.
Every single person on a team is valuable and has something to contribute. If you are only starting off at programming you can help with design, presentation, idea pitching, research, time management, system design, etc. There is always room to contribute. You also learn a lot by pairing with others who have a different skillset from your own.
Stay confident and be a team player. Do not give into the imposter syndrome.
Conclusion
I hope that you have found these tips useful and will remember them in your next hackathon. Remember to have fun and try to get some sleep too! If you have any additional comments or feedback, I would love to hear about them in the comments section.
