Hacking Success: The Insider's Guide for the Hackathons
Imagine a marathon, but instead of miles, it's ideas and innovation that are being churned out at lightning speed. This is the essence of a hackathon, a breeding ground for creativity and technological breakthroughs. Whether you're a seasoned developer or a budding entrepreneur, understanding the dynamics of a hackathon is crucial to making the most of this exhilarating experience.
Why you should participate?
There could be many different reasons to participate in a hackathon. Let’s explore the major ones one by one.
Launching a Product:
If you are looking to build something as a side project and are thinking of launching it, then hackathons offer the perfect platform to launch your side project. Here, you can demo your project to mentors and potential partners, increasing your chances of attracting leads and getting the spotlight, especially if you win a bounty.
Job hunting
If you're looking for work, participating in a hackathon is an excellent option. Winning a bounty or prize at a hackathon puts you in the spotlight on social media platforms such as Twitter, increasing your chances of being hired. Apart from that, it improves your CV and helps you stand out. I've previously won a few hackathons, and a recruiter has personally told me that some companies only hire hackathon winners. Overall, it helps with your job search and increases your chances of being hired.
Making connections
Hackathons are hotspots for networking. A lot of events are getting organized alongside the hackathon by many different companies/protocols. You can meet a lot of working professionals at these events. Especially, if you're looking for a job, you can pitch directly to the company's members rather than going through the traditional interview process. I've personally seen some of my friends getting hired at such events.
Applying for Grants:
If you're aiming for a specific grant, hackathons provide direct access to mentors who can give valuable feedback and guide you through the application process.
How to proceed with the hackathons?
Approaches for the hackathons are very subjective and often differ from person to person. But there are a few of my learnings that I would like to share.
Planning Your Idea:
It is good to decide on your idea before the hackathon. It's best to avoid trying to come up with an idea during the event since that could take away valuable time that you should be using to build. I’ve been the guy who got started with the idea after the hackathon started. However, unanticipated bugs and other issues arose, causing setbacks and delays that resulted in submitting an incomplete project. Therefore, it's better to have a clear idea before the hackathon and focus on building it during the event.
Choosing the Right Project:
Think of an idea that you believe you can complete within the hackathon's time limit. Of course, you are not expected to complete your entire project during the hackathon, but an incomplete project with no working front end and at least one of the features will not get you very far. Avoid complicating the idea. I’ve made the mistake of attempting to integrate every feature into a single project, resulting in a sort of super-app. Don't do that. It will be difficult for the judges to understand your project. It will lead us nowhere and serve no purpose. Instead, concentrate on one thing and develop it. I recently followed this and built a very simple feature at a hackathon a few days ago, and we were able to successfully build it completely and we hardly got any negative feedback.
Simplicity and Execution:
If you're struggling to come up with an idea for a project, try thinking of the easiest or simplest thing that could be built and focus on executing it in the best possible way. Alternatively, if you notice a bad UX and can think of ways to improve it. This will significantly increase your chances of success.
UI/UX Matters:
Everyone appreciates a well-designed and creative interface. It plays an important role in improving the user experience. I'm not suggesting you create an overly complex and animated UI. A minimalist UI would suffice, but it should be clean, visually appealing, and user-friendly. Again, based on my own experience, I've created both a bare minimum-bad-looking UI and a clean-good-looking UI. The latter one got us to win a pool prize for a bounty.
Effective Presentation:
In my very first hackathons, I used to think that hackathons were for building projects and I’ve done that, thus presentations would make no difference, but they did. Judges have limited time to review each project, and they’re only going to look at your presentation. So make it as easy for judges to understand what you’ve done. Also, avoid making your presentation complex; instead, keep it concise, clear, and focused on the essentials.
Live Demos:
Provide a live working URL of your project. Judges won’t delve into your repo to understand how much or what has been implemented. Judges will only look for the code where you’ve integrated a particular bounty that you’ve claimed.
Conclusion
Embrace the hackathon experience - the highs, the lows, the learnings. These events might be exhausting and unpredictable, but they're also incredibly rewarding. Even if your project isn't completed or doesn't win, the experience is invaluable. If you believe in your idea, continue developing it post-hackathon and reach out to potential collaborators. Remember, every hackathon is a step forward in your journey as a developer.
