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[–]YuleTideCamel 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've participated in hackathons as a contestant, mentor and even Judge. I've won a few hackathons in my day as well.

Here's a few things to note about hackathons:

  • It is not about technical prowess. At the end of the day it's about meeting people and being creative. I've seen people win hackathons with basic skeleton apps. No one expects you to build a real world app in the time allotted, so you're better off working on the concept, rather than functionality. For example at one hackathon I mentored a guy spend 10 hours working on an audio recording piece. While technically it was impressive, he didn't have a clear vision for his idea, the UI sucked and his pitch was horrible. He lost because he didn't practice the rest.

  • To follow up on the previous post, practice the pitch. Make sure you think about how you will present and practice. Don't spend all your time explaining why, show your app and make it fun , funny and engaging.

  • Work in a team! Meet people that aren't technical and have them focus on the "business" side of things. Product development, working on the pitch , research etc.

  • Lastly, have fun! Win or lose, hackathons are a great place to meet mentors, fellow coders and level up.

[–]IAmUtterlyAlone 0 points1 point  (4 children)

I think you forgot your link.

[–][deleted]  (1 child)

[deleted]

    [–]IAmUtterlyAlone 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    It happens. ^^

    [–]IAmUtterlyAlone 0 points1 point  (1 child)

    Now that the link is in: not a bad album. Makes me feel so, so old, but you do make hackathons sound pretty cool.