How I won my First Hackathon

I always loved to come up with new ideas and I thought my ideas are so unique that I will make it big with one of them. But as I met new people, I realized everyone has tons of new ideas and if you have thought of a new idea, there is a fair chance that a bunch of people has the same idea in mind and quite a few of them might be working on it.

So why don’t we see these ideas used around us for making lives better? I learned that an idea without implementation is just an idea. But where to showcase your ideas and get known? This was where I stumbled upon the word Hackathon.

What is a Hackathon ??

When I first heard the word Hackathon what came to my mind was a group of extraordinary people making use of some high-level tech after mastering it but that wasn’t the case.

The term Hackathon is derived by combining the words “hack” and “marathon” where hack stands for experimental, creative problem solving with a playful approach and marathon stands for the duration of the event. Here, you can showcase your ideas among equally enthusiastic people. It can be a 24, a 48 or a 60-hour long event.

Hackathons are organized by different organizations (i.e colleges, companies ) to find different innovative ideas and promote their product as a sponsor. This helps both the participants and organizers to grow.

Why participate in a Hackathon ??

Now you might be wondering why you should join a hackathon and give your precious time to it instead of watching Netflix and chilling with friends. So, here are some reasons-

1. You get exposed to the world of enthusiastic people who love to create and implement their ideas rather than just dreaming about them.

2. You explore a lot of techs, problem statement implementations which help you understand the real-life use of different techs, how new products are built, and promote entrepreneur thinking.

3. You Learn Team Work, leadership skills, and project management in a very short period of time. Presenting your idea boosts your speaking skills and reviews by the judges help you refine your idea.

4. You earn cool prizes, schwags, and offers from the sponsor. And also this achievement helps you build your CV.

How to participate in a Hackathon??

In this era everything is just a click away, Yes you heard it right. During this pandemic, everyone is organizing hackathons online, and thus participating in them is a lot easier. Some of my Favorite websites to search for hackathons are:-

1. Devfolio
2. Devpost
3. Dare2compete.

Here you can explore different hackathons, visit their websites for all the details, and register in them. You can also view previous hackathons and the winner projects to get insight into how a winner project looks like.

Is the idea worth try ??

This question comes to everyone’s mind “Is my idea worth it?”. “Is it really that good to win the hackathon?”. So let us break it down little by little.

1. “Ideas are cheap. Execution is what really matters”. An idea will remain just an idea if not implemented. Don’t worry about the result. Just make sure that you at least try, because if you don’t, you will end up thinking, “I would have won if” and so on. And this promotes a very bad mentality of never living up to your ideas and makes you a procrastinator.

2. Even if you don’t win, you will always get a ton of reviews and remarks from the judges which will eventually polish the idea and increase your winning chances for the next hackathon.

3. The happiness of converting your idea into reality is a sweet dessert within itself that is worth trying.

How to pick Team.

This is one of the most important parts (if you are not participating as a solo participant ) if you aim to grab that title of a winner because, “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships”. I would like to point out some key points which you should keep in mind while choosing a team member-

1. Do they really like the idea and are excited enough to stick to it till the end? Because building a project in such a small amount of time requires dedication and hard work and if they start doubting the idea in the middle of the hackathon it can greatly reduce your motivation and spirit.
2. Do they really add value to the project? Don’t just go and pick your other three friends which don’t have any tech knowledge and enter a hackathon. It’s a “No-No”. Instead, if they are interested enough to work with, acquire the required knowledge and you are good to go.
3. Think about the different tasks you have to do during a hackathon and then make a list of tasks and choose people to whom the tasks can be assigned.
4. People with good communication skills will always help your team to perform better and if they suggest you with things, it’s cream you got there.

Tips to win the Hack

I will share my experience and tips which helped me winning the hackathon:-

1. Focus on your designs, make them simple yet attractive. This will boost your winning chances a lot because what judges see is a potential startup or a project which can be turned into a startup. And we all know “The first impression is the last impression”.
2. Your ppts must cover all the basic heading i.e. Problem Statement, Your idea, Research data(if any), Social Application, Entrepreneurial scope of the project. All heading must contain points rather than big paras, the more precise they are the better impression they will give.

3. The demo video of your project should highlight all the functionality of your project. The explanation should be slow and clear, and make sure the length of the video is between 5–10 min- the lesser the better.

4. You must be confident about your work and problem statement. Always practice some dummy questions with your friends and mentors and be ready to clear the doubts of the judges.

5. Choose your tech wisely i.e. it must be the latest, must be a good match with the project’s point of view, and scalable for future use.

What if I lose ?

Losing is a concept derived by those who never learn because “Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn”. You never lose. You always learn something new and that’s how everyone grows. In a hackathon, you learn so many skills like leadership qualities, team management, product management deadlines, different tech reviews and so more. It teaches you so much in such a small period of time and that’s what makes it worth your time.

Conclusion

In the end, I hope you have a fair idea about the hackathon and how to win. It’s an awesome experience to participate with so many enthusiastic people and make connections with them, learn about so many things, and feel that rush of hard work.

“ There are always new, grander challenges to confront, and a true winner will embrace each one.”