Hackathons are basically just (coding) competitions where groups of developers and designers work together on a project for a limited amount of time (24–48 hours). Subsequently each group has to present their project to a jury, usually consisting of businessmen and woman. But, what is the key to success at a hackathon? (Spoiler: you don’t need to have the smartest team to win)

Image from TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2016

1 — Create a killer pitch

Although hackathons should be about having fun, winning is a nice bonus. After you and your team have created a killer project, the best public speaker among your team members should get some time to prepare his/her pitch. While the others work on the product demo, this team member will have some time to clear his head and think of ways to appeal the jury. Don’t forget, great products fail if they’re presented the wrong way!

2 — Solve an existing problem

No matter how flashy or appealing your project looks, if it doesn’t fit an existing (market) problem the jury won’t bite. You don’t want to create another dating app that lets its users swipe right if they find the other person attractive? No! Your project should be a solution, or at least trying to be a solution to an existing problem.

3 — Create something that works

Ok, you’re all set to pitch the best solution to solve world hunger (wouldn’t that be nice?). Just before you get up to the stage, it turns out your product demo isn’t finished yet. Big problem! As you and your team have only limited time to work on the project, make sure you don’t raise the bar too high and create something that works.

4 — Don’t forget to schedule your time

In order to make a product demo that works, it is important to schedule your time. Use the first few hours to evaluate your teams competences and all the available API’s, SDK’s and other provided data from the hackathon organizer. Furthermore start brainstorming for at most an hour until you’ve chosen a subject. Next up is assigning tasks among your team members with clear deadlines.

5 — HAVE FUN

Haven’t I told you yet that hackathons are all about fun? Participating in a hackathon with a great, enjoyable team will increase your chance of winning.