While a Hackathon might sound dodgy to non-techie, it is a highly productive event. It is intended for entrepreneurs and wannabe-preneurs, all are welcome. If you’ve ever had an idea for a business or project but have never had the resources to make it happen, this might be the chance to see if your peers want to help you make it happen. For example, one project I did once was to map out all of the private liquor stores in British Columbia.

Timing

While there are mini-hackathons that last a few hours, typically 4 hours on a work-day evening, a hackathon is sometimes an all-day event, but most regularly found as a full week-end event.

Rules

  • Have fun. A hackathon should be considered a community building event. If the competitive portion outweighs the fun, you’re doing it wrong.
  • If your idea, or ideas aren’t picked for the event, it is expected you are prepared to work on your idea on your own, or join another team.
  • While you can plan all you want, no software, website or hardware should be started before teams have been formed. If you’ve done any development work, this is often grounds for disqualification.
  • While projects are usually in the form of business or project ideas that could generate revenue, this is not a requirement. It could be just for fun, or something that builds community or has a limited use to a specific group of people.

Stages

Meet and greet

The event starts with a social networking stage where you can meet the other participants of the event.

Solicit

  • Every participant is given some period of time to pitch their idea to the crowd. Pro-tip: practice your solicit to friends and family in advance of the event, do they tell you they would want to be on your team to help you make it happen?

Your goal during your pitch is to clearly define what is needed for your idea The more planning you do here, the more clearly you an articulate what is needed. For example, do you need a graphic designer? Do you need a front-end developer to design you a website? Do need a Database Administrator (DBA) to build you a database? Do you need someone with sales experience to solicit local businesses in the community? Do you need a documentary film/video maker or editor? What does your idea need to get off the ground?

Team formation

  • Once everyone has pitched their ideas, they are documented and voted on.
  • Before they are voted on, there is usually a bit of time allocated to speak to idea pitchers that interest you the most, to see if you would be a good fit for their team.
  • Our hackathons typically allocate every participant three votes. You can give all three votes to one idea you feel strongly about, or break them up to multiple ideas.

    Hack

    (This doesn’t mean to start cracking into computers. Only the media calls this "hacking". Hacking, to hackers, refers to treating anything (not just computers) in another way than intended. If you turn a recycled 2L bottle into a windchime, you’ve hacked it.

  • Introduce your self to your team, and list out your skillsets
  • Plan out your schedule. Some groups are casual, and treat the event as a social. Some teams are competitive, and don’t sleep or rest until the pitch

    The Pitch

    When the deadline has hit, no more work is permitted. Every gathers together, and every project/team is allocated some period of time to pitch their (ideally completed or formed) project to the crowd. If the crowd consists of judges who are investors, make sure you clearly articulate how your project will generate revenue. After everyone has pitched their project, the crowd picks a winner.