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Ask HN: What Makes a Hackathon Successful?

• bhu1st 4y ago
  I used to run hackathons when I was a community manager for local developers group. Apart from being technical and challenging a successful hackathon will present a lot of opportunities for networking between the participants and help them make connections. Not only within a team but also cross-team and amongst the whole participants.
  • evanwolf 4y ago
    It's a social experience, so look for moments throughout the thon for people to come up from their screens, discover new friends, interact among strangers, and together as a community. Also look for ways to continue and extend relationships past the event. Discord channels that start at the event that persist. Listservs, repos, etc.
• minhmeoke 4y ago
  If the people participating don't know each other yet, setup a team matching / speed-dating-style activity where people can introduce themselves, and brainstorm and share ideas. Invite a few guest speakers and possibly organize some events (eg: yoga, snack time, improv exercises, video game break) to break up the monotony of everyone just staring at their screens. Setup a support staff / helpdesk queue with mentors (either more senior students or staff, or possibly volunteers from industry) to help out teams that get stuck. And make it easy to share contact info (eg: QR code badges which you can use to share email or chat information) for networking purposes.
• askafriend 4y ago
  Making it a month long is a mistake. Make it 24hrs, or a weekend max.
  • shreythecray 4y ago
    What is the issue with having a monthly hackathon? Is it just the lack of urgency to complete the project?
    • mmsnberbar66 4y ago
      To be clear they didn't write monthly but rather month long, implying it lasts 30 days
• mejutoco 4y ago
  The best hackathons I attended had a very clear set of rules, freedom in how to achieve them, and generous prizes.