There are many benefits to why you should run a company hackathon. Hackathons, when planned and implemented well, can generate innovation, recruit fresh talent, and set your company apart from other companies in your field. At least, that’s what you’ve been told. But the impact of hackathons isn’t just in the panache of doing something buzzy and PR-worthy; rather, the results are real, tangible, and measurable. In some cases, hackathons help solve a pre-identified problem. In other cases, they enable you to check out top talent in action. And sometimes, they simply help your organization come up with (and launch) new, innovative ideas.
So if you’re thinking about organizing a hackathon for your company, know that you’re not alone and that the benefits can pay off. Here are some real-life examples of the ways in which well-organized hackathons have bolstered the companies hosting them.
Facebook: The company “likes” a good hackathon for fresh innovation
If you need any evidence that hackathons can drive innovation, just look to Facebook (you know, that little social media site that has more than a billion users). Hackathons have been part of their culture since practically their inception. And one of their engineering leads, Pedram Keyani, shared a post to … well, Facebook … detailing exactly how the early hackathons led to some of the best features on the platform, and how they continue to get together to innovate today. In fact, Keyani helped organize one of the first Facebook hackathons, simply inviting people to join him to stay up all night and work on platform products and solutions. About 20 people showed up (a far cry from the hundreds who typically participate in today’s events), and they simply stayed up all night working on projects.
Facebook now has a “prototype” for its hackathons, including internal wikis for identifying projects, building a team, and brainstorming ideas. But they also have a standard schedule (hackathons start at 7:00 pm), and even a go-to catering place (a Chinese restaurant called Jing Jings). The only other rules are that you can’t work on a project you work on during your day job, and if it’s your first hackathon, you have to hack. And it’s these rules that help drive innovation — fresh eyes and fresh ideas, and even new teammates to communicate and bond with, all help encourage problem-solving in new ways.
And really, the proof is in the pudding. Keyani shared that some of the best Facebook features were born in hackathons, including the Like button, Timeline, and Video. And you can thank a Facebook intern for hacking the “tagging in comments” functionality. “When he presented it at the forum, everyone’s reaction was the same — we couldn’t believe someone hadn’t built this yet. It shipped to 100% of users within two weeks,” Keyani stated.
Capital One; External hackathons help improve customer service
Sometimes companies want to look outside their walls (and their payroll) to be able to think up new solutions to serve their customers better. Capital One is one such company that has hosted external hackathons to help solve pre-identified issues they want to bolster and improve upon.
For example, in 2015, Capital One hosted the Capital One People & Money Hackathon specifically to generate ideas for helping millennials and American families manage personal finances. Participants had the chance to win up to $50,000 in prize money for their efforts.
The bank also has a developer platform, DevExchange, enabling developers to access the company’s APIs and work on innovations within the bank’s services and platforms without being a bank employee. This gives anyone with a good idea the ability to troubleshoot problems or barriers on their own, while also doing work that is likely to get them noticed (in a good way) by the company.
PayPal: Using external hackathons to help communities (and get good press)
Whether it comes from a truly philanthropic heart, or from a desire to garner positive press, sometimes companies use their hackathons to help out their community. And sometimes, it happens by semi-accident.
That’s the case for PayPal … in 2013 they hosted a Battle Hack event in 14 cities, inviting developers to work with a team over 24 hours to solve a local problem while using the PayPal API. The 2013 winners worked on an app to make it possible for donors to use PayPal to contribute money toward vet bills at local shelters for dogs available for adoption, offsetting the high cost that so many shelters incur from providing such care.
This type of hackathon enabled the online financial giant to become more relevant and helpful on a local level by “hacking into” the knowledge and know-how of local developers. After all, it’s only those with “boots on the ground” who can see the ways a company might be able to uniquely serve community members. In the process, by using the PayPal API to solve local problems, the developers were creating newsworthy solutions to boost the reputation of PayPal as a whole.
Branch Metrics: Using hackathons to learn, grow, and build a team
For start-up companies, hackathons can be educational events. When you’re working with a small team, it’s easy to get tunnel vision and to get bogged down in the same old thought processes and solutions. By creating and attending hackathons as a company, you have the ability to tap into the knowledge and know-how of people outside of your brand to help you stay creative, thoughtful, and open to new ideas.
At least, that’s what it did for Mada Seghete, the co-founder of Branch Metrics. When she was part of a team of just 4 developers, attending other company’s events helped keep them on the cutting edge. “Hackathons force you to think about things more deeply and in a different light (and with different viewpoints than you’d normally get in everyday work,” she wrote for Medium in 2015. “That’s because you’re not focused on your existing projects or KPIs, so you get to form new teams with different people to achieve a different type of task. We believe in this so much that Branch now has started internal hackathons. By having people work together who otherwise never interact, we force new ideas and perspectives that exponentially accelerate the progress of an idea.”
Accenture: Where hacking helps teamwork make the dream work
Companies are often looking for ways to bolster teamwork and boost company morale. Rather than hosting typical retreats or company lunches all the time, hackathons can be a way to liven up the office and inject new life into a tired team. At least, that’s what Accenture has experienced when it comes to its internal hackathons.
You see, hackathons in and of themselves are events. They typically last 24 to 48 hours, with the hope being that by the end of the one or two days, each team will have a program ready to launch, or a solution to a problem ready to fix. The solutions might be rough, but the go-go-go energy of putting it all out there and pulling things together in such a short time frame helps amp up participant excitement.
So if you already have employees buzzing from the excitement of a hackathon, why not take it to the next level and make it do double-duty as a retreat and team-building event, like Accenture?
“We start off our event … bringing people to teach our coders how to do things like break dance, juggle, or make sushi,” Angelhack’s Saheen Ali told Fast Company in 2014 when talking about Accenture’s hackathons. “We bring in acupuncturists, go-karts, archery lessons, and laser tag. We literally get their blood pumping because ultimately, that’s going to help them be much more energized, think clearly, and have more productive thoughts.”
This atmosphere helps with team building … and ultimately, with risk-taking. “It’s not always just about technology. It’s about how you can implement it, how you can work as a team, how you can solve problems,” Ali emphasized. “At the end of the day, it comes down to how big of a risk to they want to take.” And when a team trusts one another and feels bonded and excited? They’re more willing to take big risks, that just might pay off with big rewards.
The takeaway
Regardless of whether you’re a tech startup, a financial institution, or a customer-facing small business, hackathons may be just the tool you need to break out of your rut. And while some hackathons feature big prize money and company-wide parties, it’s okay to start small and simply spend a weekend problem-solving with your teammates while chowing down on takeout Chinese food. Ultimately, hackathons are all about shaking up the day-to-day grind in order to pave the way for new innovation, improved communication, and original solutions to long-standing problems.
Launch your first hackathon with Eventornado
Organizing a hackathon can be incredibly rewarding, whether you’re a new startup on the scene or if you’ve already made a name for yourself in the industry and want to make an even bigger impact.
If you’re ready to launch yours, book yourself in for a free demo of Eventornado to see how easy the planning process can be! We help all our hackathon organisers to plan, manage and host their events as smoothly as possible, without repetitive tasks and messy workflows.
Want to read more articles? Check out our library of blog posts and guides where you’ll find lots of useful insights and tips for first-time hackathon organisers.
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