Over 80% of Fortune 100 companies conduct hackathons, and a whopping 50% of them are recurring events.
That’s because companies and communities who organize and host hackathons tend to be those leading innovation in their respective industries—the fast-paced nature of these events is excellent for solving ever-changing consumer demands.
But hackathon organizers need to note that hackathons are not all made equal.
Some hackathons enjoy huge success, while others barely light a flame.
So what can you do to ensure yours doesn’t fizzle out before you’ve reached your goal?
Organizing a hackathon can help you find new talent, solve a nagging problem, and put you on the map in your industry.
It might even help you achieve all three, and more!
But before you start planning your virtual hackathon, there are a few questions you should consider to give your event its best chance of success.
Let’s get straight into it.
Table of contents
- Why are you organizing this hackathon?
- Who do you want to attract?
- How will you attract/incentivize people to participate?
- How can you make the participant experience as smooth as possible?
- Do you want/need a sponsor?
- Will you offer a prize?
- How will the winners be judged and chosen?
- Who will your mentors be?
- How will you ensure your hackathon is inclusive?
- How will you keep the buzz going post-hackathon?
Main question:
1. Why are you organizing this hackathon?
Let’s start with the basics.
Why do you want to organize a hackathon? Do you want to hire young talent and hope to attract them to your event?
Does your business have a problem you just can’t seem to solve?
Are you tackling a social issue and want to gather your community to find a solution?
There are lots of reasons why companies decide to organize a hackathon.
Just make sure you’re clear on your ‘why’ from the start. Understanding your reason behind hosting your hackathon can help you create the right buzz for the event, not to mention create a more effective submission process.
A few key questions to consider:
- What’s the ideal outcome of the hackathon?
- Do you want a working prototype at the end?
- How developed should the final product be?
2. Who do you want to attract?
The next fundamental factor to consider is all about your participants.
Who do you want to attract to your hackathon?
If you’re looking for new hires, perhaps you want to attract young and ambitious graduates.
Let’s say you have an app and you want to build a new feature—you’ll need developers, UX designers, project managers, and so on.
Based on your answer to the first question (‘Why do you want to organize a hackathon?’), you should easily be able to determine your ideal participant.
3. How will you attract/incentivize people to participate?
Just because you’ve put out a call for submission, it doesn’t mean people will sign up.
That’s why it’s important to understand what it is that drives people to register for your hackathon, and what makes them turn away.
From your marketing efforts to your prize and even your sponsors, there are several factors to consider if you want to make your call for submission as appealing as possible.
Not sure how to get more participants to sign up for your hackathon?
Check out our recent post: 7 Fool-Proof Ways To Promote Your Next Virtual Hackathon
4. How can you make the participant experience as smooth as possible?
Virtual hackathons tend to attract people from all over the world, and it’s important to have a platform that can accommodate that.
For example, if your participants are joining from different countries and time zones, you must remove any possible confusion about start and end times.
Organizers who plan their hackathon on Eventornado don’t need to worry about that, as the platform adjusts time zones automatically, depending on where a participant is signing in from.
Walk yourself through the participant’s journey, right from registration to post-event communication, and make sure each step is as seamless as possible.
5. Do you want/need a sponsor?
While it’s not fundamental to get a sponsor for your hackathon, there are lots of reasons why you might consider getting the extra support. Some hackathons bring on sponsors who help with the monetary costs of the hackathons, while others for the physical equipment like computers, laptops, and other gadgets.
Three things you need to consider when deciding if you need a sponsor:
- Is your business a start-up/relatively unknown in your industry?
- Do you have any financial constraints?
- Is it your first hackathon?
6. Will you offer a prize?
The prize(s) you offer your winning team(s) will depend largely on your budget and goals but note that it’s standard hackathon practice to offer first-place prizes.
Runner-up prizes are also common and could be anything from cash prizes to networking opportunities and mentorship programs.
7. How will the winners be judged and chosen?
As a hackathon organizer, it’s your responsibility to ensure a high-quality judging system is put in place.
That means not only considering the demographics of your judging panel to ensure fair representation but also creating judging criteria that give everyone a fair chance.
Without clear criteria to judge teams against, judging panels are left to evaluate pitches based on initial reactions, peer applause, and other unreliable factors.
Read more about creating judging criteria over on our post How to Judge A Hackathon: 5 Fool-Poof Criteria To Pick Winners
8. Who will your mentors be?
Hackathons need mentors!
They play an irreplaceable role, providing expertise and perspective to participants.
In our post 5 Strategies To Give Your Participants Their Best Chance Of Winning, we talk about how important it is to recruit multi-disciplinary mentors who will challenge teams to think innovatively, keep them engaged, and help to cultivate a stimulating environment.
The first thing you can do when considering potential mentors is to look at your close network and see if there are any colleagues or peers that might be a good fit.
Then you can start branching out to your extended networks, using platforms like LinkedIn to reach out to those who you think would consider contributing to your hackathon.
9. How will you ensure your hackathon is inclusive?
It’s no secret that the tech and digital world suffers from a disproportionate lack of diversity.
But hackathons are about building communities and bringing various perspectives and insights together to create something new, which is why it’s important to prioritize inclusivity for your event.
The last thing you want is for participants to feel unfairly judged or unrepresented, simply because you forgot to make an effort to level the playing field.
Read this article to understand how to make your hackathon more inclusive.
10. How will you keep the buzz going post-hackathon?
We saved the million-dollar question for last because often, this is the hackathon organiser’s dreaded fear!
The success of a hackathon can stretch way beyond the event itself if you know how to keep the buzzing going—the problem is that most hackathon organizers unknowingly sabotage their success by letting things fizzle out when there still might be some fuel left in the tank!
Launch your first hackathon with Eventornado
Organizing a hackathon can be highly rewarding, whether you’re a new startup on the scene or if you’ve already made a name for yourself in the industry.
So 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 organizers get as prepared as possible for their event so that rather than wasting time on all the repetitive tasks and planning processes, they can focus on building an engaging community and hosting an amazing hackathon.
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 organizers.
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