How I won my first Hackathon and how you can too
On February 7th 2021, I won my very first hackathon
This is a big deal for me. I’m not used to winning things in general, so I’ve reflected on my team’s strategies and actions to identify 5 things that were key to our success. By doing this, I can identify and implement the strategies I stumbled upon while completing this hack in future projects, and ensure that this win isn’t a one time thing
So let’s take a look at what contributed to that success behind the scenes
1. My team members were driven and had complementary skillsets to my own
I had an incredibly intelligent team, each with different skill sets. I am better oriented towards research and writing, so I (sadly) often need someone to cover for me in the presentation and technical skill department. Luckily enough, my group had those skill sets and helped make our project strong in the areas where I couldn’t. My team and I also understood that we were going to go all out on this hack, and make everything as high quality as we could, but this consensus wouldn’t have been possible without effective communication.
2. We actively communicated as a group
Communication is key to the success of all group projects that have ever existed. By effectively communicating, we were able to overcome the awkwardness of being strangers and were comfortable enough to be honest and give feedback to one another (bettering our quality of work). This significantly increased our productivity as well, as we were able to successfully divide and conquer the work heavy portions of the project.
To accurately display how this helped us, think of it like being able to get 4 hours of research done in 1 hour, as each group member is doing independent research at the same time. Active communication also helped us prevent overlap in research because we were able to report our findings to one another.
What really enhanced our communication was that we were always on the ball. All team members were active throughout the hackathon, and if one of us couldn’t make a meeting, they made sure to let the group know in advance so we could catch them up later on.
3. We constantly sought out feedback
Feedback can be scary. Whenever my team and I schedule times for feedback, I admit I get a jolt of panic. However getting that feedback, especially earlier in the hackathon can ensure that you’re going on the right track and aren’t wasting your time on a bad idea. It can also help point out the weaknesses in your project that you might not have noticed, which can help give your team direction into what areas you should improve upon.
Feedback is a superpower, and by implementing it you can significantly improve the quality of your project.
4. We had a project manager and regular check ins
This probably 100xed our productivity. Our project manager ensured that we were all on task and being productive when we needed to be by conducting regular check ins. Regular check ins hold people accountable for delivery/contributing to the overall project by checking in with team members every set interval of time to observe the progress they’ve made. Regular check ins also help bolster team support/culture as members can quickly be given support or feedback if they need it. By holding regular time bound check ins, the team is more likely to deliver higher quality content on time and might even have extra time to create bonus content.
5. We formulated a promising idea
Notice how I put this last? And how its not bolded? This one is important, but it still pales in comparison to the previous strategies I mentioned. In fact, this is really more of an outcome of the previously mentioned strategies rather than a strategy itself. Having a good idea that aligns with the hack requirements is Hackathons 101, however it’s still necessary to recognize how important that idea is. Having a good idea allows for the work you do for the hackathon to be useful in the future, by giving it the potential to be developed into something bigger, such as a product or business.
Hackathons in general are incredibly valuable, regardless of if you win or not. In fact, even if you don’t walk away with the title of ‘making it to the top 10’, you likely still made cool content, gained loads of knowledge, made connections, and gained valuable takeaways from the experience.
And now with these tried and true tips, you’re already on your way to crushing your next one.
