As the number of Hackathons in London continues to rise, we talk to some of the leaders about what makes for a successful hackathon, how to stand out, and what the future holds for this kind of event.
Q: First off, for the initiated, what exactly is a hackathon and how does it differ from other kinds of events?
Fay Cowan [FC], Event Director, Decoded Fashion says: In general terms, a hackathon is an overnight competition in which programmers, entrepreneurs, graphic designers and industry experts build a tech in a very short timeframe.
The Decoded Fashion Hackathon asks participants to create apps answering to the problems and needs of the fashion and retail industry. We are looking for viable apps that can be put to use!
Calypso Harland [CH], Founder, DevLab says: Typically, hackathons have been gatherings where developers have collaboratively coded for short intense bursts, often over a weekend.
While working on a particular project, the idea is for each developer to be have the ability and freedom to work on whatever he/she wants. In recent years with the startup movement swiftly gathering pace, hackathons have diversified and have evolved into events which bring together not only developers but also the creative community and more commercially minded folk.
The emphasis at these events is all about building a prototype/proof of concept which can be demoed to peers and judges at the end of the event.
Catalina Butnaru [CB], Marketing and Events Manager at Startup Bootcamp says: In short, hackathons are 24 or 48 hours long events, where people come together to experiment with new technologies and work on ideas that have the potential to spring into something valuable for the community in a specific area.
Fadie Hannona [FH], Marketing, MakersAcademy says: If you’re unfamiliar, you’ll probably imagine a hackathon to be a competition where people break and enter into systems. This isn’t what it is.
To put it simply, a hackathon is an event where people come together to express themselves creatively through technology. The aim is to turn an idea into a product prototype, in the form of a website or app within a short time frame (usually anywhere between a day or three.) It’s a team game where labour is divided according to the player’s strengths.
There are many types of hackathons and they’re either competitive or communal. They can be aimed at start-ups, developing open source projects, they can be aimed at serving a specific community or brand or even to explore the possibilities of a new product. But one thing holds for all hackathons – they are about building things.
Q: Who attends hackathons, and do you always have to be a coder?
[CB]: Hackathons are events for doers and go-getters, for the kind of people who can make the most out of their skills and execute on a business plan. It is important to have as many coders in a hackathon as possible, as it’s always nice to be able to show something that is demoable at the end of the event. But it’s equally relevant to have experienced people within a certain field, such as marketers, product management, business development and designers.
[FC]: Developers, designers, entrepreneurs – you don’t have to be a coder. If you have an idea, it’s about coming along and working with other likeminded people to produce your idea. Our Hackathon is open to the public on demo day, so you can even come along to see all the pitches and the cool new ideas that have come out of the competition.
[FH]: Although coders are indispensable to hackathons, they can’t simply create a product on their own. Programmers can greatly benefit from the input of other skills that can take a technical product to it’s fullest aesthetic, business and experiential potential.
Graphic designers, UI/UX designers, Project Managers, Marketers, Business/Customer Developers are just some types who can get a lot out of a hackathon.
Soft skills are just as important as the ability to pitch a product to a panel of judges, sketch a mockup with Balsamiq or run an exploratory Google Adwords campaign.
If there were only coders present, you’d be missing a few pieces of the pie.
[CH]: Hackathons attract a wide variety of people and everyone is welcome – certainly at our events. Attendees tend to fall into one of the four groups below though.
- Software developers: They are the bread-and-butter. No hackathon is complete without pragmatic and talented software developers.
- Hardware developers: Hackathons are about more than just apps and HTML5. They encourage physical products to be developed too.
- UX designers: Such a fundamental part of the product development process and so often overlooked, they take the creative lead and shape the products for consumer use.
- Entrepreneurs: Ideas are nothing without a visionary to turn it into a viable commercial product.
- Technology companies: Hackathons are a great environment for companies to get developers using their technology, developing for their platform or integrating their APIs.
- Brands: Brands are starting to use hackathons as an environment to engage with startups and developers as a new channel of innovation.
The holy trinity of hipster (designer), hacker (developer) and hustler (commercial) has been described as the perfect team to rapidly proto-type a concept over a weekend that could potentially result in a product being delivered to market or a solution to a social problem.
Q: What would be your advice to a first time hackathon attendee for getting the most out of it?
[FC]: Come with an open mind, try and network a lot, have fun and don’t worry about the tech!
[CH]:
- You’ve only got 24 hours typically so make sure you concentrate on building something that’s not feature heavy. Forget the bells and whistles and just focus on getting the core functionality working so you have something to demo.
- If you have a chance to go out and validate your idea with potential customers, even better! It will help you build a product that people actually responds to people’s needs or wants and provides a valuable feedback loop.
- Make sure you get to know the available APIs in advance of the event and take advantage of whatever support teams are available to support you.
- Depending on the rules, if you know what you’re going to work on and have the chance to prepare your Wireframes in advance, then do it. Save yourself as much time as possible.
- Try and get your team formed in advance. Go to meetups and find other people with complementary skills. If you’re a developer, try and team up with a UX designer, or a commercially savvy person who will help you understand how you’re going to sell your product.
- Practice your pitch. Make sure you leave the last few hours of the hackathon to get your product demo ready and to practice your pitch
- If you’re struggling with anything, ask for help from your peers. Hackathons are intended to be collaborative environments where people learn and support each other. Even when there is a competitive element, people are always willing to help out and share their knowledge.
[CB]: It’s hard to give advice, because each person comes in with a different set of expectations. If you want to build a startup on top of the idea you’ll be working on at a hackathon, then make sure you do your research about the organisation running the event in the first place, because that’s where you’ll be making your first business connections, from finding a couple of mentors, to forming a good team and getting introduced to the startup scene that is relevant in your case.
For the best FinTechAthon participants, Startupbootcamp FinTech will be offering 2 months free office space and an invitation to our final Pitch Day in London. So we are creating a strong ecosystem that is perfect for startups, not just running one hackathon.
Other ideas:
- If you’re a tech person, then do your homework and research the APIs you’ll be working with during the hackathon. It’s good to be prepared.
- If you’re a business development person, make the most out of meeting key people in the industry (they can attend the event as mentors or sponsors)
- If you’re an idea person, recruit the right team on the spot, usually that means at least on backend programmer, one designer / front end person, one business development specialist, a marketer and if possible somebody who can deliver a flawless pitch
[FH]: It is good practice to formulate an idea in advance and make sure you’ve done a bit of research. This saves you time and allows you attract a passionate team.
Remember to think tactically as you walk through the doors. Firstly, accustom yourself with the crowd and learn who does what. Once you have your team in place, keep the time schedule of the event at the back of your mind so you can plan your moves efficiently.
Always remember to manage your expectations as it’s very unlikely that you’ll have a fully developed version 1 of your product and instead work on the most essential features you’d like to see in your prototype and build on that.
Last but not least, never forget that the main thing is to have fun and learn!
Q: Do you feel the number of hackathons in London is growing, (and if so, will that growth be sustainable)?
[CH]: The number of hackathons has grown significantly in the last couple of years as brands are gaining interest in tapping into the startup and developer community as an innovation channel. More niches are emerging for hacks in different industry sectors and to support social challenges like the recent Floodhack which was using tech to help victims of the flooding in the UK.
This recent surge of interest from brands however has seen many hackathons being used as IP farms which has created a real backlash in the community. Brands need to adjust their thinking to engage with this audience, there’s a different culture and a different way of doing things that they can learn from to encourage collaborative innovation.
[CB]: The growth in the number of hackathons is justified because there are more emerging technologies that create niches and focus areas. In FinTech, it makes sense to have payments, security, crypto currencies and big at a focused hackathons, just to name a few of the possible FinTech niches.
As long as you are able to reach out to the best possible participants, and build a community around it, the number of hackathons is not a problem, it’s the quality that matters.
[FC]: Yes, everything is speeding up in London it’s how the city and technology can learn to adapt to the changing market. There is a hunger and need for it all these hackathons!
Q: What are the elements that make for a successful hackathon?
[CB]: It’s hard to have a generic recipe for success, because hackathons are so varied, content-wise. Fintech hackathons need a good balance between bank techies and out-of-the box thinkers.
Bank and financial techies are extremely helpful because they know the system from the inside out and are able to work comfortably with APIs provided by partners and banks. Out-of-the box thinkers are important because they spice up the event, and sometimes pushing bank and tech experts out of their day-to-day finance-focused mindset.
A good balance between the different participant types is important. Then, creating an excellent experience around the event is essential because everyone who wants to get involved needs to feel inspired and proud that they are part of something that is worth their time. Sometimes adding a few good perks and prizes helps, because everyone likes to be rewarded for their efforts in the end.
[FH]: The attendee list is as important as the theme or prize itself. A crowd that has a good ratio of developers and non-developers with complementary skill sets will make for a great hackathon.
A common complaint at hackathons is that there are too many ‘ideas people’ and not enough people who can actually build products. This is something we’re actively trying to avoid at our hackathon by offering free spots to developers, and charging non-developers.
[FC]: Good food, great mentors, and strong wifi!
[CH]:
- Freedom: Make sure your hackathon gives attendees the freedom to explore any idea imaginable. The best hackathons are those that don’t impose rigid rules as it limits creativity and the innovation process
- Good connectivity and power: Absolutely essential and without question the most important thing to ensure works seamlessly in a hackathon. Make sure you have appropriate internet infrastructure, including a high speed connection, robust WIFI, extension cords and outlets. Plan for any eventual downtime and make sure you have technical support available to cope with any problems.
- Great venue: Participants need lots of natural light and should be a good temperature throughout the event. People’s body temperature drops during the night so you always need to turn the heating up a bit to make sure people are comfortable.
- Good location: Should have excellent transport links and be close to shops or parks so people can pop out for a breather during the event.
- Quiet spaces: Most hacks have music playing throughout so if possible have a quiet space for people to hack in peace or to take a nap in.
- Healthy food: Brains don’t perform at their optimum level on pizza and beer. Make sure you provide a healthy menu to keep people fully charged. It’s important that people have a hot dinner and that drinks and snacks are provided throughout the event. Remember to cater for vegetarians and people with gluten allergies.
- Teams should retain their own IP and work in partnership with brands/sponsors to develop their idea further.
- Good communication The agenda for the hackathon (including meal-times) should be outlined. Make sure you clearly communicate the rules and categories for prizes.
- Engage your community Keep engaged with your community before, during and after the event. Make sure you’re actively engaging with attendees across social media and that they have a forum where the can talk and network with each other.
- Good swag Hacks should always have good swag like t-shirts and fun gizmos. Books always go down well too.
- Relevant judges Make sure that the judges are high calibre and that there is a good level of technical competency so they can appreciate the quality of what is being presented from a technical perspective as well as a commercial perspective.
Q: How do you stand out from other hackathons?
[FC]: The DeCoded Fashion Hackathon is kicked-off by a panel of top fashion designers and executives, we are listening to what the problems of the fashion industry are and the solutions they crave. Top mentors will be on hand to help guide and support teams through the 24 hours, before each group gets to present their results in quick demos in front of a panel of esteemed judges. Our top 3 hacks will be taken through to pitch at our London Summit to a top panel of fashion judges!
[CH]: DevLab LIVE (9-11 May) is the UK’s biggest brand hack and it’s all about fostering meaningful partnerships between brands and the startup and developer community to deliver better digital products to market. We believe that through this connection of bright minds and big brands we can create a positive environment for innovation to flourish.
[CB]: First off, this is a one of kind hackathon because the focus is on radically improving the payments infrastructure, which hasn’t been attempted before in a 48-hour hackathon. This is different because most fintech hackathon would only aim to improve the user experience of a finance or payments app, thus only dealing with the surface of the problem, not digging deeper.
Our FinTechAthon is focused on real challenges that banks are facing today, and for this reason we’re bringing payments innovation experts, tech experts working on large infrastructures and having first-hand experience with transactions, large networks, security issues and more. For example, we’re bringing payment innovation experts from Lloyds Bank, Rabobank and MasetrCard, and engineers from Open Bank Project, Xignite, Currency Cloud.
[FH]: There are a tonne of ways to stand out from other hackathons… Firstly, getting a good balance of complementary skillsets amongst attendees is a must, as are a strong group of inspiring judges to give feedback at the end of the event. Being a gracious host by taking care of the basics like food and drinks is a given, and having an alluring prize for the winner can really make your hackathon stand out from the crowd.
Let’s get hacking!
If you’re interested in attending any of the hackathons mentioned, you can learn more about them below through Eventbrite:
Friday, 11 April 2014 at 18:00 – Sunday, 13 April 2014 at 18:00
Friday, 25 April 2014 at 19:00 – Sunday, 27 April 2014 at 18:00
Friday, 9 May 2014 at 08:30 – Sunday, 11 May 2014 at 18:30
Decoded Fashion Hackathon, London
Saturday, May 10, 2014 at 9:00 AM – Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 4:00 PM
**DeCoded Fashion Hackathon will be sponsored by Eventbrite**
Do you have experience of running or attending hackathons? Let us know about your experiences in the comments below!
