Here's my take on what it takes to succeed at hackathons and idea competitions. This is a design thinking based approach for developing service concepts on extremely tight schedule and limited resources.

1. HOW TO WIN A
HACKATHON
10 Tips For Hackathon
Success
@jukkayl

2. KNOW YOUR
CHALLENGE
What are the rules of the
competition? What criteria are you
judged on? Emphasize these things in
your solution.
Is certain data, API or technology
given to you to hack on? Start by
thinking what those resources enable
and what the biggest challenges
arising from them are.
1.
@jukkayl

3. Solving the biggest problems
usually offers the best chance
for creating value, and the
team creating the most value
with their solution is usually
the winner.
@jukkayl

4. THINK
DIFFERENTLY
Change your perspective. Realize
that hackathons are about
creating creative solutions for a
given problem.
The solution doesn’t have to be
developed into a working
product - creating an appealing
concept and validating it is more
than enough.
2.
@jukkayl

5. Hackathons aren’t about what you
can do, they’re about what needs to
be done. Create a concept for
something a good team could make
happen with proper resources.
@jukkayl

6. BUILD A
DREAM TEAM
The greatest hackathon teams are
multidisciplinary. They’re able to
tackle the challenge with a wider
range of skills and perspective and
this gives them competitive
advantage.
Aim for a good mix of developers,
designers, business people and
perhaps something else.
3.
@jukkayl

7. Teams consisting solely of
developers or business people
etc. is not a good idea because
they’re more likely to fall into
groupthink and be blind to
possible solutions.
@jukkayl

8. TALK TO
PEOPLE
Start with customers and figure out
their needs and wants. Solving their
key problems is your biggest chance
for creating value and making your
solution count.
Talking to the people on premises
usually goes far, but don’t be afraid to
reach out to the people you need. Use
your social media channels for
reaching out and quick surveys.
4.
@jukkayl

9. Talk to the stakeholders and
find out what you can do to
make their lives easier. Your
solution is dead in the water
if they're not aboard with it.
@jukkayl

10. BUILD A SOLUTION ON
WHAT YOU LEARNED
What creates value for the customer
and the stakeholders and is relevant
in the context of the challenge?
Brainstorm this with your team for
as long as you need. If you’re able to
find a solution like this, you’re already
a strong contender.
Get back to the previous stages if
you're not able to find a proper
solution.
5.
@jukkayl

11. Data
/
API
Your
solution
goes here
Customer
needs

12. TEST
EVERYTHING
Run your idea by your customers
and stakeholders. Do they see
the value in it like you do?
Build a quick & dirty prototype to
test and present the idea. Use
people on premises and social
media if needed.
6.
@jukkayl

13. Don’t make guesses on the key
aspects of your concept -
validate all assumptions.
@jukkayl

14. BUILD A VIABLE
BUSINESS MODEL
The jury is usually very concerned
with who’s going to pay for the
proposed solution. Figure out who
your key customer groups are and
where the money comes from.
You can use tools like business model
canvas to brainstorm this further. Be
realistic but optimistic.
7.
@jukkayl

15. Data
/
API
Viable
business
model
Customer
needs
Your
solution is
here!
@jukkayl

16. FAIL FAST AND TRY
SOMETHING ELSE
If something looks like it’s not going
to work, get back to the drawing
board and see if it can be fixed
or whether you need to try another
solution.
Again, talk to people and bounce
around the idea. Be quick and decisive
in your actions.
8.
@jukkayl

17. Don’t be afraid to fail and try
another solution. Remember,
you’re on a tight schedule and
pursuing dead-end solutions is
just wasting everybody’s time.
@jukkayl

18. WORK AS
A TEAM
Your team is your #1 resource. Get to
know each other, make sure you all
know what you’re doing, involve
everybody and fully use your team’s
capabilities. Tight schedules can be
stressful so be nice to each other.
Take breaks, take it easy and
remember hackathons are supposed
to be fun. Pull all-nighters only if you
absolutely have to, in most cases you
really don’t.
9.
@jukkayl

19. Your team has one goal and that
is to create the best possible
solution for the hackathon, so
work together.
@jukkayl

20. BUILD A
KILLER PITCH!
If you’ve done your work properly, this
part is easy. Simply make your work
visible.
Your pitch needs to cover just 4
things: short explanation of the
concept and business model, benefits
for the customers/owner/stakeholders
and demo of the prototype, if
applicable. Keep things short, sweet
and visual.
10.
@jukkayl

21. The pitch doesn’t have to be a
deck of slides. Think of creative
alternatives and don’t be afraid
to show personality no matter
what you decide to do. Again,
hackathons are supposed to be
fun :)
@jukkayl

22. NOW GO AND WIN THAT
HACKATHON!
If you liked the deck, please
comment, share and follow me
on twitter and slideshare!
@jukkayl
All images under CC0 license