This document provides tips for preparing for and participating in a hackathon. It recommends that participants: 1) Research the hackathon sponsors and previous winners to understand what types of projects might do well. 2) Use social media to connect with other participants in advance and find potential team members. 3) Bring multiple project ideas and be flexible about which one to pursue based on available teammates and APIs. 4) Get all necessary hardware, software, food and other supplies ready beforehand so you can focus on coding during the event.

1. Hackathon Prep and Survey
Guide
REVISED GUIDE - Oct 2012 – After we made it to the finals!
From a HackathonLoser! Winner!– Lessons Learned
Francisco Guerrero
Founder
ShopInterest
@Guerrero_FJ
@ShopInterest

2. So you want to join a Hackathon…
Why?
Pick one based on your needs
What are you trying to do? Learn something new? Look for a Job? Start a new business? Win an Ipad? Meet angels? Test your
idea?
Make sure you pick the right Hackathon

3. Get Social (part I)
Start by searching Twitter, Eventbriteand Blogs about the Hackathon you plan to
attend, look for names, follow people, Check linked-In, check the participants out, even
ping them before you arrive. You will save TONS of time and save yourself some stress
bythinking in advance people you want to work with

4. Get Smart
Bring two or three ideas (web app, mobile app and game idea)
Most hackathons will also list attending people, so see what the majority of people are strong at (mobile?
Gaming?)
• Research the Hackathon’s sponsors, see previous winners, check out what APIs and What prizes are being
offered.
• Check the Judges, what do they do, what do they invest, watch video of their presos and conferences
• Sponsors are important – Does your idea involve them in any way, shape or form?

5. Get Ready!
Gear
Hardware
Dev Kit
Food
Giveaways
• Your survival Kit should include – Sleeping bag, a change of clothes, comb, mouthwash
and eye drops
• Your Tech Kit – Laptop, extra battery, extra power strips, extra phone chargers, external
monitor, keyboard mouse, projector, extra laptop, devices you need to develop
• Software – GitHub account, Amazon Services, Graphic
Widgets, Wireframes, Photoshop, Hosting, subdomains, APIs you need that are not
provided
• Giveaways – if you have an idea and a domain ready, give stickers, pens, tshirts. Share
your beer!
• Food – Most places will have it, so just bring snacks, red bulls, extra beer will make you
everyone’s friend if you find a fridge to keep it cold

6. Get Going Fast
• Pitch your idea but listen to others
• Look for team members from the moment you arrive
• Be in touch, get a # to text, commit early
• Be flexible – OK to change from Ruby to PHP based on your team
• Split the workload soon – work in parallel
• Establish milestone deadlines – Priorities might shift depending on team, time, etc…

7. Get Political on your API selection
• Here is the secret to help you win:
– Use as many APIs as you can from the sponsors
– Integrate them to your app somewhere
– The more, the merrier, the likelier to get selected for the next round
– Add their logos to your home page somewhere – they love that

8. Get Tough
• The 3 temptations:
- Go outside for a drink - stay in
- Go home to sleep – sleep in, or set a fixed comeback time if going home is inevitable
- Obsess about the competition – Worry about your ideas
Don’t do this!

9. Get Social (Part II)
• Get your twitter, FB, Posterous, Tumblr, Turntable.fmgoing all night
• Join the hashtags for your event
• Don’t be selfish, give props, be funny
• Take tons of pictures – share in facebook
• Keeps you in the eyes of the judges and organizers

10. Get Slick
• Don’t wait for the last minute for a deck
• Rehearse your pitch and have a 5-6 page deck
• Record a decent demo video – get a digital camera – add music, tell a story
• Have a ‘bulletproof’ nonfunctional demo, (e.g. screenshots of pages)
• Have an account with data ready – avoid ghost-town syndrome
• Share your project with the Tech Blogs – A bit of luck will carry you a long way

11. If you face the Judges – Be confident
• Get the basic answers – what/for who/what’s the pain?/what’s the gain?
• Mention the whole vision of your solution first. Then show what you built (NOT the other
way around)
• Always have an idea on how to make money, doesn’t matter if its accurate, but shows value
• Talk to the judges after the judging – Get more feedback, be ready for the next one

12. Good Luck!
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