You're Probably Doing Hackathons Wrong

The first hack

A few years ago, on a cold winter weekend in London, I attended a 24 hour hackathon with two of my long-time friends from university. Even with the early Saturday morning start, we were chatting our usual rubbish on the tube over to the event, having a laugh, excited to partake in an event like this and to work together for the first time.

We had each worked in the software development industry for a few years by this point and felt quietly confident that we could put our expertise together to win the event, each hoping to take home a share of a sizable £2000 winners prize.

The clock struck midday and the hackathon got underway. We brainstormed an idea that ticked all the judging criteria, joking along the way about trying to make it related to saving the bees for some reason (even though that wasn't remotely close to the task requirements), and then split the work up between us to get started. I got started on a front-end application, one friend on integrating with the sponsors' service, and another friend on data generation. All was going smoothly.

As the day went on it continued to remain at this smooth rate, great progress was made by everyone, but it was missing something; something critical. The fun attitude and jokes that we had entered into the event with had quickly turned to seriousness and silence, and it mostly stayed that way. 

By the end of the first day we were mentally exhausted, we left the venue to head home and get some sleep, the tube ride back a stark opposite of the ride in that same morning, light conversation but mostly silence. One of the friends was from out of town and was sleeping on my couch. We rarely get to see each other and in any other situation we would have had some drinks, watched a movie (normally Lord of the Rings) and had a good chat and a laugh. Instead we both got in and went straight to sleep.

The second and final day of the hack came around and we were up early again and heading to the venue. My friend had been up for a few hours already trying to perfect their data generation script (they absolutely smashed it by the way). We got back to work, finalised our proof of concept application and wrote our submission document all in good time before the midday deadline. This left us plenty of time to create a presentation and practise it, each presenting an equal part.

I felt confident that we had built something that met all the requirements and that the judges would like, along with creating a presentation that could help convey that. The problem was, it turns out it had come at the cost of my teammates and my relationships with them.

I had treated the whole hackathon more like my day job than as a fun hacking event with friends. I was overly confident and had taken a role as a leader when we should have been all equals making something cool together, regardless of the result. I was critical of my teammates during their presentation practises. I wanted it to go smoothly so we would win, as I felt we had a good chance, but I was focussing on the wrong thing, winning.

Our team and project won the hackathon's top prize, but we didn't really win, not really.

I didn't have fun, I didn't learn anything new, I barely talked to another attendee and I weakened the friendships I had with my friends. I should have felt elation for winning the hackathon, but instead I felt exhausted and empty, and my teammates did too.

Our team and project won the hackathon's top prize, but we didn't really win, not really.

I couldn't quite put a finger on why I felt this way at the time. It was only later once we had all gone home, when one of my friends messaged me to tell me how they felt, that it opened my eyes. I completely agreed with everything they said and it was a pivotal moment for me. I hadn't been a friend, I had been a boss, and I felt awful for it. The hackathon I had won with my team was the one where I had been the least like a team player, and even less like a friend.

I learned a lot from this moment. I'm extremely grateful that my friend reached out to me that day, and ever since I have tried a lot harder to be a better friend and to bring others up instead of down. They remain one of my closest friends to this day, and one of the best engineers I know.

Let's try this again

A new year came around and another friend invited me to join them for an international hackathon, this time in Germany. I was initially hesitant, I was conscious of how the last one went, and I didn't want to make the same mistakes again. However, I realised this was a great chance to put my learnings into practise, and gratefully accepted the invitation.

This next hackathon was less successful on the winning front, but far more successful in the enjoyment and learnings I took away from it.

During the hack we had a list of tasks to complete as a team on a whiteboard and we would slam them into the done column upon completion, giving us regular small wins to celebrate. On top of this we set aside time outside of the hack to explore the international city we were in, and go on a nice walk in the forest. My friend introduced me to German beer and schnitzel (with cranberry sauce, a critical addition) and we had a great time and made some great memories.

On top of this I learned that it's so important to try new things at hackathons, that's really what they are for. It's a place to experiment and hack and feel ecstatic when you get something new to work. It's boring when you build something you've already built before.

Let's perfect this

Another chance to attend an international hackathon came my way this year, again in Germany. Two new friends of mine came to mind that I hadn't worked with before, so I asked if they were interested in joining. Thankfully they were very keen and excited to try a hackathon as they had never gone to one before.

Going into this hackathon I completely changed my frame of mind, I didn't care about winning, my only goal was to have a fun time with my friends, ensuring they had the best hackathon experience possible, with a side goal to try out some new technologies during the hack.

I didn't care about winning, my only goal was to have a fun time with my friends

We came away from the hackathon having had an absolute blast. We celebrated every small win with high fives, cracked jokes the whole time, and made even more memories. What's more, I even managed my personal goal to try something new (web sockets, they are pretty cool). We also managed to do well in the hack and win €500 as well as a trophy, a nice cherry on top.

So how do you do a hackathon right?

From my hackathon experiences I've learnt that it's not about winning, it's about the experience. Have as much fun as you can, celebrate every win with your whole team, use it as an opportunity to grow yourself and your knowledge base. By doing so you will enjoy hackathons far more than if you stressed and tried hard to win, and so will your friends.

Whether you're going in overconfident, or underconfident, attending with friends, or hoping to make some; leave your egos and worries at the door, have fun and pick something new to try and hack together.