How To Prepare For Hackathons: Winning Strategies

Hackathons are events that bring programmers, coders, developers, and others from the community together to compete and collaborate on various web projects. Today, they have become one of the most powerful hiring tools, upskilling tools, and skill showcasing opportunities for organizations and individuals across the globe. Hackathon competitions & other competitive coding events serve as an opportunity for coders to connect with like-minded talented coders and build a network. We are sure that all of you will benefit from participating in these events. But are you wondering about how to prepare for hackathons? And win the bragging rights? If yes, then you have landed at the right place.

Winning is an art that requires practice, determination, and vision, one where you see yourself bagging the spoils of the hacking war. And the most important thing to remember in this journey is to believe in yourself, your team, and your idea. In order to help you bag the winning title, we've listed here a few winning strategy tips, that are sure to give you an edge over your competitors. Check them out!

Plan and Plot

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of how to prepare for hackathons? The primary answer to this is to build a solid plan. Remember that you are participating to win, and everything you do must be done with this goal in mind. The urge to win the competition should make you dream with open eyes. To plan and plot for the hackathon competition study APIs, research, and put everything in place before D-Day. Also, curate ideas, build prototypes, set Github repositories, and brainstorm as much as possible. 

To get an idea of what the Hackathon will be like, sit with your friends and think things through. Distribute the work amongst your teammates and prepare a plan on how to proceed in different components/ segments of the hackathon structure. Conducting a mock to get a clearer picture of the internal workings and whether or not you need to pay additional focus to something, is also a great idea. Remember, perfection comes to those who practice.

Build a winning team

If the competition is to run in teams, make sure your team has wings! A team that believes in each other, can work under pressure, and has great chemistry, is the one that reaches the finals and secures the first position. You need to have a team that is ready to jump off the ledge and push the extra mile if the need arises. Ensure that you have people from different domains so that they can help you build the desired prototype. Apart from front-end and back-end developers, have a graphic designer on board as well. Also, your team must have a clear vision of the idea you’re working on to avoid confusion. Lastly, choose a leader amongst yourselves. This is essential to keep a tap on the internal workings of the team.

Also read: Upcoming Hackathons 2022 Every Engineering Student Must Know!

Think quick and follow the plan

In most cases, you’ll be given a theme on the day of the Hackathon competition. You’ll have to think of an idea on the spot. With the problem in hand, you’ll be tempted to try everything possible and execute maximum ideas to perfect your solution. And that’s the trap that you must avoid! You need to devote sufficient time and energy to brainstorming ideas. Plan how you’ll go about solving the given problem statement and what strategy will suit your idea the best. Think and come up with a maximum number of solutions and pen them down on a sheet of paper. Define the features you’d like to incorporate into your solution, that is, devise implementable, out-of-the-box ideas. Refine your ideas and cross out the ones that sound impractical.

Once you’ve decided to work on a specific idea, define the structure along with the path that your team will walk on, during the course of the hackathon competition. Set priorities for each feature you’ll be working on, and assign tasks to all the members according to the plan and based on their skill set. All in all, discuss the details of your idea and its application on paper, give every team member a clear picture of what the idea is, and divide the work.

Let your Code do the talking

Now that you have the essentials in place, it is time to begin working on your code. Every member of your team must have a task assigned by now and should be working on specific features of the solution/ prototype. While you all need to work on the specific areas you are responsible for, it is important to check in with the team at regular intervals to get a quick glimpse into the overall progress. Take short breaks to not overburden yourself and the team. In case, a member encounters a roadblock, the team must take a collective decision on how to help the member out and stay on the winning track. 

The Presentation

Where most of you wouldn’t want to devote much time to a presentation, delivering a good presentation is vital to increasing your chances of winning the hackathon competition. So, it is important to prepare an impressive presentation, which gives a clear and concise view of your solution/ prototype. Try curating a story around your presentation that has a beginning and an end. Demonstrate your idea well. Make sure your presentation incorporates everything, from the basis of your idea to all the features. Remember, your idea might be better than that of all the other teams but if you aren’t able to pitch it to the employer, your efforts will most likely go in vain.

Cracking a hackathon competition isn’t difficult if you are in it with all the necessary tools. A pinch of everything in the right amount is what will make you win the hackathon. In a nutshell, the answer to how to prepare for hackathons and win is- Think. Ideate. Plan. Code. Play it to win it! #BeUnstoppable 

Here are a few articles that are sure to help you in your hackathon competition journey:

1. A Beginner’s Guide To Hackathons In India
2. Acing Hackathons & Coding Competitions: Top 10 Programming Languages To Learn In 2022
3. Flipkart GRiD Case Study | How An Online Hackathon Helped Flipkart Expedite Recruitment Overseas?
4. Team MisFits - The Perfect Fit For Tally CodeBrewers 2022 Winner Title (Commander of Full Stack Track)
5. Hacks to help you crack your first Hackathon!