How can you use hackathons to generate new ideas and solutions?

In my startup, we centered our business model on social impact-driven hackathons, making them a core strategy for CSR. Our true innovation wasn't the hackathon but its unique precursor: the 'ideathon.' In these ideathons, we explored community issues, amplified real stories, and identified urgent challenges. This approach—focused on problem identification and solution brainstorming—was pivotal. Before coding began, our ideathons provided participants a clear, actionable roadmap. By uniting ideas with action, our hackathons became hubs where innovation sparked real-world impact.

As with any product initiative, the goal is the key! You can go with a theme, but having a certain problem to fix will always result in a solution to consider and grow. The worst thing to do is to issue a hackathon for "devs to pursue their ideas". 9/10 of them will use the time to do a little work on a pesky unrefactored piece of code that drives them mad. It's not bad fundamentally, but that's not what hackathons are for!

Define the challenge, but make sure that there is space for exploring unconventional approaches. Sometimes the people taking part in the hackathon can recast the challenge in better ways than you could, so do not force your control of things.

A well structured hackathon can work brilliantly, if you: - Create a common bond so that people are genuinely excited about the process and outcomes - That you are genuinely going to implement ideas - That people are clear on any (as few as possible) constraints. - That you provide the resources to collate data and insights quickly. - That you always ensure that your teams are coming back to the problem they solve for the consumer

If you are a Product Manager on a hackathon, this is your chance to practice your sales pitching skills. Make sure to present your idea in an inspiring and entertaining way. Make devs want to work with you on your great idea! As always, you need data, client value, and perhaps some visuals -> Pitches are a completely different topic, but in the context of a hackathon, it's an awesome thing for you to present! Especially since as a PM, you likely won't be able to do a lot of coding yourself...

A cohesive team is good and all, but it isn't a great hackathon if you don't have some jokers in there. Invite at least one person who can act the contrarian, the critic, the alternative voice. Otherwise it's less a hackathon, more a coffee klatch.

Research and brainstorming is fun! Too fun at times. Yes, you need this phase, but it is really easy to get stuck in it. Make sure to limit the time for research and idea generation, to get people to the things that make hackathons important – actually hacking up a solution. Cut the initial time for ideation, you can always come back to it and do research while you hack.

Investigate relevant tools, and platforms that can be leveraged to build your solution. Consider the suitability and scalability of your chosen technology stack. Once you've selected the most promising idea, create a basic prototype or proof of concept. This can help you validate the feasibility of your solution and provide a tangible representation of your idea. Be prepared to iterate as it's unlikely you will get the initial concept 100% right. Continue to seek feedback from potential users and use their insights to refine your idea and prototype further. Remember, "Perfect is the enemy of done"!

This is the best part. We love building (& making things)!! Build it & let people try it. So amazing to CREATE. Build. Grow. Innovate. Thanks - Sheila

It was such joyous experience to be part of the Committee of the Law tech Hackathons. the participants did work smart for the Problem Statement to connect with the judge and others during the pitching episode. that is always exciting networking activities in any hackathon to mingle and share the ideas with one another for the social impact in the future. that also bring out more MNC companies to sponsor a big CSR to the community for all this significant event. Truly appreciated.

What sets good experimenters apart is not that they try out the most things, but that they document their tests properly. Make sure you have a person who is responsible for documenting both the ideas, the process, what went wrong, and what you learnt. Make sure that all this documentation gets saved, is easily found, and built upon. Otherwise you are running a playground rather than a learning organization.

Think of hackathons as creative cook-offs where teams whip up innovative solutions against the clock. It's like Iron Chef, but with code and designs instead of ingredients. Startups, companies, and organizations host hackathons to brew fresh ideas, test prototypes, and nurture creativity. But you can summon this creative cauldron for your own projects! Gather your crew, set a timer, and let the brainstorming chaos reign. It's like a rapid-fire idea circus where the impossible becomes 'Let's do it!' So, if you seek a sprinkle of enchantment for your goals and challenges, host a hackathon. You might just conjure the next big thing while sipping your 10th coffee!