Hackathon Playbook Part 1: How to Sponsor
lob.com
lob.com
So many times I've wanted to use a vendor's API but have been held back because it's a Friday night and I need to have an account vetted by a CSR before I can get an API key (looking at you AT&T). This is nonsensical. If you have a vetting process, I suggest that you create say 5-10 hackathon specific accounts and have the necessary login/API keys to send to competitors. Then rekey/reset the passwords on the account for the next event. You will be loved for the ease of setup and if the project becomes something bigger than a weekend deal, I'm sure teams will have no problem going through the setup process.
12. Don't corrupt the event
I stay away from events with large prizes[1] because there's no way to win unless you use the most APIs/products that the main sponsor(s) have provided. Most of the events I've been to have reasonable prizes and it's hard to argue that the most technically excellent project didn't win. Also at those events, if someone doesn't meet the criteria for the award, it goes unclaimed, as it should be. With large prizes 1st place always seems to be a team that gave a 5 minute long commercial for Sponsor X, Y & Z even if the implementation is poor and/or mostly a Powerpoint. The overall competition is harmed as far as I'm concerned.
(I'm not going to mention names because most of these sponsors are otherwise good Hackathon citizens I support)
Probably the worst example of this was an event I went to with a large prize (10-15K or so) and a film crew on set led by a former G4 TV host. It was apparently some sort of Hackathon Reality Show. Well, in the sprit of "Reality" TV the team they were mostly following, containing some of the main sponsor's employees and some photogenic business types, won (surprise!).
The second worst example was an event with a 20K grand prize which was won by a 12 and 9 year old duo along with a (presumably sponsor provided) professional artist and member of the event staff. Their submission was basically a concept with a lot of nice pictures, a well rehearsed speech, and two very adorable kids. It made the rounds on the usual tech sites and probably was worth every penny the sponsor may or may not have paid. The sponsor also had some corporate rep to help keep the hackathon "on brand." I hadn't seen her at the sponsor's past events and she made some ugly faces at me when I was mentioned I use a competitor's API because the sponsor violated Rule #11.
[1] Typically the events I've been to have had 1st place prizes between $0-$2000 and $20,000+ with little in between. I typically look at a :large prize" as being in the former category.
I especially encourage companies that sponsor hackathons to offer live customer support; I remember needing to get information that wasn't available online (for a different company) during HackDuke, and just being frustrated that there were no representatives or support offered at 2 a.m.
One thing that they didn't mention in the article, though is offering samples. Lob and Twilio gave away credit to use their services, and that played a huge part in whether or not teams actually used their products.
Looking forward to the next article.