Post on 30-Jul-2015
HOW TO WIN HACKATHON
BASED PURELY ON YOUR POWERS OF PERSUASION
MY HACKATHON TEAMS
Team Sarcastic Pig, People’s Choice Winners, August 2013 Which Blockhead Are You?, Most Commercially Viable, March 2014
Couchfit, Design Award, September 2014
YOUR HACK ISIRRELEVANT
YOUR HACK IS
IRRELEVANT(MOSTLY)
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PITCH
“In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative original thinker unless you can also sell what you create. Management cannot be expected to recognize a good idea unless it is presented to them by a good salesman.”
- David Ogilvy
THE IMPORTANCE OF SELLING
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2
34
PLAN
PRACTICE LOTS
STOP EARLY DON’T BREAK
STUFF
BUILD ONLY WHAT’S
NEEDED
5
PRESENT AND SELL LAY THE
GROUNDWORK
YOUR HACKATHON PLAN
1. PLAN
WHO ARE THE JUDGES?
You’ve got limited time. Use it wisely!
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
ENVISION THE IDEAL DEMO
WORK BACKWARDS FROM THERE
2. BUILD
MINIMUM VIABLE PRODUCT
THINK MVP
Photo by Pratul Kalia
AT LEAST 1 HOUR
3. STOP EARLY
DON’T BREAK STUFF
Photo by Lynn Kelley Author
4. PRACTICE LOTS
S H A R P
STORIES
HUMOUR
ANALOGIES
REFERENCES
PICTURES
4. PRACTICE LOTS
Photos by umjanedoan, Earls37a, Michael Dunn, Sybren Stüvel, Alexey Kljatov, and Marsh Gardiner.
INFORM WOW
5. PRESENT
Don’t forget to leave time for questions!
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2
34
PLAN
PRACTICE LOTS
STOP EARLY DON’T BREAK
STUFF
BUILD ONLY WHAT’S
NEEDED
5
PRESENT AND SELL LAY THE
GROUNDWORK
YOUR HACKATHON PLAN
THANK YOU
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