What Hackathons Taught Me About Building Under Pressure
Four things I keep relearning at hackathons.
Why I like them
Hackathons are tiring and chaotic and I love them. I've done several, including two national-level ones, and these are the things I keep relearning.
1. Ideas are cheap
Everyone has a good idea in the first hour. Getting something people can actually use in 24 hours is where most teams fall apart. Cut everything that isn't the core feature.
2. Talk to your team
I've seen strong teams lose because they didn't talk. Something as small as "who pushes to main?" causes real problems at 4am. Decide early who's coding, who's designing and who's presenting, and then trust each other.
3. Ship ugly, fix later
Our project DeliverZip (parcel delivery on existing bus and train routes) was built in a day and it worked. It wasn't pretty, but it ran.
4. Demo it
Judges would much rather see it working than hear you explain it. Even if the backend is held together with tape, a live demo goes a long way.
