Hackathon Playbook Part 2: How to Organize an Event | Hacker News Reader

Hackathon Playbook Part 2: How to Organize an Event

lob.com

19 pointsdzhao6 comments

Point 2 is a bit much I think. I've attended/sponsored/prepared hackathons in the past and all have been great without needing their own mobile app.

The other points are all valid. I'd add that sponsors should be aware of point 8 from the get go. If you sound like a pushy sales guy trying to add your company's API to "hacks" that don't need it the attendees will remember your company for the wrong reasons. If you have product development, pitching, or technical experience that applies you should share it.

> Many talented hackers will stay away from events with large prizes because there's no way to win unless you use the most APIs/products that the main sponsor(s) have provided

This has been my experience at both HackDuke and PennApps with the additional issue of favoritism towards students from the host college.

You can rephrase "Don't let sponsors take over" to "Minimal participation from sponsors"

What are some general guidelines around network speed to follow?

For 1000 Hackers: Backend: At minimum get a 1Gigabit line, try to get a 5Gigabit line. Frontend: This is usually where the problem is. Many hackathons spend 20-40k on this. Do not get super routers (those big routers that claim to handle 250 people at once), they get clogged. Hacktech.io had many problems with that. Have routers placed throughout the area. Get a wired internet connection for your sponsors at the minimum. At hackathon.launch.co they had wired connections for every hacker, which was impressive. You should definitely have 10-20 switches lying around for hackers to connect with. It will help unclog the network. But if you can get a wired connection for everyone that is even better.

Also, often times the computer that aren't capable of going on 5Ghz WiFi networks have lots of problems connecting. 5Ghz networks are capable of handling more connections and don't have as many problems with interference. All new macs and most new smartphones are capable of 5Ghz. Although many PCs may only be capable of 2.4Ghz, which can have many problems with interference. If you have any questions about your setup and how to do it cheaply, email me at shrav@hshacks.com.

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