My Hackathon Experience: Everything you need to know about Hackathons.

You might have been hearing of the word Hackathon for a while now but don’t know what it means. 

It was the same for me too, when my riend first mentioned the term to me, I wondered what we would be hacking. It sounded like “Hack—a—thing” to me. I browsed but couldn’t understand the concept fully. It took the explanation of one of the organizers for me to understand it. 

Well, today you wouldn’t be needing any other help because I broke the concept in simple terms. Just do me a favour, put on your seat belt because we are about to begin the ride.

The word Hackathon is a blend of two words: Hack and Marathon.

The hack is not used in the sense of computer security, but rather an exploratory programming. We all know a marathon to be a long-distance race. To some, it means an endurance contest. Cos common, It takes only the strong-hearted to get involved in it. 

Piecing the both together, A hackathon is a social coding event that brings computer programmers and other people together to solve a particular problem, improve upon a solution or develop a software program. 

Hackathons are being approached as a case study. It’s approached as if you were in a debate. Trying to bring out points(features and strategies), trying to convince the judges(pitching), working with your team(A good management system).  

Hackathons Vary in objective. 

Altruistic Hackathons are those concerned with solving problems in transport, education, health, disaster, e.t.c. 

Let’s use Lagos as a case study. Theme: Transportation.

•  A place like Lagos, Nigeria with great traffic has posed a lot of problems for people going to work, You can’t tell someone in Lagos that you will come to a certain place in 30 minutes without feeling that you have lied because it’s nearly impossible. A lot of people have missed interview opportunities because of it. We need a solution that will help solve this problem. How can you get involved?

•  We have heard about a lot of safety problems in Lagos. Those new to Lagos cannot enter a BRT without feeling they would be kidnapped, most are not even aware of the area they are in most times, which has led to a lot of uproar and feelings of insecurity. We need a solution that can help solve this problem.

Let’s try to work on the second problem. 

Bolt app was built to solve the problem. With bolt, you can be able to hire a driver. Or place an order. Let’s say you are going to your uncle’s house, he can place an order, then start monitoring the drive from his home(security). You, on the other hand, will always be notified If you are entering any area. 

If the driver stops on the road for thirty minutes, the bolt will be alerted and they will have to call him immediately. You see, that’s just it. Very simple. It’s all about solving a problem 

Corporate hackathons are those organized by companies like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, e.t.c for their workers in other to encourage them to develop a new product. It’s also a way to test their employees and encourage those who win with monetary gifts.

Niche hackathon is regarded as those that have to do with video games upgrading, mobile apps, operating system variations, and the web. 

How Do I Get To Engage In A Hackathon? 

There are a lot of hackathons out there, all you have to do is search for them online. Dev Post holds hackathons. You can find them in Event Brite, meetups, WhatsApp groups, and tech communities. 

Check the duration of the hackathon. It usually spans between 48hours- 3 months. 

Find a team and join them. You must not be a programmer. A team with a very diverse skill set works best. Check the theme of the hackathon before deciding to form a team. Know the expertise you would be needing first. 

With hackathon, you can learn more, build relationships, make money, get connections, and get access to free resources or scholarships. Whatever reasons you have for joining, focus on it and make sure your team wins. 

My Hackathon Experiences So far. 

My First Hackathon was held in my School. University of Nigeria, Nsukka. It was about finding a solution for antimicrobial resistance. I am proud to say that I made a lot of mistakes in it because they helped me learn better. However, my team came third place.

Most of the mistakes were: Complex ideas(I didn’t make them understandable), Answering questions sharply, and then not paying much attention to the problem statement. 

I was the best presenter. One of the judges told me my idea was cool. But I had to work on my design thinking. 

For the second hackathon, Well, let me say we never got to present because my team got distracted at some point. Two of our members fought, and then the imposter syndrome kinda lingered. We didn’t even understand most of the rules. We were all smart. Very smart but we ended up making mistakes.  We didn’t even submit the idea. Kai!

In all, you do, try to manage your team effectively, and move on after every argument.

My mom will always say that it’s only a foolish man that fights beside the fire…FOCUS. We also engaged in another one and failed due to a lack of expertise. We had a great idea but none of us could code. 

The fourth Hackathon. Well well, some weren’t enthusiastic about solving the problem. We were just there for the money. It was more like a group of friends doing their thing. At some point, I got angry because they all approached tasks like a joke. I questioned some people’s attitude because it was strange to me but the normal respect me and respect me not thingy filled the air.

Approach Hackathon like a business you are trying to sustain not a proof of friendship arena. 

And that was how I made the basis for choosing my team for the fifth hackathon. People with expertise. Those who are passionate about giving value. And then the focus. 

The hackathon was about solving a problem for farmers. 

You can learn more about it through this link

It was a very tough process for us. At a point, we felt like giving up. Skill-up sessions upon skill-up sessions but we tried as much as possible not to back down and that is how we went from being a part of the 2000 teams to the first 1000 teams. 

We did a lot of brainstorming to come up with ideas. At some point, my parents were begging me to sleep. The day we finally concluded. I had a nap for five hours. This shouldn’t be called a nap again, or is it?😂

The hackathon was so time-consuming that only 100 teams got to submit. Well, I had my bath at exactly 11:59 on the day of the final submission( I had to check the time that day because I promised myself that I will tell the story smiling. And of course I am smiling now)We were part of the top 50 and when the top 10 finalists were out we were one of them.

A sneak-peek into our solution. The farming tips were also written by us🤭

I went to check the profile of the other teams. It was demoralizing. Most of them have engaged in national hackathons before and even won. Most were even coming to pitch their business. It wasn’t funny at all. I just went into a deep sleep after that. Mehhn!

Somebody chatted me up from the mentorship group afterward to congratulate me. He told me his team wasn’t elected and he has spent 7 years in agribusiness. The business is booming. He told me we were smart to have won and that we should keep up with the good work. I called team members to tell them because everyone was now feeling pressured. 

We were lodged in limeridge hotel on the 27th

My team got to pitch at Microsoft headquarters, King Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos on the 28th of June, 2022. It was the best experience ever. Cool environment, Lagos is beautiful. 

We got to learn from the resource persons who attended the event.  

When it was our turn to pitch, I presented, Rhoda was next, and then Justin did the solution description.

We were applauded and received a lot of good remarks with one correction. One of the judges said she would like to work with us. They loved our interface. Kudos to Rhoda. Most people wanted to work with Justin. He is a Software Developer. 

Aww! I know you would like to see them, so let me get into introducing my team

(This section was written by them, that’s why it’s in first person)

Let’s start with my first team mate

I am Justin Chinedu, a 400-level student of Pharmacy Unn. I entered the tech industry in 2015, although not as a software developer, but simply as a designer and artist who loved creativity. I’m very curious by nature, using things without knowing how they work bugs me.

That’s how I became interested in android and how apps were made. After about three years of doing a lot of graphics design jobs I made a move to learn all about software development on Android, then in 2018, I created my mobile app for a music blog I was running.

Fast forward to 2022, I’ve had experiences working as a mobile developer ( Native & Hybrid ) , WordPress developer, Python developer (Desktop & Backend ) , JavaScript NodeJs Developer, UI/UX Designer… I hope to expand further into other fields of my interest.

My Second Team mate

I’m Rhoda, a Visual and Product Designer and also an expert in UX Research.

I am also a Freestyle writer (mostly design blogs), a team player loves collaboration, design cheerleader 🕺😂. Host🥴. Whooo!

My Experience as the Project manager

Well, I must say, it was a lovely experience. I have never been so proud of myself. Coming up with marketing strategies, copies for the app, and product descriptions. Making sure my team kept to deadlines. And then there were arguments but I am glad we handled it well. 

If I were to ask what triggered me to solve an Agro-based problem then it would be the fact my parents stay in the village. And I had a great deal of inspiration watching my dad sell most products in the market. 

The first goal was to make money solving a problem I think he faced. But then at a point, it was more like I wasn’t after the money again. Justin became the trigger. He coded endlessly. At some point, he called to tell me he wanted to quit. I could hear his voice quacking from the other end. Those moments he called, I wished I could code or something. I offered to call in somebody else but he told me it was okay. 

I am Proud of you Justin. You made an App within a short period. You said it’s the most stressful thing you have done this year but I call it your greatest achievement. Cmon man, nobody does it better. 

The trigger extended to my other teammates. Rhoda’s system crashed. She couldn’t design again. I felt bad when she came to relate to us. She was already under a lot of stress but still kept on to time. She has to call a friend to assist her in the work. Thank you, Eme. 

Did I also mention that this was the first time I was meeting Rhoda?😂. She have been my accountability partner since we e- meet each other at SideHustle community Internship. I am currently the Vice President while Rhoda, the Welfare Director(Mama foodie😂) .

It was really crazy seeing her in person. I never knew Rhoda was very tall 😂. Justin on the other hand is my friend and course mate. We are in the same department, Pharmacy.

My last trigger was the fact that I now saw myself as a problem solver. It wasn’t much about the money again but piecing everything together to represent my team and come out fine. 

I am glad I did it. We came out fourth with a cash price of 750k from NITDA. We couldn’t get Sterling bank First three prices.

Was I unhappy? I know that’s your next question. 

Well, I wasn’t. I was very happy. I(We) learned a lot of lessons. The other team’s idea was nice. So their win was deserving. 

I know for sure that this experience will guide me in doing better next time. 

I am Aniefuna Chisom Victoria. I like to identify myself as a brand strategist. It’s something I do without knowing it. From movie reviews down to business. Just in anything. I am also passionate about Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning and other emerging technologies. I just want to solve problems, that’s my own😇

 I hope to expand my horizon in Tech as time goes on. Well, you can call me a Tech girl if you wish. Or maybe a missile. Because I always think of myself as a bomb😊😇

Special thanks to Francis Anieke( Agri-entrepreneur) whose advice was beneficial to us, Ugorgi Caleb, my best analyzer, and Samuel, my favourite machine learning expert. 

You guys are the best🥰

You can watch the full pitch here. It would be best that you go through this link first, come up with your own idea before watching so that you can compare your approach and make corrections based on the judging rules.

Did I answer your question on what a hackathon is? Let me know if there are any questions in the comment box.