5 Factors for a Successful Blockchain Hackathon
Hackathons have been a way of testing out software vulnerabilities for a while now but what are they, how can they boost a product and how can a company make its hackathon successful?
Hackathon: an event, typically lasting several days, in which a large number of people meet to engage in collaborative computer programming.
Google definition
Blockchain hackathons bring members of the programming community together to test out blockchain platforms, building applications on top of them and trying to discover vulnerabilities in the platform. The participants are rated by experts and the platform creators at the end of the event and are usually awarded cash prizes for fulfilling the challenges set out at the beginning of the contest. Hackathons can also be held internally within an organization to test a product, but here we shall consider those contests which are open to the wider developer community at large.
A successful hackathon is one which produces a whole range of ideas leading to further applications of a blockchain platform, increases in the strength of the platform’s security and much more. These events boost the company’s profile throughout the community and are a chance to boost users as developers can be won over by the innovative nature of a company’s platform. In general, developers love to experiment and come up with new ideas, and offering cash rewards, in addition to career opportunities to participants is a great way to innovate and promote your blockchain platform.
1. Set clear requirements for the hackathon
Having a clear definition of the what is expected from participants is the first and most important aspect of any hackathon.
Such requirements should include:
- Dates and duration of of the event, in addition to venue and preparation time. It is best to give these instructions with adequate time so that participants can make the requisite preparation and read documentation about the platform so that they can get straight down to competing without delay.
- Rules of the contest should set out the logic for who is eligible to participate, in addition to setting limits on team sizes. Setting a test task to define level eligibility is also a good method to exclude less able candidates.
- Criteria of assessment should be concise so that there is no misunderstanding as to why some participant receive awards, whilst others do not. This is also a key requirement and helps to avoid bringing about a negative image for the blockchain platform.
- What the awards themselves constitute so that developers know what they stand to gain for coming out as victorious.
2. Build buzz
Getting people excited for your hackathon is another key component to holding a successful event. Failing to do so can result in a low turnout, in addition to low skill developers attending, meaning low quality app development and platform vulnerabilities not being exposed.
Building buzz can be done by:
- Showing excitement yourself by highlighting the opportunities that the event presents to both the company which created the platform and the developers taking part to win coveted prizes. Bigging up the prizes on offer and showing how this is a great opportunity for developers to show off their skills is a great way to bring in talent.
- Making explanatory videos showing the platform capabilities, in addition to creating a pitch deck that is oriented towards developers. This can give participants ideas before the beginning of the event and get them excited about the possibility of winning. Moreover, budding participants are likely to tell others. Focussing on creating information geared towards developers shows how you know your stuff and expect high quality submissions.
- Create a forum in which those interested may pose questions about the hackathon or make suggestions. This could be in the form of a special Telegram group with dedicated admins who can answer any questions that prospective participants may have with an allocating time to reply to queries.
- Invite big name sponsors to become part of the jury and get them to promote the event via their media channels.
3. Holding the hackathon
Structuring the event properly sets the tone for your hackathon:
- Set an adequate lead time in which participants have to prepare in addition to holding a preparatory presentation from the lead solutions consultant and the system architect. Give participants who have qualified to take part the chance to pose questions in person as part of an open forum before, during and after the presentation.
- Have mid-seniority employees on hand to answer queries during the process of taking part. Having your people around shows those taking part that your company is taking the event seriously and really values how developers have taken time to take part.
- Do one’s best to make developers feel comfortable by providing a perfect environment with comfy and adequate seating, desks and a good internet connection. In addition, free coffee, snacks and meals should be provided. No developer likes to go hungry and nothing good is ever made on an empty stomach!
- Stick to the allotted time and other rules set forth to make the hackathon a fair one. Stepping outside the rule book could result in people questioning the nature of the contest and the company itself, leading to claims of bias towards certain participants. An impartial event demonstrates company values and builds trust towards the company and platform.
- Have predefined assessment criteria for work submitted. These may include innovation of application development, expected impact on the market of such an app, value of intellectual property created, feasibility of the concept and others.
- Allow participants to present their efforts at the end of the hackathon. This goes hand in hand with having transparent assessment criteria which may include a vote in which participants also vote for winners between themselves, in addition to an explanation from the jury as to why certain winners have been chosen.
4. Analyze the outcome internally
The whole point of holding a hackathon is not only to boost the usage of your blockchain platform amongst the dev community, but also to produce tangible results and show that your platform is a viable option for building blockchain-based applications.
Following the hackathon:
- Assess all of the issues raised about the operation of the platform and any vulnerabilities exposed by hackathon participants. Such an audit will mean that problems can be patched up before and during the platform’s release, and improve the end product.
- Look at how concepts were developed to improve the process and make it simpler for future users. Moreover, this may also offer further ideas for future proof of concepts that can be presented and worked over.
- Congratulate all of the participants and post information about the event across all of your media channels. Use this opportunity to promote your organization and show that you are a real part of the community, working to make a product that will benefit users.
5. Platform as a product
We at Apla have aimed to build our platform as a complete product that is ready for app creation. As the basis for the platform we recognised that other blockchain platforms, whether permission or permissionless, require in-depth knowledge of blockchain programming languages to create smart contracts, in addition to being user-unfriendly.
What sets the Apla blockchain platform apart:
- Low programming skill requirements via the semantic-complete Prototypo language.
- Extensible framework for blockchain applications.
- Permissioned blockchain development in а flexible environment.
- Comfortable coding via front/back apps in one window.
- Rapid application development in days, not weeks.
- Customizable business logic of your application.
- Flexible integration and system of access rights management.
- Marketspace for your applications.
Running a hackathon properly makes it memorable for the developers taking part, whilst it also provides a stream of ideas that can lead to greater platform innovation.
This is your chance to present your product and build a loyal community around it, so make the most of it by creating a pleasant and encouraging environment for developers in which experimentation and innovation are central.
Join our remote hackathon from wherever you are right now!
https://talk.bountyone.io/t/apla-blockchain-hackathon/393
A certified project manager, software developer and passionate linguist, Dmitry believes that the blockchain technology can change the world for the better, eliminating bureaucracy and corruption, and allowing people to take control of their countries by conducting transparent voting on blockchain.
Blockchain Business Review from Apla provides high-quality educational material from the world of blockchain to inform the business community of the competitive advantage that can be gained by integrating distributed ledger data storage within organizations. Our mission is to promote knowledge about blockchain and its uses in both the private and public sector and demonstrate the value of blockchain integration.
