This Is Why Hackathons Are Essentially Useless
TD Ameritrade’s CIO argues that for every successful “like”-button-type concept that’s developed from a hackathon, a lot of work is put into ideas that never make it past the day of the event
By Vijay Sankaran
One afternoon, as I was listening to an earnest presentation from a well-intentioned employee trying to solve one of our clients’ biggest pain points, I felt a familiar sinking feeling. This person has put a ton of work and heart into this, and as one of umpteen pitches today out of an internal hackathon, I knew it wasn’t going to go anywhere. Right then, I decided there must be a better way.
A CIO’s job is to make sure their company is using the latest technologies and innovative practices to bolster its competitive advantage and deliver the kinds of valuable experiences that its customers deserve. One of the richest resources available to do that job well is their team and the ideas they bring to work with them every day. But ideas without the proper support and distribution channels are essentially useless.
Born out of Silicon Valley startups, large-scale internal hackathons rose in popularity among corporations over the past decade as a way to tap into…
