

Hackathon Playbook Part 1: How to Sponsor - dzhao
https://www.lob.com/blog/hackathon-playbook-part1

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Moto7451
11\. Bring API Keys

So many times I've wanted to use a vendor's API but have been held back
because it's a Friday night and I need to have an account vetted by a CSR
before I can get an API key (looking at you AT&T). This is nonsensical. If you
have a vetting process, I suggest that you create say 5-10 hackathon specific
accounts and have the necessary login/API keys to send to competitors. Then
rekey/reset the passwords on the account for the next event. You will be loved
for the ease of setup and if the project becomes something bigger than a
weekend deal, I'm sure teams will have no problem going through the setup
process.

12\. Don't corrupt the event

I stay away from events with large prizes[1] because there's no way to win
unless you use the most APIs/products that the main sponsor(s) have provided.
Most of the events I've been to have reasonable prizes and it's hard to argue
that the most technically excellent project didn't win. Also at those events,
if someone doesn't meet the criteria for the award, it goes unclaimed, as it
should be. With large prizes 1st place always seems to be a team that gave a 5
minute long commercial for Sponsor X, Y & Z even if the implementation is poor
and/or mostly a Powerpoint. The overall competition is harmed as far as I'm
concerned.

(I'm not going to mention names because most of these sponsors are otherwise
good Hackathon citizens I support)

Probably the worst example of this was an event I went to with a large prize
(10-15K or so) and a film crew on set led by a former G4 TV host. It was
apparently some sort of Hackathon Reality Show. Well, in the sprit of
"Reality" TV the team they were mostly following, containing some of the main
sponsor's employees and some photogenic business types, won (surprise!).

The second worst example was an event with a 20K grand prize which was won by
a 12 and 9 year old duo along with a (presumably sponsor provided)
professional artist and member of the event staff. Their submission was
basically a concept with a lot of nice pictures, a well rehearsed speech, and
two very adorable kids. It made the rounds on the usual tech sites and
probably was worth every penny the sponsor may or may not have paid. The
sponsor also had some corporate rep to help keep the hackathon "on brand." I
hadn't seen her at the sponsor's past events and she made some ugly faces at
me when I was mentioned I use a competitor's API because the sponsor violated
Rule #11.

[1] Typically the events I've been to have had 1st place prizes between
$0-$2000 and $20,000+ with little in between. I typically look at a :large
prize" as being in the former category.

~~~
dzhao
These are very good points, thanks for the feedback. We are planning on
putting out a piece for Hackathon organizers as well based on the discussions
and feedback we've gotten from other sponsors as well as participants.

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jbarrow
It's not surprising to see this post from Lob; the first time I heard of them
was actually at HackDuke, and then again at HackVirginia. I think they do an
excellent job sponsoring hackathons, and the advice here reflects that.

I especially encourage companies that sponsor hackathons to offer live
customer support; I remember needing to get information that wasn't available
online (for a different company) during HackDuke, and just being frustrated
that there were no representatives or support offered at 2 a.m.

One thing that they didn't mention in the article, though is offering samples.
Lob and Twilio gave away credit to use their services, and that played a huge
part in whether or not teams actually used their products.

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rudolfosman
Great post! I've sponsored a couple of hackathons and so far what's happened
is that I ended up: a) being part of some team that was struggling internally
because there were conflicting frameworks/products; b) supporting several
other teams that didn't know how to use my product.

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sycren
The irony of finding this when I'm looking for sponsors for a UK Student
hackathon...

Looking forward to the next article.

