Why tech companies should host hackathons

Who said work has to be boring?

Today’s tech companies are defying that decades-old stereotype in countless ways. Gone are monotonous meetings and stiff, stuffy suits. Instead, we have forward-thinking cultures and hackathons.

Now you might be asking … a what-a-thon? Well, let us explain.

What is a hackathon?

Imagine an event that mixes programmers and creatives with 24-hour deadlines and lots and lots of Red Bull. In a nutshell, that’s a hackathon. To be more specific, this is an event where teams compete to create prototype applications, solve complex problems or formulate business plans over the course of just one or two days.

The finished projects are then presented to a panel of judges – often after teams have worked into, or through, the wee hours of the morning. Prizes are awarded, and the top hackathon ideas may actually be incorporated into a tech product or business.

Hackathons are fast-paced, competitive and the birthplace for some of the brightest software solutions. This is exactly why tech companies of all sizes should be hosting their very own hackathons.

Benefits of a hackathon for tech companies

Hackathons go above and beyond your typical company event. Here are the top benefits they bring to your business.

• Create a greater sense of community: The best hackathon teams are made up of individuals from across departments. A mix of players from engineering, marketing, business development, sales, etc., allow everyone’s unique skills to shine for a better finished product. It also gives employees who might not normally work with one another the chance to go from strangers to co-champions.
• Acts as an idea-generating machine: Taking risks in your everyday job might affect your fellow coworkers or customers. However, taking risks in a hackathon can pay off. Since these events are more casual, participants have nothing to lose and everything to gain when crafting pie-in-the-sky ideas.
• Exposure to leadership: For internal hackathons, tech companies often choose members of the leadership team as judges. This gives participants the chance to not only meet those at the helm but also impress them. Hackathons break down company hierarchy and give a voice to those who work with and know the software best.
• Better technology updates faster: The ultimate winner of any successful hackathon shouldn’t be the competitors themselves. Instead, it’s the company’s customers. You’re looking for bullseye ideas – the ones that hit the mark to make your product stronger. Incorporating winning prototypes pays off big for those who rely on your tech day in and day out.

Go next level with these hackathon ideas

Great minds. Great ideas. Great fun. Hackathons are … well, great. But here’s a few tips to make yours even greater:

• Involve the entire company. As we mentioned earlier, there is value in adding in those outside the engineering or product worlds. Getting different-minded individuals together is good for more than just company culture. It also stimulates creative juices for more innovative fixes. What makes these special is that anyone could have the next best idea for the company because nobody knows the customers and product more than everyone working day in and out with both. You don’t have to know how to dev to have a great idea for tech or business.
• Why stop at one winner? Reward second and third place prizes to further incentive participation throughout your company. Miscellaneous honors like “Audience Choice” or “Best Sales Pitch” spread the recognition wealth around, too.
• Go virtual. You don’t have to wait until COVID-19 wraps to host your first hackathon. Embrace the digital sphere and use tech tool to sync up teams and present ideas to judges.
• Encourage out-of-the-box thinking all around. Remember how this post started? Hackathons are supposed to be fun. Ask participants to craft creative team names, don matching shirts or work whimsy into their presentations to keep things interesting.
• Repeat it. What worked once should work again, right? Don’t just hack once – hack again and again. When you make this an annual event, it becomes a part of your company culture. This establishes your brand as an innovator, potentially attracting top talent your way.

Buildertrend just got its hack on

Buildertrend is no stranger to hackathons. We just hosted our annual hackathon last week in an attempt to find ideas that advance our already robust construction project management software.

Here was the first-place winning team.

A huge thank you to all our participating teams for their ideas and ingenuity. Employees from all corners of the company teamed up to flex their creative muscles on projects they’re passionate about and move our software forward.

For those of you who worked through the night, go catch some Zs.