Written by @annelisa

My journey with hackathons began when I joined the Gitcoin Hackathons Team in March 2022. Initially, I had no clue about hackathons, and I saw them as just a marketing tactic for organizers and a quick way for participants to make money. However, my perspective changed completely as I got hands-on experience with our partner organizations.

Hackathons are much more than just coding competitions. They are hubs for innovation, community building, and expanding the web3 ecosystem. When organized well, they benefit everyone involved, creating a win-win situation that moves the entire web3 space forward.

You might wonder, “Can hackathons really do all that?” Well, the answer is yes, but it takes strategic execution.

In this blog post, I’ll explore the reasons behind hackathon failures. I’ll cover the factors contributing to hackathon successes in another post to keep things concise for you…because I’ve got a lot to say about this topic lol.

Hosting a hackathon seemingly requires a lot of effort. There’s a lot of moving pieces when it comes to organizing a hackathon – and when you factor in the constraints of time and resources, that sh*t is actually really tough.

At a very basic level, a hackathon needs these four essential ‘things’ —

• Challenges and Prizes: self-explanitory

• Learning Resources: developer documentation

• Communication Channel(s): Discord, Telegram, Twitter, email

• Rules and Guidelines: submission dates, judging criteria

…sounds easy, right? Well, that’s just the starting point. While these elements lay the groundwork for running a hackathon, transforming ideas into successful events demands meticulous planning, coordination, and adaptability. However, some hackathons fail due to a variety of reasons:

• Unclear Goals/Unrealistic Expectations: When hackathon goals are unclear or unrealistic, participants may struggle to find inspiration, resulting in outcomes that fall short of potential. Additionally, setting unattainable goals or timelines leads to disappointment.

• Poor Planning: Insufficient preparation, characterized by resource shortages and improper scheduling, disrupts the smooth flow of the event, hindering productivity and success.

• Limited Engagement: Low turnout or disengaged participants weakens the collaborative atmosphere necessary for achieving successful outcomes.

• Insufficient Support & Communication: Without adequate mentorship and assistance, participants may feel unsupported. Furthermore, ineffective communication channels can create barriers to collaboration.

• Lack of Follow-Up: Failure to support successful projects and/or foster ongoing collaboration can result in missed opportunities for further development and the sustainability of innovation.

• Lack of Inclusivity: Limited accessibility, unwelcoming environments, and exclusionary themes. Rectifying this demands diverse organizing teams and consideration of participants’ skillsets, perspectives, and needs.

I’ll be honest here…I’ve also noticed that some hackathons flop simply because the organizers didn’t genuinely care about the event or the participants from the start. It seemed like they just wanted to throw some money into marketing, and hackathons happened to be the latest trend. They didn’t put much effort into fostering education or ongoing innovation for the participants. They ran their challenges, handed out prizes, and called it a day. But that’s not how you grow ecosystems, at all.

For organizers who truly do care though, hackathon failure becomes a learning experience. It’s about recognizing opportunities for growth and iterating for improvement. Especially with newer ecosystems, the first hackathon might not always bring the hype or groundbreaking results, but it’s a starting point for continuous progress.

Think of organizing hackathons as similar to nurturing a plant. It requires a lot of care and attention to foster community growth and allow it to flourish over time.

Written by @annelisa

My journey with hackathons began when I joined the Gitcoin Hackathons Team in March 2022. Initially, I had no clue about hackathons, and I saw them as just a marketing tactic for organizers and a quick way for participants to make money. However, my perspective changed completely as I got hands-on experience with our partner organizations.

Hackathons are much more than just coding competitions. They are hubs for innovation, community building, and expanding the web3 ecosystem. When organized well, they benefit everyone involved, creating a win-win situation that moves the entire web3 space forward.

You might wonder, “Can hackathons really do all that?” Well, the answer is yes, but it takes strategic execution.

In this blog post, I’ll explore the reasons behind hackathon failures. I’ll cover the factors contributing to hackathon successes in another post to keep things concise for you…because I’ve got a lot to say about this topic lol.

Hosting a hackathon seemingly requires a lot of effort. There’s a lot of moving pieces when it comes to organizing a hackathon – and when you factor in the constraints of time and resources, that sh*t is actually really tough.

At a very basic level, a hackathon needs these four essential ‘things’ —

• Challenges and Prizes: self-explanitory

• Learning Resources: developer documentation

• Communication Channel(s): Discord, Telegram, Twitter, email

• Rules and Guidelines: submission dates, judging criteria

…sounds easy, right? Well, that’s just the starting point. While these elements lay the groundwork for running a hackathon, transforming ideas into successful events demands meticulous planning, coordination, and adaptability. However, some hackathons fail due to a variety of reasons:

• Unclear Goals/Unrealistic Expectations: When hackathon goals are unclear or unrealistic, participants may struggle to find inspiration, resulting in outcomes that fall short of potential. Additionally, setting unattainable goals or timelines leads to disappointment.

• Poor Planning: Insufficient preparation, characterized by resource shortages and improper scheduling, disrupts the smooth flow of the event, hindering productivity and success.

• Limited Engagement: Low turnout or disengaged participants weakens the collaborative atmosphere necessary for achieving successful outcomes.

• Insufficient Support & Communication: Without adequate mentorship and assistance, participants may feel unsupported. Furthermore, ineffective communication channels can create barriers to collaboration.

• Lack of Follow-Up: Failure to support successful projects and/or foster ongoing collaboration can result in missed opportunities for further development and the sustainability of innovation.

• Lack of Inclusivity: Limited accessibility, unwelcoming environments, and exclusionary themes. Rectifying this demands diverse organizing teams and consideration of participants’ skillsets, perspectives, and needs.

I’ll be honest here…I’ve also noticed that some hackathons flop simply because the organizers didn’t genuinely care about the event or the participants from the start. It seemed like they just wanted to throw some money into marketing, and hackathons happened to be the latest trend. They didn’t put much effort into fostering education or ongoing innovation for the participants. They ran their challenges, handed out prizes, and called it a day. But that’s not how you grow ecosystems, at all.

For organizers who truly do care though, hackathon failure becomes a learning experience. It’s about recognizing opportunities for growth and iterating for improvement. Especially with newer ecosystems, the first hackathon might not always bring the hype or groundbreaking results, but it’s a starting point for continuous progress.

Think of organizing hackathons as similar to nurturing a plant. It requires a lot of care and attention to foster community growth and allow it to flourish over time.