With StartupLive going into it’s second evening as we type this, and the hype for Hack{Cyprus} growing each week, we thought it’s about time someone explains how these hackathon things work…
Strictly speaking a hackathon is the coming together of people to build a computer program/system/company.
However in the startup circles, it includes more and more people and may or may not actually involve hardware/software or even the internet.
So… this is the basic process of a hackathon (some brands/version may differ):
- Ideas are described in front of all attendees by whomever has one (people can attend without having their own idea).
- Ideas are then voted for and people can join teams around them.
- The mission is to build the idea into a business/working-prototype or as close to one as possible.
- Mentors are there to help, guide and assist the teams.
- Experience is gained by everyone involved, be they programmers or designers or business people.
Basically, it’s an adrenaline-packed crash-course into turning and idea into ‘something more’… And in Cyprus, we need more of this ‘something more’.