Are you interested in joining hackathons but reluctant because you lack the major skills?

If so, remember that you can have a limited skill set, but your attitude and mindset can play a key role in making hackathons successful!

The participants with non-technical skills can create the goals, set the objectives for the team, or take the initiative to lead discussions. If not, they can also take charge of time management and let the developers focus on creation in better ways.

Besides that, you can play many other roles and bring value as a non-techie participant in the hackathons. So, if you want to learn about them all, sit back, sip your coffee, and walk through this article!

What Exactly Is a Hackathon?

A hackathon or codefest is a social coding competition that brings computer programmers together and lets them work together to improve or build new software programs. The word hackathon combines two words: hacker (clever programmer) and marathon.

The idea of a hackathon, hack fest, or hack day was born from the open-source community. The first event, the OpenBSD Hackathon, was held in Canada on June 4, 1999. Most web-based companies and engineering departments adopt this practice to introduce intrapreneurship.

Hackathons are sometimes used to achieve a specific goal or create a product that addresses a specific problem. However, businesses often use this event to pursue employee-driven ideas in a low-risk environment.

Employees can collaborate with other teammates within a given timeframe without pressure to produce a viable product. In modern hackathons, participants create products and attend workshops, engage with sponsors, speak with recruiters, and give presentations.

Why Are Hackathons So Popular?

Hackathons have become so popular because of their creative freedom. During hackathons, the participants can use their expertise to build products instead of following company rules or a specific methodology.

Another reason for their popularity is the learning opportunities they offer the participants. Also, the organizations get access to top talent and find innovative solutions to their problems.

How Do Hackathons Work?

Hackathons are theme-based events. The organizers choose a theme that aligns with their business goals and appeals to the right sponsors, teams, and partners. After that, organizers:

— Choose the hackathon jury, set up the judging criteria, and decide the prizes for winners

— Selection of the venue (organizers can also decide to conduct a virtual hackathon)

— Organizers will also have to arrange the food for the participants in case of offline events.

— Organizers must also set up the equipment for the offline events and arrange the necessary software (Zoom, Slack, and Crowdcast).

To inform others about the hackathon and attract the maximum number of participants, the organizers can also seek help from social media platforms, run paid ads, start email campaigns, or issue a press release. They can also contact accelerators, incubators, and university teaching staff.

The structure will be the same whether they are organizing an online or offline hackathon. The format is so simple and easy to understand that newcomers can easily access it.

Hackathons bring talent together and let them work on a common problem. The organizers ensure that hackers get a relaxing and productive environment for collaboration. Meanwhile, the participants take advantage of this helpful environment to find solutions, learn, and discover better career opportunities.

How Can You Bring Value As A Non-Techie?

Instead of relying on the developers, hackathons should also give non-techie participants a chance as they can add value to the competition. Now, If you are thinking how, find a detailed answer to your query just below:

I. Find Your Specialty

Even if you lack technical skills, you have a great mindset and unique strengths. Therefore, you can add valuable input to your team. So, when you choose a hackathon to participate in, pick the one that challenges your area of expertise or interest.

For instance, if you are a garbage man, you can pick an event to optimize truck routes or reduce trash. There, you will have valuable insights into the field compared to other team members (with technical knowledge).

Hackathons can easily focus on financial issues, the environment, or artificial intelligence. Once found, pick any of your choices. The team can utilize your non-techie skills and in-depth knowledge to find a potential solution to the problem.

II. Testing Or Selling The Products

Knowing how to code a product is not crucial to selling a product. So, be confident and start selling the products that your team has just created. Also, if the product is under construction, that does not matter. You can sell the idea or a prototype.

You can also test the products and show the audience they solve their problems. For example, if your team makes a cryptocurrency arbitrage application, the app helps you send cryptocurrency and make money by taking advantage of different market prices.

You can test that application and record the bugs. Once you have found the areas where the app lacks, you can inform your team. They will work on it, overcome the shortcomings, and create a perfect product. If not, you can also go out and find the producers for the product.

III. Customer Interviews

Find out for whom this product has been built. Once you have a handle on it, contact the customers and see if they are satisfied with the product. You can also send surveys to your friends or people in the same industry and see their feedback on the problem you have provided the solution for. Later, this feedback can be used to make changes and refine the product.

IV. Create The Presentations

At the end of every hackathon, every team has to present the product they have created and show how it solves the problem. It is where you can come up and offer your expertise. You can create a PowerPoint presentation or drawings and present your product to the judges.

Other Suggestions For Non-Technical Team Members Of A Hackathon:

— You can join a team that can teach you something you're interested in.

— You can recruit new team members to brainstorm and help execute ideas.

— You can seek domain expertise, either from data or experts, to support your team's project.

— You can find similar products and let your team make decisions based on this data.

Remember, a new idea isn't always the solution. Researching and reusing old codes can be very helpful. Non-techie participants can research and reduce the team's workload.

Can Non-Technical People Win a Hackathon?

Remember that technical skills are no longer a prerequisite for participating in hackathons. So, non-technical people can participate and win hackathons without programming or coding skills.

So, if you dream of winning hackathons, take advantage of different technologies and tools and create creative solutions that society needs. For instance, Google Cloud and AppSheet are examples of no-code applications.

Both of these apps have been built for democratization. They can also help you create new applications, which can change the traditional ways of building software.

How To Find Hackathons?

Participating in a hackathon can allow you to learn about new technologies and get real-world experiences. It sounds great. But where can you find the hackathons to participate in? Below, you can find different platforms that can inform you about upcoming hackathons:

— Hackathon.com: Find upcoming hackathons and tech events near you easily, along with their locations. If you're new to coding, these events are a great starting point.

— HackathonsNear.me: Get updates on upcoming hackathons based on your location. This site is ideal for finding both professional and college hackathons.

— Raptors.dev: Organize hackathons focused on social good, funded through crowdfunding.

— Devpost.com: Browse hackathons categorized for college students, experienced developers, or enthusiastic developers, making it easier to find what suits you.

— Hackalist.org: Enthusiasts can discover various hackathons here. You can subscribe for the latest updates or even create your own events.

— Devfolio.co: A young company from India with many talented people.

— Taikai.network: Innovative platform driving collaborative challenges and competitions.

Hackathons are competitions where teams with specific skill sets aim to create a product within a few days. If you don't have the required skills but are passionate about participating, you are more than welcome.

Certain roles exist, such as creating the presentations, testing or selling the products, taking customer interviews, or picking a role based on your expertise. You might consider these efforts worthless, but in the end, your little steps can be the major cause of your team's success. So, don't stay home; find your team and show the world how important your non-technical skills can be for the hackathon's success!

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