[t0mbstone]

I've actually won three separate hackathons, some of which had fairly large prizes (such as $5,000 in cash to our team).

Here's my quick list for how to win a hackathon:

1. Pick team mates who are rock stars (I had at least one "10X" programmer on each of my winning hackathon teams). This is probably the most important point. Nothing is more important than who you choose as a team mate.

2. Pick a project that is easy to explain that also captures peoples imagination. The more people that your idea resonates with, the better.

3. Make use of frameworks and toolkits. Now is NOT the time to learn a new language (if you want to win). The faster you can stand up a functioning prototype, the better.

4. Put together an awesome demo. I've literally seen someone win a hackathon with an amazing presentation and zero working code before. Don't underestimate the importance of the presentation!

[NickSingh]

Great tips! Resonates with a lot of what I wrote about!