Eventornado blog

On March 13, Estonia built on their well-deserved title as the “digital nation” when they launched the online hackathon, Hack The Crisis Estonia.

You’ve built a hackathon, shared it with the world and you’re anticipating the influx of top-notch, high-quality, unbeatable applications, only to be met with… tumbleweed. Not fun.

When it comes to selecting winners, some traditional hackathons choose to stick to good old fashioned demos. That’s when teams are invited to stand up and demonstrate their project for their peers, mentors and judges.

You might not think so, but you can affect a candidate’s chance of success in lots of ways, and it all starts from your first call to submissions.

Estonia claimed its 5th unicorn when Pipedrive was valued at around $1.5 billion. For a country of only 1.3 million people it’s quite an achievement. As one of the founders of Pipedrive I might have some insight into why that is.

A lot has already happened during these four months. It felt like a good time to reflect on the different facets of this experience.

Hackathons have always been popular but since lockdown started, they’ve blown up as businesses and entrepreneurs have taken to the digital world to find workable solutions to the problems society is facing.

Whether you’re new to the hackathon world or you’re a seasoned coder, having a strong team can make or break the entire experience.

Hack For Hope is a virtual hackathon where local and international innovators and tech experts come together to create a reliable solution for the people of Lebanon.

If you thought hackathons were only for engineers and coders, think again. More companies are starting to run their own hackathons both in-house and public, to generate new products, vet quality talent or connect themselves with leading industries.

While at first glance, the idea of running a virtual hackathon may seem like a huge headache, taking the event to an online platform can actually give you a diverse and effective boost.