Builders
How To Form A Hackathon Team That Ships
Keep it small, cover the roles, and agree on the prize split early. A practical guide to building a team that finishes strong.
By HackVillage Team · · 4 min read
The team you walk in with shapes everything that follows. Great teams aren't always the most experienced ones. They are the ones where everyone knows their job and nobody is surprised on demo day. Here is how to build one on HackVillage.
Start Small, Up To Five
Teams hold up to five people, but you rarely need all five. Three or four people who talk often will usually ship more than five who don't. Every extra person adds another opinion to settle before you can build.
Cover The Roles, Not Just The Stack
Read the hackathon page for the roles the organizer wants to see. Then make sure your team covers the basics:
- Someone who can build the core of the product quickly.
- Someone who thinks about the user and the problem in the brief.
- Someone who can design a clear, simple interface.
- Someone who can tell the story in a three minute demo.
One person can cover more than one role. What matters is that nothing is left uncovered.
Agree On The Split Before You Submit
When your team submits its project, you declare how any prize would be split between members, in whole percentages that add up to 100. The prize is paid to the team leader, and the declared split is part of the record. Talk about it early, while everyone is still excited, not after the results are in.
Pick A Leader Who Is Ready To Be Paid
The team leader adds the payout method, an M-Pesa number or a bank account, before winners are announced. Choose someone organized who will actually do it, so your first payout is never waiting on you.
Plan For The Demo From Day One
Judges score against the hackathon's published scorecard. Read it at kickoff and build toward it. A smaller product that clearly works beats an ambitious one that only works in slides.
Found your people? Pick a hackathon and register together.
