Lessons from the Hackathon Floor

Author: Anis Timur Shayk

By Anis Timur Shayk | August 12, 2023

We had just 16 hours. Sleep-deprived, energy drinks flowing, and yet somehow, we pulled it off — and won. But beyond the trophy, here's what I really took home:

What I Learned

• ⏱️ Time-box ruthlessly: Every idea sounds cool. Only a few are buildable.
• 🧠 Know your strengths: Assign tasks based on superpowers, not titles.
• 🧩 APIs break. Offline backups don't: Trust nothing. Plan redundancies.
• 💬 Pitch matters: The 2-min demo can win or lose everything.

Hackathons are more than coding sprints. They're pressure cookers for collaboration, clarity, and clever solutions. I can’t recommend them enough.