Innovation – the generation of new ideas, products, or processes – is an iterative and creative process that can make your business truly stand out among competitors. One particular tactic, often employed by leading tech companies, is the hosting and sponsoring of hackathons. These time-bound competitions bring together diverse teams of developers, engineers, and entrepreneurs to solve complex challenges, experiment with new technologies, and rapidly prototype solutions.
In this article, discover why tech companies should run a hackathon, as we unveil the full suite of benefits these events offer. Learn how top players leverage hackathons to propel growth and innovation.
Hackathons boost your brand awareness
In the previous section, we’ve highlighted how hackathons can attract media coverage and offer users direct product experiences – which are great ways to promote the brand! But beyond that, hackathons also serve as a strategic approach for a company to establish itself as the tech leader in the industry. By consistently hosting or sponsoring hackathons, they can showcase their unwavering commitment to innovation, which does not mean just keeping pace but actively driving them. Hackathons also generate meaningful content, such as case studies, success stories, and thought leadership articles, which can be leveraged to further enhance brand credibility and build a community of brand advocacies.
Case study: Hedera Hashgraph’s Hello Future Hackathon
Hedera Hashgraph is an enterprise-grade distributed ledger technology platform designed to offer secure, fast, and scalable decentralized applications. To boost their brand awareness within the blockchain industry, especially enterprise companies, Hereda collaborated with AngelHack to host the Hello Future Hackathon – a series that covers 8 cities across the world.
Participants were challenged to leverage Hedera to create practical decentralized applications (dApps) in prominent industries like finance, supply chain, and healthcare, to be implemented at enterprise-level scale and complexity. With Hello Future, Hedera managed to engage with over 5,000 developers, incubate over 500 new projects and attract a substantial amount of media coverage. This initiative was able to demonstrate the platform’s high capability and positioned the brand as the pioneer in enterprise blockchain technologies.
Hackathons accelerate product adoption and development
Hackathons are a powerful way to attract thousands of new users and increase product adoption, by immersing tech enthusiasts in hands-on experiences with the product. Participants are encouraged to experiment with the product features, leading to the discovery of new use cases and applications. The immediate feedback loop during hackathons also helps companies refine their product offerings to stay current with technology advancements and evolving customer needs.
Hackathons also turn participants into advocates who share their positive experiences with others, driving organic adoption. They also attract attention from the press and social media, creating a buzz that extends widely to the public audience.
Case study: Google’s AI hackathons
Google’s AI hackathons are strategically designed to drive the adoption and development of their AI technologies. By engaging developers in a wide range of challenges with different partners, Google is able to showcase the power and versatility of their AI tools across industries.
Google Cloud x Formula E Hackathon (2024)
Solutions for race safety and efficiency, breaking the world record with 1,130 attendees in a generative AI hackathon.
Google Cloud x Square Hackathon (2023)
Solutions to improve business operations and customer experiences, attracting over 2,500 participants, fostering innovations such as “Aisle” for optimized checkouts and “Snap Cart” for inventory management.
Google Cloud x Dstl hackathon
Solutions to help strengthen the United Kingdom’s UK defence and security, in collaboration with the nation’s leaders, scientists, and policymakers.
Hackathons empower innovation through technology
Hackathons accelerate innovation by offering a fast-paced environment where teams rapidly prototype and refine ideas, unlike the traditional research and development process that can be lengthy and resource-intensive. These events attract a large number of tech enthusiasts, each with their own creative approach, leading to the quick development of minimum viable products (MVPs), or prototypes. These prototypes are ready for launch within just a few days, allowing companies to quickly gather practical feedback, refine features, and assess the viability. Once validated, these solutions can be deployed immediately, giving companies a competitive edge over others.
Case study: IBM’s Call for Code
The Call for Code’s annual hackathon series from IBM is a compelling example of how tech companies can empower global innovation. Each year, the competition focuses on a specific theme, such as climate change, disaster response, or racial justice, aligning technological innovation with urgent societal needs.
Participants are encouraged to leverage IBM’s suite of tools and platforms, including IBM Cloud, IBM Watson, and IBM Blockchain, to build their solutions. They also have access to IBM resources, mentorship, and a global network of experts. As a result, these innovations not only have practical impacts but also broaden the IBM community and ecosystem.
Winning projects are supported by IBM and its partners to be scaled and implemented in real life. Just take a look at these 2023 winners and how they have made the world a better place!
- Farmistar: weather forecasts and AI-driven crop management strategies for small farmers.
- Phyto: AI-powered geospatial and weather analytics tool to rehabilitate contaminated soil naturally.
- Offshelf: Speech-to-speech solution to help households reduce food waste.
Hackathons foster strong developer relations
The developer community is defined by its passion for innovation, problem-solving, continuous learning and collaboration. Hackathons naturally complement these characteristics by providing a dynamic environment where developers can work together, explore new technologies, and push the boundaries of what’s possible.
Additionally, hackathons serve as networking hubs, connecting tech companies with potential partners, subject matter experts, and top talents within the industry. These changes not only drive strategic partnerships but also strengthen the broader tech community.
Case study: AngelHack’s hackglobal series
The hackglobal series by AngelHack is a global initiative that unites developers, designers, and entrepreneurs through high-impact hackathons across multiple cities. The series focuses on solving pressing industry challenges, often in partnership with leading tech companies and organizations that provide problem statements, resources, and mentorship. These challenges span a wide range of themes and industries, allowing participants to work on projects that align with their interests and expertise.
More than just a competition; it’s a platform for innovators to connect, collaborate, and contribute to the global tech community. Participants can access the wealth of resources provided by AngelHack and their extensive partner network, including global leaders such as Google, AWS, Microsoft and IBM. Winning projects go on to receive fundings and incubation programs, helping them evolve as startups or integrate directly with the sponsoring companies.
After a decade-long run, hackglobal has engaged over 50,000 participants from more than 50 cities worldwide, fostering a strong tech slash developer community that is home to hundreds of innovative solutions and successful startups.
See how hackglobal has supported Ava Labs in fostering developer relations and real-world solutions:
Hackathons help you recruit top talents
Last but not least, hackathons are a dynamic platform for tech companies to identify and attract a diverse pool of talents – from product managers, developers, designers, to marketing and sales professionals. Unlike traditional recruitment methods that rely heavily on resumes and interviews, hackathons offer a unique environment where participants are challenged to demonstrate their technical skills, creativity, and problem-solving abilities under time-bound and collaborative settings. This allows recruiters to gain a more practical and holistic assessment of a candidate’s capabilities. Moreover, hackathons offer the opportunity for recruiters to build relationships with top talent in the industry, even if they are not immediately available for hire. By working together, companies can get closer to their desirable talents, get to know their wants and needs, or provide the right reward or support one may need to switch jobs.
Case study: Microsoft’s Imagine Cup
As one of the most prestigious student technology competitions, Microsoft’s Imagine Cup was first launched in 2003, bringing young innovators from around the globe together. Starting with national and regional competitions, the hackathon culminates in a global final for students to create solutions that address real-world challenges using Microsoft technologies like Azure and Visual Studio. Microsoft directly extends job offers, internships and collaboration opportunities to outstanding individuals, highlighting the Imagine Cup as their strategic tool to recruit and nurture top talent in the tech industry.
Final words
Hackathons have become a crucial strategy for tech companies, especially the giants to drive innovation, boost product growth, build a strong developer community, and beyond. If your company is looking to maintain its competitive edge in the technology realm, we strongly advise incorporating hackathons into the innovation strategy. AngelHack, the global leader in hackathons and developer relations, can be your strategic ally throughout the journey. Simply reach out to us via this form to schedule a free consultation session!
