Author: Yilmaz, Citrea DevRel

Compiled by: Felix, PANews

In recent years, Web3 hackathons have gradually emerged globally, becoming a major event for developers in the industry. A group of developers from around the world brainstorms during the event, forming closely-knit teams to create functional applications in hopes of winning prizes. However, the successful ones are always in the minority. Besides the technology itself, how to stand out in competitions may be a question for every developer. Yilmaz, a judge at the ETHGlobal Taipei 2025 hackathon, recently shared his suggestions on how participants can excel in hackathons. Below is the full content.

You travel halfway across the globe to attend a hackathon. Your code is clean and concise, making it hard to resist the urge to lick the screen. Yet, you return empty-handed, without any prizes. What happened? Hint: This is not a technical issue.

Such situations are not uncommon. Excellent developers and outstanding builders often walk away with nothing. This is not because their skills are lacking, but because they overlook certain key aspects of the hackathon.

Recently, I served as a judge at ETH Global Taipei on behalf of Citrea. Citrea sponsored the event and held awards for "Best Bapp on Citrea" and "Experimental DeFi Bapps." For most of the event, I was not only a judge but also an observer—navigating between booths and tables, listening to developers' ideas, and brainstorming together. Seeing these scenes reminded me of my days participating in competitions, where I learned how to break down the rules of the game to potentially win rewards.

This article will share insights on how to truly "crack" a hackathon—based on the experiences of someone who has served as an architect and now works in developer relations (DevRel), judging multiple Web3 hackathons.

The Hackathon Starts Before the Event

One of the biggest mistakes is thinking that the hackathon only starts on the first day. This is not the case. I’m not saying you should build your project in advance (that would get you disqualified immediately), but there are many things you can prepare ahead of time.

Observation

You might be a student or an experienced developer looking to enter the Web3 ecosystem. But do you know which area you want to dive into? You should observe the industry early on. Not just chatting on Twitter, but truly researching the field to see what everyone is doing. What weaknesses or gaps can you fill or improve upon? What upcoming improvements are on the horizon? Which projects are performing strongly in which tracks?

Having a comprehensive understanding of the area you want to enter will be very helpful. This is said because I’ve seen many developers trying to gain rewards from fields they know almost nothing about. This usually doesn’t work because you don’t even know what you want to build. Judges, hackers, and advisors may provide some help during the hackathon, but it’s far from enough.

Networking and Team Collaboration

If you step into the competition without a team, you’re already at a disadvantage. You have days or even weeks before the hackathon starts to form a team—this gives you time to filter members, test compatibility, enhance teamwork, or adjust roles.

However, competing solo is not without hope. Perhaps you intend to form a team on-site, brainstorming with people from diverse backgrounds to spark unique ideas. If you don’t have a team yet, be proactive: attend some peripheral events, cocktail parties, and keynote speeches before the hackathon starts. Engage with developers, designers, product managers, DevRel personnel, and even business development people. They may not know how to code, but they know many people and can help you find the perfect teammates.

I personally helped form two teams before the Taipei Ethereum hackathon. They didn’t know each other beforehand, but one of the teams ended up winning.

Check the Tracks Early

Before the hackathon kicks off, check the tracks and the projects providing funding as early as possible. Surprisingly, many participants only pay attention to this when the event starts. Tracks are usually announced a few days or weeks in advance, giving participants time to strategize.

For example, the ETH Global hackathon announced its tracks two weeks before the event. Some developers reach out to project teams in advance to articulate their ideas and ensure alignment with the tracks. This proactive approach allows them to adjust their ideas or choose the right track, maximizing their chances of winning.

Break the Norms

Creativity is crucial. Even if you have the cleanest codebase, you can still fail. Why? Because your idea isn’t distinctive enough. It may not achieve product-market fit, or the judges have seen too many similar products. If you submit yet another AI wallet interface that has hardly improved compared to six submissions from the past two months, you have no hope. If the judges are uninterested in your idea/concept from the start, it’s hard to attract their attention to your code.

Judges have limited time to evaluate each submission and cannot delve into every line of code. Therefore, the product concept or idea is vital. Is the concept reasonable? Is it unique, or does it offer a real improvement over existing products in the market? Does it feel novel?

Here’s a real case. At the Taipei Ethereum hackathon, there was a team from the Philippines. They had a Web2 background and no Web3 experience, but their idea completely broke the mold, immediately capturing the judges' attention. They didn’t even submit to our track, but are now collaborating with us in our incubation project, Citrea Origins. This is the power of an outstanding idea that can gain immediate attention.

Think from the judges' perspective. After two days, the judges are exhausted from reviewing over twenty projects. You only have a few minutes to win their favor.

Here’s a mental checklist:

• What is this product?

• Is this concept novel?

• Does it have potential product-market fit?

• Is this just a copy of other products?

• Was this coded during the hackathon, or was it pre-built/repeatedly submitted?

Judges have seen it all. If your project is just superficial, it will be quickly identified.

Talip (Citrea DevRel) can spot pre-built projects at a glance.

Interact with the Judges

Want to increase your chances of winning? Consider engaging with the judges; the help they can provide is beyond your imagination. Before you start building, articulate your idea and discuss it with the judges.

This not only refines your idea but also increases visibility. If judges have seen your face and heard your proposal, then see your project again in the submissions—they will remember you. This gives you a natural advantage.

Stand Out

Make sure your submission stands out. Once you have a great idea and a solid team, start building—but don’t stop there. You may have an idea that can shine, but to ensure you win, you need to present it well. Many times, participants overlook the presentation aspect, just sending a GitBook, which might work, but it’s not ideal. You don’t need to create a flashy presentation, but it should be clear and detailed.

• Give it a good name—yes, the name matters. It sets the tone.

• Design the architecture—draw diagrams, simplify explanations.

• Create an interactive demo—more powerful than a video, allowing judges to experience it firsthand.

• Build a concise and clear PPT—your slides should explain everything without requiring too much elaboration from you.

Unless absolutely necessary, don’t invest too much effort into video presentations. If it’s just a five-minute UI showcase, judges won’t be interested. Provide some interactive content. Let the judges feel the application and experience it.

A professor of architecture once told me, “If I need to ask questions, your presentation has failed.” This may sound extreme, but take it as a guideline for your presentation. Because from a broader perspective, your presentation is essentially your Pitch Platform.

Wait, is it all about attracting attention? Always has been.

More Than Just Prizes

Finally, remember: while prizes are nice, they are not the real reward.

Hackathons are an attention economy. Everyone is watching. Even if you don’t win, making a strong impression on the right people can open doors for you: incubation opportunities, partnerships, job offers. Prizes are short-term; your reputation is long-term.

Also, don’t participate in five obscure hackathons just to pad your resume; no one will care. Build something that helps you grow, making each hackathon add value to your portfolio.

In short, how to participate in hackathons:

• Form a team early

• Come up with innovative ideas

• Think from the judges' perspective and interact more

• Create a clickable, polished presentation

• Pitch it as if your future depends on it (because it does)

Related reading: Electric Capital Annual Developer Report: 39,000 New Developers Joined, Over Half of Ethereum Developers Focused on L2

免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。