How to Win the Internet: The Power of Viral Discovery for Your Project

Why everyone in web3 should participate in Hackathon at least once !

Tips and tricks from +10 hackathon winner

Last May, I co-hosted a community mixer in Cairo for Arabs in blockchain community, during the Chainlink Chromium Hackathon. In the intro talk, I shared some few tips, tricks, and personal insights on why I believe everyone should participate in hackathons. In this article, I’m documenting those thoughts and expanding on them in more detail.

Why You Should Join?!

If you were there, you probably remember me saying:

The reason I’m so excited to talk about hackathons is that, after coffee, hackathons are my second favorite thing.

While that line usually gets a laugh, beyond my personal enthusiasm, there are solid reasons why I encourage you — dear reader — to get involved.

Hackathons offer learning opportunities you simply won’t find in a classroom or a typical work environment. You’re not just reading about concepts — you’re applying them under time pressure, solving real problems, and shipping actual products. That kind of hands-on experience accelerates your growth in a way no tutorial or lecture ever could.

They’re also incredible spaces for meeting like-minded developers, designers, and innovators. The people you collaborate with during those intense 24–72 hour sprints often become future co-founders, long-term collaborators, or close friends. Many companies quietly use hackathons as headhunting grounds, and a strong teammate or mentor can become your most valuable advocate. A referral from someone who’s seen you perform under pressure is worth far more than a cold LinkedIn message.

Participating in hackathons doesn’t just boost your skills — it boosts your visibility. Winning (or even just building something impressive) strengthens your CV, helps you stand out in internship and job applications, and gives you direct exposure to recruiters and sponsors who are actively looking for talent. These events are powerful platforms to showcase your abilities through tangible projects, grow your professional network, and even unlock funding or incubation opportunities for promising ideas.

They also keep you up to date with fast-moving technologies, help you build a strong professional reputation, and provide a creative space to explore new ideas outside your daily routine.

But hackathons aren’t the same. Some are ideation-focused, where the main objective is to generate creative concepts and innovative solutions, even if you don’t build a full product. Others emphasize technical execution, challenging participants to develop functional prototypes or demonstrate innovative uses of specific technologies. Then there are hackathons that adopt a startup mindset, seeking projects with real-world potential, good market fit and strong teams that they can fund, incubate, or support beyond the event. Recognizing the type of hackathon helps you align your team, skills, and strategy to stand out in exactly what the organizers are looking for.

In this article, the focus is on hackathons that emphasize technical execution. These are the events where you come up with an innovative idea and build a functional MVP to showcase your skills and creativity. This doesn’t mean you’re not solving a real problem, but the key difference is that factors like market research, team completeness, and product–market fit are not as heavily emphasized. The spotlight is on how well you can use the technology to bring your idea to life within a short time frame, rather than proving the business viability of the project.

Now I’m assuming you are interested in joining a hackathon and I believe the next questions that came to your mind are:

Where to Find Hackathons in Web3

First, it’s important to know that there are two main types of hackathons: online and in-person. Each has its own vibe, advantages, and challenges, and the “best” option really depends on your personal preferences.

If there were a grand prize for the best hackathon experience, I’d give it to ETHGlobal — they host both in-person and online events, and their community is top-notch. But ETHGlobal isn’t the only place to look. Platforms like DoraHacks, Devfolio, and Devpost are also major hubs where most Web3 hackathons take place.

You’ll also come across some of the biggest annual events, such as ETHDenver, among many others. A great way to stay informed is by joining blockchain communities, where people often share upcoming hackathons, opportunities, and conferences.

If you haven’t already, consider joining our community to stay updated. At the time of writing, we’re promoting the Forte-Hacks —by Flow and if you’re in Cairo, join us today for a hackathon mixer!

Which Hackathon to Join — How to Evaluate and Choose the Best

When deciding which hackathon to join, I usually focus on a few key factors to make sure I get the best possible hacking experience — because hacking should be fun!

The first thing I look at is the organizer. A well-organized hackathon sets the tone for everything. I check their reputation for support, safety, and trust. Trust is especially important — you need to be confident that the organizers and sponsors will actually deliver the prizes and rewards they promise.

Next, I look at the prize pool. Naturally, a larger prize pool is more attractive. Competing for $500K is far more motivating than competing for $10K.

Finally, I consider the diversity of hacking ideas and technologies. The more diverse the tracks and challenges, the more room there is for innovation, learning, and creativity. A broad range of themes keeps things exciting and gives you the chance to explore new tools and ideas.

How to Join and form a team

The process of joining a hackathon depends on the specific rules and format, so it’s important to read the guidelines carefully for each event.

When it comes to team building, there are several ways to find teammates — or for others to find you. Most hackathons have team formation channels on Discord, where participants can introduce themselves and connect. You can also meet potential teammates at online or in-person mixers (like the one we’re hosting tomorrow!), or simply post on social media to let others know you’re looking for a team or a teammate.

Don’t be afraid or shy to put yourself out there — posting that you’re looking for teammates or replying to others’ posts is completely normal and often leads to great collaborations. If you don’t already have friends joining the hackathon, don’t worry — hackathons are amazing spaces to meet new people and build long-term friendships.

In fact, during my last hackathon, I met my teammate through a Discord team formation channel, and together we ended up as finalists at ETHGlobal Tippie. That’s the power of putting yourself out there.

How to Secure a Win

Now let’s talk about some tips and tricks to help you secure that win — and maybe even some prize money. But remember winning isn’t just about the money. It’s also about the recognition you earn for doing an amazing job, mastering the technology, and proving that you can build and ship a product within 24 hours (if it’s a 24-hour hackathon). And honestly, there’s nothing more lovely and exciting than hearing or reading “You are a winner!” after all your hard work. That moment makes everything worth it.

Here are some practical tips and common mistakes to avoid to increase your chances of winning:

• Pick a simple but powerful idea: Focus on solving a real problem with a clear, executable concept. Overly ambitious ideas often end up half-finished.
• Avoid trying to build a massive dream project in 24 hours: Keep your scope realistic. It’s better to start small, iterate, and deliver a working MVP than to start big and never finish.
• Think smart, but don’t get stuck debating: Good ideas need discussion, but there’s a fine balance. Productive planning early on is essential, but endless arguing and overthinking waste precious time. Decide, commit, and move forward.
• Start fast: The first hours are critical. Don’t spend the entire first day in meetings — make decisions early and begin building to give yourself time to refine later.
• Build a balanced team: A strong mix of tech, design, and business skills sets you up for success. But it’s not just about skills — it’s about attitude and commitment. A reliable teammate who knows less but delivers consistently is often more valuable than someone highly skilled but unreliable.
• Stay focused: A scattered team rarely wins. Clear direction, discipline, and good communication keep the project on track.
• Avoid bad pitching: If you can’t communicate your idea well, no one will understand what you’ve built — even if it’s brilliant.
• Make the judges’ job easy: Don’t make them work to figure out what you built. Structure your demo, pitch, and documentation so the value and impact are obvious. A well-written README and submission that explains your project clearly and guides them through your work will make it much easier for judges to grasp everything quickly.
• Align your project with the hackathon theme: Show a clear connection between your solution and the challenge.
• Leverage existing tools: Use pre-built frameworks and libraries to save time — hackathons reward speed and creativity, not reinventing the wheel. Make smart use of AI tools and VibeCode to speed up development and focus on what really matters.
• Document as you go: This simplifies preparing your final presentation and demo.
• Talk to mentors early: Early feedback can save you from major mistakes later.
• Organize time and roles from the start: Clear planning avoids last-minute chaos and ensures everyone knows their responsibilities.
• Start gathering feedback as early as possible, especially on the problem you’re solving, your approach, and how you’re planning to build it. This kind of input is most valuable before you start coding heavily — it can help you catch blind spots, refine your scope, and avoid wasting hours on the wrong direction. Talk to mentors, judges, experienced builders, or even other participants. Pay close attention to their reactions. Interest, follow-up questions, or suggestions usually mean you’re on to something. Confusion or disengagement can signal that your problem statement or approach isn’t clear enough yet.
• keep pitching your idea to everyone you meet throughout the hackathon. Each quick pitch acts as practice — it helps you sharpen your idea and uncover different perspectives. People will often give you useful feedback on missing features, alternative tools, or stronger ways to frame the problem.

By applying these tips and avoiding common pitfalls, you’ll significantly boost your chances of standing out, impressing the judges, and hearing those magic words: “You are a winner!”

What If You Don’t Win

Let’s be honest: most hackathons won’t end with you holding a trophy. But here’s the truth — some of my most valuable experiences came from hackathons where I didn’t place. Here’s how to turn a “loss” into real growth:

• Get feedback immediately: Approach judges and mentors while the event is still fresh. Ask specific questions: “What could have made our project stronger?” or “Was our technical approach solid?” This insight is invaluable for your next attempt.
• Your project still has value: Just because judges didn’t pick you doesn’t mean your idea is worthless. Continue building it, open-source it, or add it to your portfolio. A well-documented GitHub repo can impress recruiters more than a trophy. Many successful startups — including some unicorns — began as “losing” hackathon projects.
• Reflect objectively: Analyze what worked and what didn’t. Was it the idea? Execution? Pitch? Team dynamics? Write a quick post-mortem while it’s fresh in your mind.
• Showcase your work anyway: Post about your project on social media, write a blog post, or create a demo video. Frame it as “Here’s what I built in 24 hours at [Hackathon]” rather than focusing on placement. The tech community respects builders, win or lose.
• Leverage your network: The connections you made matter more than the prize. Stay in touch with teammates, other participants, and sponsors. Some of my closest collaborators and job opportunities came from hackathons where we didn’t win anything.
• Iterate if there’s potential: If your idea has legs, keep working on it post-hackathon. Refine it, get user feedback, and maybe even launch it properly.
• Use it as fuel, not discouragement: Every hackathon winner has lost multiple times. I certainly have. Each setback taught me something that contributed to future wins. The question isn’t whether you’ll face losses — it’s whether you’ll let them stop you or use them as stepping stones.

Remember: You just compressed weeks of learning into 24–48 hours and shipped something under intense pressure. That alone is an achievement. The goal isn’t just winning prizes — it’s becoming the kind of person who can build, ship, and present under pressure. That skill is worth more than any single prize pool.

Conclusion

Hackathons are more than just competitions — they’re intense learning experiences, career accelerators, and community-building moments rolled into one. Whether you’re a developer, designer, marketer, or simply curious about Web3, joining at least one hackathon can open doors you didn’t even know existed. You’ll build real projects, meet inspiring people, push your skills to new levels, and maybe even walk away with a prize — or a startup idea that changes your career path.

So don’t wait for the “perfect” moment or the “right” team. Pick a hackathon, show up, and give it your best. The worst that can happen is that you’ll learn something new. The best that can happen? You’ll surprise yourself with what you can achieve in just a few days.

See you at the next hackathon