"I’ve been to 19 hackathons in the past three years," Lena told me.
"That’s crazy!" I responded, genuinely impressed. By any standard, attending and organizing that many hackathons in such a short time is a big deal.
"While I volunteered for @herDAO, I used the money I won from hackathons to finance myself and sustain my activities," Lena added.
Again, I found myself marvelling at her determination, I knew it takes a lot of grit to travel across different countries, moving from one event to another, with the possibility of not winning at all
I’ve always known about the concept of hackathons. The earliest event resembling a hackathon I attended was back in 2017, where we worked on different ideas and pitched them to an audience over three days.
What is a Hackathon?
Hackathons differ from typical pitch events. These are dynamic gatherings where developers, designers, and thought leaders come together to work on problems, brainstorm solutions, and build them out using specific technologies. The purpose of a hackathon is to solve problems through technology by bringing together a diverse group of people.
For a hackathon to succeed, several key players must be involved:
Hackers
When most people think of hackers, they imagine a white-bearded developer in a hoodie, typing away in a dimly lit room—an absolute tech nerd. However, the reality is far more inclusive. In the context of a hackathon, "hackers" is a broad term that refers to anyone actively participating in the building process. Developers, designers, founders, industry experts, and marketers can all be considered hackers as long as they contribute to the success of the team.
Organizers
Hackathon organizers are the most versatile bunch of stakeholders, anyone can organize a hackathon, from a single individual like Abena, who put together ETHAccra with her team, to an entire community like Ayahq, that organized the muAccra hackathon together with the Mu team
Sponsors
Sponsors are companies and communities that contribute to the success of a hackathon. They are usually companies that want to utilize hackathons to market their products or technology. Many sponsors attach a bounty for hackers building with their specific technology, incentivizing hackers to learn more about their product offerings
The Role of Technology
This is where Web3 comes in. Web3, with its focus on decentralization, freedom, and privacy, is a solution in search of problems to solve. It’s an energy in motion, seeking where it’s needed most. Many Web3 technologies, including new blockchains, are still discovering their target audiences, use cases, and potential flaws.
The blockchain ecosystem has seen significant growth, particularly in emerging markets. It’s estimated that thousands of new blockchains and protocols are created every year within the Web3 space.
Blockchain Technology: The Case of Lisk
One such emerging blockchain is Lisk, a platform that enables developers to build decentralized applications (dApps) using JavaScript. Although founded in 2016, Lisk has not yet gained widespread adoption in Africa’s blockchain ecosystem.
Lisk's vision is to drive mainstream adoption of blockchain technology by making it more accessible to developers and enabling the creation of scalable, interoperable dApps. To support this vision, Lisk is offering up to $100,000 in funding for startups that successfully complete their incubation program.
But how will these startups discover Lisk, and how will they be selected? This is where hackathons come in.
How Lisk is Strengthening Its Network Through Hackathons
"I’m sure you must be wondering what’s in it for us," Jujuboy, Lisk's ambassador for Nigeria, said to the hackers who had just attended his session.
"First, we bring you and all your users onto our platform. This is how we make our money back in the long term," he explained. "We also earn from every transaction your users make on our platform. We’re using this as a marketing strategy to publicize our name and get everyone to know about Lisk."
It was clear that Jujuboy knew what he was talking about. Blockchain networks gain significant value from hosting hackathons. This isn’t about charity; it’s a strategic process to gain value from their sponsorships and partnerships with hackathons.
The Process of Gaining Value from Hackathons
Identify suitable hackathons for sponsorship.
Sponsor these hackathons.
Present their products to the audience.
Set criteria for their blockchain to be utilized in projects.
Monitor the use of their product, gathering feedback on the technology stack.
Discover new and interesting use cases for their blockchain.
Identify promising projects and teams to further sponsor—like Lisk's Incubation Hub.
Every stakeholder in a hackathon benefits. Event organizers, like ETHAccra, gain wider publicity and direct partnerships. Hackers get dedicated time to work on their ideas, learn new tools, and gain hands-on insights. Finally, sponsors—primarily blockchain companies—identify new projects to support and onboard a fresh category of people with innovative ideas onto their platform.
The Difference in Web2 and Web3 Marketing Strategies
Traditional Web2 marketing strategies focus on digital marketing techniques like search engine optimization (SEO) and social media marketing to promote products or services.
In contrast, Web3 marketing is more hands-on and practical, leveraging hackathons and workshops to directly reach the target audience and expand technology adoption.
We can see from the impact of these hackathons, and how quickly these platforms are able to onboard developers that hackathons are the most effective ways of creating a wide l adoption of new technologies in localized spaces
#web3 #hackathons #rubikon