Murtza Manzur

Over the past two weekends, I participated in the Launch and Wix Hackathons in San Francisco. At the Launch Hackathon, I built a seat map that integrated with a company organization chart by myself. At the Wix Hackathon, I worked with Sunny who is a developer at AppDynamics to visualize Yelp data trends. My goal at both of these hackathons was to build products that solved business problems. I learned a few lessons I wanted to share that will increase your productivity at hackathons.

1. Work with teammates. All the finalists at both hackathons were teams of two or more people. During the Launch Hackathon, I worked by myself, but when I worked with Sunny at the Wix Hackathon we were able to accomplish more than 2x my output at the first hackathon. This is because of our complementary skill sets. I focused on building out the web app and Sunny built the automated system for gathering data.

2. Work with familiar technologies. I used Ruby on Rails in both hackathons. I did not have focus part of my time to learning a new language or framework because I was using technology I was already comfortable with. This allowed me spend nearly all my time building the product. Also, I would recommend having a broad overview of the open-source software ecosystem for your particular language. For Ruby on Rails, this means being aware of what gems are available. This way you will not have to reinvent common features, such as authentication and permissions.

3. Have a rapid feedback cycle. At the Wix Hackathon, first I built out a static view to make sure Sunny and I were on the same page in terms of our product vision. Next, I made this vision dynamic by allowing a user to enter date through a form. Finally, we connected the graph with Yelp data that made it even more robust. By working towards small measurable goals we were able to stay motivated.

4. Show your product within 15 seconds of starting your presentation. I heard this from multiple people at both hackathons. It is overwhelming to see so many products during the demo presentations, so it makes sense to show your product before losing your audience’s attention. Many teams spent too much time talking about the market and the problem they were solving.

5. Tell a story and end with a “wow” moment.The best presentations used the persona of a typical user. They ended the presentation with a “wow” moment that told the audience why this example user needed this product.

In Tokyo I remember going out to eat Yakitori with a Canadian expat that I met through Twitter because of our common interest in startups. In Seattle I remember walking around town with a Chinese architecture student, while we talked about the differences between his country and America. We stayed in touch using Facebook, and I visited him when I was in Beijing. When I think about my favorite travel memories, what I remember most vividly are the people I encountered and the conversations we shared.

There is no right or wrong way to travel. I think it’s all about figuring out what makes you happy, and doing that. I’ve never been a big fan of seeing a list of famous things that are in a guidebook. I like to focus my time on interacting with people and hearing their stories. The daily minutiae of people’s lives, such as what they like to eat or how they spend their leisure time, fascinates me.

The internet has made it easier than ever to facilitate these interactions. I can now skip the hostel, and stay at a local’s apartment that I booked through Airbnb. I can skip the city bus tour, and take a one on one walking tour of the city with a local through Vayable. When I get hungry, I can skip the restaurant and book a meal at somebody’s home through EatWith. With Twitter, I can make new friends in any city based on common interests. All these examples show how the internet has made it simple to meet people that I normally would not have, and because of that traveling has become even more enjoyable for me.

Qualifying potential clients early in the web development sales cycle will help you and your potential client save time. You want to find out if their project timeline and budget make sense for your company. During the initial sales call, focus on asking questions that will help you assess if the project would be a mutual fit.

How urgent is the project? If the client needs the project completed within the next week but you do not have any availability for the next month, then you should tell the client this.

What is the budget for the project? You do not have to ask this question directly. You can instead inquiry about how many employees the company has. This will give you an general idea of the size of the company’s budget for the project.

What is the buying process at your company?  This is a question for enterprise clients. It will tell you how long the sales cycle is at that company, This way you can figure out if your company has resources to pursue the sale.