🧨 “We Need a Hackathon—Fast!” Here’s What to Do (and Avoid)

Your leadership team wants a hackathon next month. The budget’s green-lit. But your head’s spinning.
You’re not alone. I’ve worked with plenty of companies who meant to start planning months ago… but life happened. OR leaders have seen you deliver other projects fast - and are “sure you can do this!”

The good news? You can still run a high-impact hackathon, even with just a few weeks to go.

But only if you act fast - and act smart.

What Not to Do

❌ Slap together a vague theme like “AI + Innovation”
❌ Let teams form randomly without guidance
❌ Skip onboarding and tool setup
❌ Run the event with no plan for what comes next

These mistakes turn promising hackathons into “idea graveyards”—where great concepts die in a doc with no owner, no budget, no traction.

What to Do Instead

✅ Clarify the outcome. What business problem are we solving?
✅ Structure the challenge. Clear brief, business relevance, and guardrails for creativity.
✅ Pre-build the team experience. Templates, tooling, team support, AI onboarding.
✅ Design the follow-through. Who owns next steps? What will success look like?

This is exactly how I help clients fast-track their hackathons—whether you’ve got 3 months or 2 weeks.

Real Talk: I’ve Done This Before

🔧 I once delivered a full-scale, 100-person corporate hackathon - from scoping to swag—in under 2 weeks.
💡 I’ve kicked off a student hackathon 3 days after the brief - with fully supported coaching, delivery, and outcomes.

This is the part of the process most people get overwhelmed by. But I actually love it.

Need a Fast Start?

If you’ve got a date and a team, but no roadmap - I’ve got you. Here’s how I can help:

🧭 Free Checklist: Item-by-item planning for smooth delivery
⚡ Power Hour: A done-with-you roadmap: timeline, tools, challenge shaping, and follow-up strategy
🚀 Done-for-You Hackathon: You focus on the big picture - I’ll handle the rest

TL;DR

Running a hackathon fast doesn’t mean cutting corners—it means being laser-focused on what matters.

✅ Challenge clarity
✅ Experience design
✅ Team support
✅ Post-hack follow-up

🎯 Want to skip the stress and run a hackathon that actually delivers?

👉 Download the checklist or book a Power Hour to get your roadmap today.