𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐬 are an integral part of JustAnswer’s innovation engine. Having recently met with enough smart and driven industry peers who have never experienced hackathons, I thought I’d summarize our 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘺, 𝘩𝘰𝘸, and 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵.
For those well-versed in hackathons, please share your own formula. For those trying to leverage generative AI, quantum, robotics, or flux capacitors, perhaps this can help. For those not trying to innovate, you may skip as your fate is already sealed.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐫𝐞
For two days once per quarter, anyone at the company can work on a personal project solo or with anyone they can attract to their idea. The restrictions are deliberately few: customer support must not be interrupted, projects should pass a work-alignment sniff test, and we ask for a 4 min presentation of the learnings, no matter what they are. That’s it.
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐰𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐬
Because they are part of our innovation culture. Because they are good for the business and energizing for participants and audience members.
Disruptive change expert Scott D. Anthony said that “innovation is a discipline” leading to “something different that has impact”. We agree.
We hack to bring new ideas to life and learn which ones make an impact. We know that many ideas won’t make an impact, but we’re frequently surprised about which is which.
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦
Here’s the abbreviated framing and support provided by a half-dozen organizers, with Gavin Funabiki as the current band leader. I’ll spare you how we evolved our process over the last dozen years of hacking.
1️⃣ Brainstorming – creation of the idea board
2️⃣ Team formation – matchmaking between birds of a feather
3️⃣ Hack days – two contiguous days marked on the corporate calendar
4️⃣ Presentations – opportunity, demo, learnings, next steps, in 4 min or less.
5️⃣ Prizes – people’s choice and execs’ awards (much glory, little money)
6️⃣ Prioritization – grassroots convos about productization
𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐭
Here are the numbers from the 47th quarterly hackathon we held last week.
🔥 120 participants
🔥 60 projects
🔥 40 of which have a short path to productization
🔥 37 have AI at the center, one of our current priorities
This is an absolute firehose of de-risked opportunities championed by passionate people! A true embarrassment of options for the business.
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐈’𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝
I’d start with the simplest thing that could possibly work. The hard part may be the leap of faith and withholding from applying all manners of rules to ensure the time is not wasted. Emphasize the learning value. Do and learn.
𝐄𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
Building a discipline such as innovation requires doing. Go ahead and start hacking away. We got better at it over time, and so will you.