How to Win Your First Hackathon: A FAANG Judge’s Playbook

📰 Medium · Programming

Win your first hackathon by focusing on startup founder skills, not just tech stack, to impress FAANG judges

intermediate Published 23 Apr 2026
Action Steps
  1. Act like a startup founder to understand the problem you're solving
  2. Identify a real-world problem to solve
  3. Develop a unique value proposition
  4. Create a minimum viable product (MVP) to demonstrate your solution
  5. Prepare a clear and concise pitch to showcase your project
Who Needs to Know This

Software engineers, product managers, and designers on a team can benefit from understanding what hackathon judges look for, to create a winning project

Key Insight

💡 Judges look for startup founder skills, such as problem-solving and pitching, not just technical expertise

Share This
💡 Win hackathons by thinking like a startup founder, not just a coder! #hackathon #startup
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