I have been running Hackathons across businesses for the last 10 years and for me, there is no better way to test what is possible away from the day-to-day. From these events I have seen new friendships made, ideas born and, most importantly, then turned into fully-fledged products.

 

At our latest event, I even had one product styled and named after me. “Hai-Leigh” is an interactive chatbot – my digital twin sister – designed to provide online users landing on our website with a personalized concierge service. An interactive chatbot built from a custom large language model (LLM) and trained on our website’s content, it can direct users to, for example, the most relevant case studies depending upon their requests.

All designed, built, and brought to life in one day. Doesn’t get more full circle than that, right?

Hackathons have evolved from their early days and become a global phenomenon; as effective at an agency level as they are on the brand side, with each installment intended to push the boundaries of innovation regardless of industry.

Hack-AI-thon

Definitions aside, what does a Hackathon entail in practical terms? For us, a Hackathon is an event that unites people of all disciplines through collaboration as much as it is intended to build or improve software programs. Now an annual staple in our company calendar, our events have brought together developers, designers, AI specialists, consultants, and project managers from across the globe under one roof for a day of innovation.

 

Our first Hackathon took place back in 2023. ChatGPT had been launched a few months earlier and the industry was abuzz as everyone tried to understand and integrate the many burgeoning AI tools and make them part of their businesses and products.

For some colleagues within the business, this was their first foray into artificial intelligence. It felt like a no-brainer: we would combine the theory of a Hackathon with the growing hype around artificial intelligence and create an innovation hub for ideas centered on the technology. This way, instead of leaving AI strategy to our leads or technical teams, we could include everyone on the journey – from project managers and developers through to our finance and HR teams. The formula worked so well that we repeated it this year too.

How to host

My first piece of advice is to tailor your event to your company’s strategy and goals, as we did. Could this be a way to collaborate around improving client or even internal satisfaction? Is there a new skill, technology, or capability you’re looking to introduce to the business? Is there a particular client account that needs an injection of new ideas? Or, like us, maybe you’d like to make AI your challenge. All these areas of opportunity offer the foundations upon which a productive hackathon can be built.

 

My second piece of advice is to allow room for preparation and execution. If you’re going to do it, go all in on it. As well as allowing time for the event, it’s just as important to factor in time for preparation ahead of the day. For many, permitting teams to put their ‘day-to-day’ aside for a while will be a challenge, which is exactly why thorough preparation is key. After all, for us, across both iterations, the best performers were those who had convened before the day, arrived with a vision in mind and had assigned roles before the day had even begun.

A final line on hackathons is to do your best to bring everyone together. Not always easy, especially given the increasingly hybrid or global landscape in which many companies now operate. But, in my opinion as CEO, the benefit of face-to-face collaboration vastly outweighs the cost and energy needed to bring people together. A useful ‘hack’ on this is to combine it with your summer or winter party, so teams can celebrate after a day of hard graft.

Lasting impact

For our second installment, now armed with a specialist AI division on our roster, our teams could go even further and produce more detailed and creative ideas around the topic of AI.

 

Outside of the tools and ideas brought to life on the day, these hackathons have helped demystify AI, turning it into a tool we can use daily and demonstrating that it isn’t just for technical teams. They’ve enabled us to explore our creative side and permitted many to “become a developer for a day” and to collaborate in diverse teams.

Moreover, we took this opportunity to step away from our screens to connect as one global team. Hackathons are a powerful investment for any organization, as they encourage hands-on learning, creative problem-solving, and, most importantly, collaboration. By participating in these events, organizations can take a hands-on approach to solving problems, improving relationships, or finessing ways of working in a practical, collaborative environment.

In this way, employees can work together to generate practical solutions to drive future success.

 

This article originally featured on The Drum and is available here.