5 Pro-Tips to Win The Solana Hackathon

Summary

This podcast episode offers invaluable advice for aspiring participants in the Solana hackathon, GrizzlyThon, where over $5 million in prizes is up for grabs. The hosts share insights from analyzing 200+ past winners, interviews with judges, and a deep dive into what catches the attention of the crypto community. They cover crucial aspects such as identifying real problems, leveraging Solana's unique features, marketing strategies, UI/UX design, and crafting a compelling presentation. Additionally, they introduce resources like build.superteam.fun for project ideas and announce build stations for both remote and in-person support during the hackathon.

Takeaways

• 🎙️ The podcast discusses strategies for winning a Solana hackathon, despite the hosts not having won any themselves, by sharing insights from research and interviews with judges and winners.
• 🏆 The Grizzly Ton hackathon is highlighted as a prestigious event with substantial prizes, global exposure, and respect within the crypto community, emphasizing its significance for participants.
• 🔍 The hosts analyzed over 200 hackathon winners and spoke with 12 judges to identify patterns and tips for success, underlining the importance of thorough research in preparation.
• 🤔 The importance of identifying a real problem to solve is stressed, with advice from Nick Garfield that a strong problem statement can compensate for imperfect code during the hackathon.
• 💡 The script emphasizes that projects should focus on practical, current problems rather than theoretical or buzzword-driven ideas, which may not resonate with judges.
• 🌟 Uniqueness to Solana is key; projects that can only be built on Solana or that leverage its specific features like speed and composability are more likely to succeed.
• 📢 Marketing is crucial, and starting early to build a public presence, engage with communities, and network can significantly increase a project's visibility and credibility.
• 🛠️ A functional UI, even if not perfect, is essential for a pitch as it provides something tangible for judges to interact with and evaluate.
• 📹 The presentation of a project is almost as important as the project itself, with a strong emphasis on making a concise, clear demo video and a compelling pitch deck.
• 👥 The team behind the project matters, and demonstrating a fit with the project and the ability to continue developing it beyond the hackathon can lead to greater success.
• 💼 The hackathon is akin to a startup competition, so having a basic business model and presenting a project as a viable business can increase the chances of winning major prizes and VC interest.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the podcast episode described in the transcript?

The main topic of the podcast episode is about how to win a Solana hackathon.

Why did the hosts decide to create content on winning a Solana hackathon despite not having won any themselves?

The hosts decided to create the content because they have been building the town layer for Solana, talked to many talented people and judges, and conducted research on over 200 hackathon winners.

What is the Grizzly Thon and why is it significant in the context of the podcast?

Grizzly Thon is a Solana hackathon with over 50 prizes worth 5 million US Dollars, offering global exposure and respect within the crypto community, making it a flagship event to win.

What is the submission date for the hackathon mentioned in the podcast?

The submission date for the hackathon is the 15th of March.

What is the first and most obvious part of winning a hackathon according to the podcast?

The first and most obvious part of winning a hackathon is to build something cool that solves a real problem.

What is the importance of a good problem statement in a hackathon project?

A good problem statement is crucial because if the problem is significant and the team seems capable, even if the demo or code is not perfect, people will see the potential for it to work in the medium term.

What are some examples of real problems that can be addressed in a hackathon project?

Examples of real problems include user onboarding, retail UX, governance of DAOs, and issues specifically related to Network States.

What is the significance of building something that is Solana specific?

Building something Solana specific can give a project an edge because it leverages the unique features of Solana, such as speed and composability, which other blockchains cannot offer.

Why is marketing important for a hackathon project and what is the advice given in the podcast?

Marketing is important to build buzz and get on the radar of judges early. The advice given is to be active in Solana communities, use social media, and network with other participants and judges.

What is the advice regarding the presentation of a hackathon project?

The advice is to spend more than 20% of the time on the presentation, create a demo video, use a pitch deck, and ensure the GitHub submission shows the team's capability to continue developing the product.

What resources are available for those looking for ideas to build during a hackathon?

Resources like build.superteam.fun provide a list of ideas organized into different categories, and a past winners list to inspire and inform hackathon participants.

What is a build station and how can it benefit hackathon participants?

A build station is a physical location where participants can meet, interact with peers, get mentorship, and work on their hackathon projects, enhancing motivation and collaboration.

Outlines

00:00

🎙️ Podcast Introduction and Theme

The script opens with a casual introduction to a podcast where the hosts, Cash and Akshay, humorously acknowledge their lack of hackathon-winning experience. They discuss the 'Dynamic Tour' they are embarking on, which is a series of discussions on winning a Solana hackathon. The hosts have been researching successful hackathon strategies by examining over 200 winners, talking to judges, and observing numerous submissions. They aim to share insights and tips to help others succeed in hackathons, starting with the Grizzly Ton, a significant event with substantial prizes and global exposure.

05:01

🏆 The Importance of Winning Hackathons and Focusing on Real Problems

The hosts emphasize the value of participating in and winning hackathons, particularly the Grizzly Ton, which offers significant prizes and prestige. They discuss the importance of addressing real problems rather than chasing buzzwords or creating solutions in search of problems. The script includes advice from Nick Garfield, co-founder of Clockwork, who stresses the importance of a solid problem statement, even if the initial demo or code is imperfect. The hosts also differentiate between 'real problems' like user onboarding and governance, and 'buzzwords' that lack substance, urging participants to focus on creating meaningful solutions.

10:01

💡 Building Uniquely Solana-Specific Projects

The paragraph delves into the importance of creating projects that are unique to Solana and leverage its specific features, such as speed and composability. The hosts share insights from various judges and founders, highlighting the value of building projects that can only thrive on Solana. They discuss examples of Solana-specific projects like Word Cell and Tensor Trade that have benefited from the platform's speed. The paragraph also touches on the importance of considering the current state of the crypto user base and focusing on solving immediate, practical problems rather than theoretical future ones.

15:02

📢 The Power of Early Marketing and Community Engagement

This section of the script stresses the importance of early marketing and community engagement for hackathon projects. The hosts advise participants to start promoting their projects as soon as possible, even before the project is complete. They share tips from successful participants and judges, encouraging the creation of social media presence, active participation in relevant Discord channels, and networking within the Solana community. The paragraph highlights how early visibility and engagement can lead to recognition and credibility among judges and the community.

20:03

🛠️ Crafting a Compelling Presentation and UI

The hosts discuss the critical role of presentation in hackathon submissions. They emphasize the need for a functional user interface (UI) that may not have to be perfect but should be presentable and operational. The paragraph includes advice from judges who prioritize projects with a working UI over those with just an API or a pitch deck. The hosts also stress the importance of spending time on the presentation, suggesting that participants should allocate at least 20% of their effort to crafting a compelling pitch and demo video, which are crucial for catching the judges' attention.

25:04

🌐 Utilizing Resources for Hackathon Success

The final paragraph provides resources and support for hackathon participants. The hosts introduce build.superteam.fun, a website with numerous project ideas categorized by problem areas, offering inspiration for hackathon projects. They also mention a resource that compiles past hackathon winners, providing a valuable research tool for understanding successful projects. Additionally, the hosts highlight the availability of build stations, both physical and remote, where participants can collaborate, receive mentorship, and enhance their chances of success in the hackathon.

Keywords

💡Solana

Solana is a high-performance blockchain platform designed for decentralized applications and cryptocurrencies. It is known for its fast transaction processing speed and low fees. In the video, Solana is the focus of the hackathon, which is a competition where participants aim to create innovative projects utilizing the Solana blockchain. The term is used to describe the ecosystem and the specific technologies that participants are encouraged to build upon.

💡Hackathon

A hackathon is an event, typically lasting a few days, in which computer programmers and others involved in software development collaborate intensively on projects. In the context of the video, the hackathon is a competition specifically for building on the Solana blockchain, with the goal of creating new and useful applications. The script discusses strategies for winning such an event, emphasizing the importance of problem-solving and innovation.

💡Problem Statement

A problem statement in the context of a hackathon or any project is a clear and concise description of the issue that the project aims to address. The video emphasizes the importance of having a good problem statement, as it sets the stage for the entire project. It is mentioned that a strong problem statement can compensate for less polished code during the hackathon, as it shows the potential and importance of the project.

💡Crypto

Crypto, short for cryptocurrency, refers to digital or virtual currencies that use cryptography for security. The video discusses the role of crypto in hackathons, particularly on the Solana blockchain, and how projects should not just add crypto for the sake of it, but rather solve real problems that can benefit from blockchain technology.

💡Decentralization

Decentralization is the process of distributing or dispersing functions, powers, people, or things away from a central location or authority. In the video, decentralization is discussed as an ideological bias in crypto projects, where the focus should instead be on solving real problems that can be addressed by blockchain technology, rather than just decentralizing for the sake of it.

💡Composability

Composability in the context of blockchain refers to the ability of different components or protocols to be easily combined or work together to create new functionalities. The video mentions composability as a Solana-specific feature, highlighting how it allows for shared liquidity and the creation of smart messages within protocols, enhancing the overall utility of the ecosystem.

💡UI (User Interface)

User Interface (UI) refers to the space where interactions between humans and machines occur, and the aim is to make this interaction as simple and efficient as possible. The video stresses the importance of having a functional UI for hackathon projects, even if it's not visually stunning, as it helps judges and users to quickly understand and engage with the project.

💡Marketing

Marketing is the process of promoting and selling products or services, including the entire planning and strategy behind these activities. In the video, marketing is discussed as a crucial aspect of hackathon participation, advising participants to start promoting their projects early on social media and within the crypto community to build buzz and recognition.

💡GitHub

GitHub is a platform where developers can store and collaborate on their code, as well as showcase their projects. The video mentions GitHub in the context of hackathon submissions, advising participants to present their work in a way that demonstrates their team's ability to continue developing the product post-hackathon, which is an important factor for judges considering the project's future potential.

💡Presentation

In the context of a hackathon, a presentation refers to the way participants showcase their project to judges and the community. The video emphasizes the importance of spending significant time on the presentation, including creating a demo video and pitch deck, to effectively communicate the project's value and increase the chances of winning.

💡Build Stations

Build stations, as mentioned in the video, are physical locations or virtual spaces where participants in a hackathon can collaborate, receive mentorship, and work intensively on their projects. The video discusses the availability of build stations for remote participants, highlighting the support provided by the Solana community to help participants succeed in the hackathon.

Highlights

Introduction of the Dynamic tour podcast with Cash Danda discussing winning a Solana hackathon without prior hackathon wins.

Emphasis on the importance of the problem statement in hackathon submissions, as illustrated by Nick Garfield's advice on the significance of a good problem statement even if the demo or code is not perfect.

Analysis of over 200 hackathon winners and insights from 12 judges to identify themes and patterns for success in hackathons.

The Grizzly Thon hackathon as an example of a prestigious event with significant prizes and global exposure in the crypto space.

The importance of building something cool and five additional factors necessary for a successful hackathon submission.

Solving real problems versus chasing buzzwords, with examples of actual problems like user onboarding and governance.

Advice from Aditya Shetty on whether the solution is significantly better because of adding crypto, and the importance of not just rehashing existing ideas.

Focusing on the demand side of crypto and bringing in more users or liquidity as a key to winning hackathons.

The counter-intuitive approach of focusing on existing crypto natives rather than trying to bring in the next billion users.

The value of building something that is Solana-specific and leveraging the unique features of the Solana blockchain.

Tips on marketing and building in public, starting social media engagement and networking as early as possible.

The necessity of having a functional UI for hackathon submissions, even if it's not beautiful, to make a digestible pitch for judges.

Spending more than 20% of time on presentation to ensure a clear and concise message in the pitch deck and demo video.

The importance of a demo video that is concise, well-scripted, and showcases the actual product in action.

Being smart on GitHub by showing a business model and the team's capability to continue developing the product post-hackathon.

Introduction of build.superteam.fun as a resource for hackathon ideas and inspiration, organized by problem categories.

Availability of build stations, both physical and remote, to provide support, mentorship, and community for hackathon participants.

Transcripts

all right hello and welcome to a podcast

that I have no idea what we're talking

about and a tanma is not on this show

and we decided to record this about two

hours ago on a deck that cash has been

working on for two weeks with that

ladies and Gentlemen please welcome cash

danda thanks for having me actually this

is the uh Dynamic tour that no one ever

asked for they want you and tanmay me

and Tammy occasionally but no one ever

asked for cash in Akshay so we'll see

how this one

[Music]

so today what are we talking about we're

talking about how to win a Solana

hackathon uh if you're watching this

video you might be asking yourself like

why should you even listen to us right

like we have not won any hackathons and

that's very fair to say however super

team is building the town layer for

Solana and as a part of that we talk to

a lot of talented people and we just did

our research so over the last like week

or two uh me and trijini have been

looking at more than 200 winners of

previous hackathons we talked to 12 of

the judges uh and we saw way more than

100 Terrible submissions maybe like a

thousand terrible submissions and across

that we have some like themes and

patterns and tips that we want to share

that'll make your life a little bit

easier great before you proceed in 30

seconds what is the grizzly ton now you

might ask why would you even give a

about Solana hackathons at all Grizzly

Thon is a great example of why you

should care there are 50 plus prizes

worth 5 million US Dollars uh you get

Global exposure from everywhere in the

world and you're gonna get a lot of

respect the Solana hackathons in crypto

I think are broadly considered one of

the the flagship events are one of the

most impressive kind of things to win at

grizzlython is the one that's happening

right now there's I think five tracks

like or this 10 tracks five prizes per

track uh and a lot of good projects

gonna be competing great so Solara named

a global hackathon after an animal that

only exists in North America so that is

what Quizlet on is and we're gonna show

you a slice of uh I guess advice and pro

tips from various participants winners

and judges on how to best prepare

yourself for this uh the submission date

for the hackathon is coming up on the

15th of March so for those who have

signed up this is a great video for

those who have not signed up this is a

good time to sign up and then watch this

video to maybe ship something of value

before the 15th of March if you are

interested you might be a little bit

intrigued listening to this uh that you

want to win some of these prizes you

want some disrespect here's what you can

actually do to make it happen you got to

build something cool that's like the

first and like obvious part in addition

to building something cool you got to do

five other things and that's what we're

going to go through and talk about let's

start off with tip number one which is

all about the problem that you're trying

to solve and here we can look at some

great advice from Nick Garfield who's

co-founder of clockwork which won the

grand prize at hackathon recently when

we talked to him he said that if you

have a good problem statement the actual

demo the actual code that you're writing

does not have to be as good right

Clockwork itself he very humbly says

they won the hackathon but it was super

Buzzy buggy and barely worked and yet uh

people could see that this was an

important problem it was a good team

that had a good shot and a good kind of

design architecture for it so even if it

didn't work in the present they knew it

would work in the medium term what what

counts as like a real problem and what

does not the things on the left are like

actual problems right so like solving

for user onboarding or retail ux or how

Dows are governed there's a new track at

grizzlython for Network States in

particular those are real problems if

you are trying to solve like the

metaverse or some weird artificial

intelligence what's crypto stuff those

are mostly just buzzwords and the judges

are going to see you right through that

this is where I expected Thunderman to

say a bunch of funny little buzzwords

he's no longer here to say other

buzzwords you know

a few other like points on how to think

about problems Grim lore uh AKA Aditya

Shetty leader writer over at super team

had this advice should you do you want

to read out the quote and then I explain

it every time but that'd be like nice so

true okay uh we should keep all of this

this is great you know just yeah this is

hacking through this how much prep we

did how are we doing this for one and a

half years okay is the solutions so is

the solution significantly better

because of adding crypto or would it be

better off without it this is like a

classic hackathon problem if someone is

like oh we should do x with crypto or

the web 3 version of X without even

thinking does crypto actually improve it

at all no one wants the thousandth

version of you know like

um arranged marriages with crypto that's

like not interesting to anybody it's not

a thing that you should actually be

doing try to solve real problems right

or the first version of arranged

marriage with crypto what does that mean

well you said nobody wants a thousandth

version of a range oh yeah no one wants

even the first version yeah that's right

yeah you know all this is really

important because often it'll be like

hey I'm building like the web 3 version

of like a I don't know like a power

plant or something and you're like why

are you doing that well because it's uh

decentralized yeah but like why why does

it need to be decentralized well because

it's good and so then everything ends in

sort of like an ideological bias in

favor of decentralization most of

decentralization on crypto within crypto

artists on crypto Twitter is also LARP

and so you're you just end up with teams

building projects for

um for a long time except they can

continue building these projects because

there's like a subsidy available in the

form of Grant programs from various

foundations of blockchains that want

them to build there then there are demo

days then there are hackathons and so

you can continue winning prize you can

just do this for two years with no users

but just build you know demoing Concepts

to MVPs to stuff on test net and devnet

and by the time you ultimately launch

you can I guess it's a bull market and

then you launch your token

that's like the grifter's path to

success if you're watching this don't do

that like do something that's actually

valuable in the world that makes sense

because of crypto here's another great

quote from from check all right most

judges evaluate projects really From

perspective of is it net positive to the

ecosystem will it bring more users or

liquidity this means that like the core

problem that all of crypto has like

let's just call this made a spade is

that there are not enough like users and

liquidity here

here so the things that are going to be

really valuable the things that the

judges are going to want to reward are

all around bringing those kind of

in-demand things right here's another

quote from Armani focus on the demand

side of crypto there's a tiny amount of

crypto users right now okay this sounds

like an obvious thing surely this was

said in the context of something that

had Nuance yeah the Nuance is this

people are building things assuming that

there are already tens of millions of

crypto users which is the wrong thing to

do right you want to build things that

are going to be important right in the

here and now things that are not uh just

like theoretically nice to have in 10

years once everyone gets here right so

the focus here on all this advice is

solve practical problems that are there

right now and here's one more quote from

mango Max that I think is like useful to

think about yeah does it solve an issue

that existing blockchain users have all

six of them all six of them yeah those

are really good projects to actually

start to win things right because you're

solving existing problems so either

bring in more users by solving a real

problem with for them using crypto or

solve problems that existing blockchain

users have a lot of people just ship

over this entirely and are looking for

the biggest philosophical ideas out

there so like here's Okay so

oh sorry good

oh Jesus Christ

so yeah so one point here is sort of

like the intuitive thing to do seems to

be for people to bring in the next

billion users that's sort of like the

meme right or the next are the first

billion users in crypto's case

um and so bring it to Everyday users

that's sort of the mission statement of

most of the crypto companies you know

counter-intuitively most of the crypto

companies that have succeeded and the

projects that have succeeded have done

so by focusing on existing crypto

natives they've turned inward right

because they just attracted a pool of

capital that already existed after say

the ethereum Ico and brought that over

into D5 right and those were like the D5

whales that bootstrapped the liquidity

uh in the ethereum ecosystem similarly

like Ledger uh Fanta Ledger the hardware

wallet or Phantom the you know software

wallet are all unicorns in their own

right by selling products to

um you know crypto native consumers

there may be much more uh you know

Runway to build stuff for crypto native

folks than most people think 100 I think

that people get so obsessed

the flashiest biggest idea rather than

focusing on the actual problem that

needs to be solved seahorse is a great

example of this right this was a project

that one surprises uh in 2022 at summer

camp seahorse is like a developer tool

right it allows you to write anchor

compatible programs just using python

this is great because it brings more

developers to the ecosystem right

because now it's suddenly easier to

build on uh Solana and it solves a real

problem that hey like rust and anchor

they're difficult to learn like it's uh

you need to actually make it easier in

order for more developers to come to

create more valuable things that bring

in more valuable users so you're solving

for people who are already interested in

blockchain Tech but maybe aren't able to

access it in the same way that they

might ideally need to this is a great

type of problem to solve maybe not be

the sexiest problem but it is a great

problem to solve because it's an actual

problem we're going to go on to tip

number two here which is to think about

the idea and when you're having ideas in

response to problems the more Solana

specific they can be the better and

again this is seems obvious but it is

not most of the time a lot of the ideas

that we see are just hey here's the

thing that worked on ethereum let's just

build it on on that as well because it

doesn't exist here this is like classic

advice for basically all the judges said

something

here's one from our guy co-founder at

helias uh you get instant points if

you're if you've built something that

only can be built on Solana

um especially stuff that other chains

couldn't handle okay that's a great uh

point we should talk about this so the

question to ask yourself is as you're

like building what is Solana specific

and what are the types of things that

are Salon is specific right uh here's

another quote from Mary uh gunarate the

co-founder of bridge slit uh who has a

very similar point I'd rather see a

uniquely successful mechanism or

interface versus a smoother version of

an existing Solana read project what is

unique to Solana and here's one more

from our guy Tristan over at backpack as

well a new creative idea that has a

route to pmf over hashing rehashing the

same over and over all of these

quotes have the same exact point right

these are all judges telling you to your

face build something that is a lot of

specific well what is Solana specific

here are a few things that are like

specific to Sana the first one is that

it is very fast you might have heard

about that before right so building

products that are or building protocols

that benefit from speed is really useful

word cell is a great example here right

like on social uh word sales like was a

publishing platform a decentralized

publishing platform and when they won

the web 3 track at a one of the previous

hackathons it was because their product

took advantage of the speed right you

could post things you could follow

people you could like things Etc all

very quickly at a speed that felt

roughly natural compared to web 2 things

tensor trade is another Award winner

right which is just the fastest most

performant nft Marketplace in the world

if you use it it feels like lightning as

you go about it and it's something that

can only it's an experience you can only

have on Solana and Order books

well order books I think is on the

composability side right like what are

the things that are a part of Solana

that aren't a part of other chains well

one is obviously like order books they

don't really exist anywhere else uh in

the same way that they do here there was

syrup now we have open books we will

have Ellipsis Labs as well

um so benefiting from shared liquidity

across the entire ecosystem is a really

powerful thing to do if you're a D5

founder but there are other examples as

well right like dialect is taking

advantage of the inherent composability

of Solana because everything's on a

single shared State it's not fragmented

across different layer twos or whatever

else so all the different apps can

create smart messages within the dialect

messaging protocol to do all sorts of

fun things and then finally the last

thing that's like specific to Salon

that's useful to think about is what

works well in the ascending markets

right there's another clear strength of

Solana because it is fast and cheap it

feels easier to use the ux of it with

more of a mobile Focus coming think

about the types of things that would

work at some of these ascending markets

also called Emerging Markets right so

like tip link is an awesome idea it's

basically anybody can have a wallet with

just a link you don't actually need to

create a wallet so it solves this kind

of user onboarding problem that you have

in places which maybe are not as

sophisticated with crypto Stellar Soul a

super team project or super team member

project allowed people to use their usdc

that they were earning globally at

Flipkart which is the the largest

e-commerce site in India so you could

actually use it in your day-to-day life

right these are like things that solve

real problems that create real value

they can really only be done uh with

Salon yeah I mean I think uh the

uh

never mind okay

good so you know when I was in Turkey

for the Istanbul Hacker House uh we went

to the bazaar right and there are like

all these uh you know like shops where

you can buy jewelry and clothes and

shoes and it's truly about it's like

walking into a you know there's narrow

streets with uh shops on both sides and

it's it's like what going back in time

except as you walk through next to like

a shoe store is a massive

um

Bitcoin OTC desk right and there's like

a big screen where you have real-time

prices which is basically the binance

price feed on those uh on on that screen

and you can walk in with like a million

dollars in crypto and exchange that for

US dollars in cash uh and walk out right

now that's a really unsafe way to hold

dollars right in markets outside of the

US like often the way people hold

dollars is physical dollars

but the good news is today you can

download a browser extension and hold

dollars in that browser extension

subject to local laws and jurisdiction

Etc right but you know where it's it is

legal and regularized in theory you

could do that so that's sort of like

just access to Capital assets and

dollars is is already a massive use case

you know smooth onboarding and

off-boarding which I don't think is a

solved even today so the basic Point

here is if your idea is more specific to

Solana it's going to have a much better

chance of working the judges by and

large are VCS who invest in a lot of

projects and founders of Solana projects

so they know what is specific to slana

and what it's not we'll talk more about

ideas to build later on but keep this in

mind if you want a chance at winning tip

number three you gotta think about

marketing and the tip here is to start

telling people ASAP this is super

counterintuitive and very few people

actually do it you know who does it the

goddamn winners here's a tip from Mitch

the co-founder at switchboard and other

uh big prize winner at a previous

hackathon okay being generally active in

Solana communities and Discord will help

bring early attention to you and your

project key idea here is you got to

build in public you have to be telling

people before the thing is done which

can feel really uncomfortable for most

Builders and a lot of developers in

particular it can feel like oh why am I

talking about it I haven't actually

built it I don't know if it's going to

work I don't really have confidence that

it's cool what if people make fun of the

idea et cetera et cetera you just got to

get over that so literally right now as

you're watching this go create a Twitter

page come up with any name for your

project it does not matter just come up

with the name create a Twitter page and

start posting updates and responding to

others right you just want to get your

name out into the world familiarize with

other people go into other discords it's

another like great tip from some of the

judges go into the discourse of relevant

protocols and communities right you're

building something in D5 go to the major

D5 discords so I'll learn Zeta et cetera

ask questions ask for feedback try to

meet people right it's another way to

start to build some Buzz about your

project and finally make sure that

you're actually networking again this

can feel uncomfortable to a lot of

people that's why I'm trying to like

really hit this point that it is the

difference between winning and not

winning oftentimes right here's an

example from Port Finance they included

this in their actual submission they

again won uh some major prizes at Solana

season and you can see the social media

engagement they have people paying

attention and that automatically brings

some credibility to the judges but in

addition and just as importantly as our

guy Chase Barker said the benefit is

that it could be seen early by one of

the judges and it get flagged to others

to make sure they review it closely the

judges are they're social people they're

normal people They talk with their

friends they talk with other judges

about what are the projects that they're

excited about or think that are cool so

just getting on their radar early

starting to build up some mind share is

an easy way to make sure that when the

judging starts and they see your

submission they're like oh I I've heard

of this before or I recognize this or

this was the thing that you know Ben was

telling me about Etc and they'll give it

a little bit of extra thought a little

bit of extra treatment so marketing is

important in addition to the building in

this yeah I think uh uh you know it's uh

it's sort of a careful balance between

the sizzle and the stake you know all

Sizzle and no stake makes Jack a web 3

clown and all stake and no Sizzle mix

Jack a crypto nerd and you don't want to

be either of those things and if

especially if you're looking to build

something and raise money and find users

so let's go to tip number four which is

the look and this is another one that is

I think oftentimes overlooked it might

sound kind of obvious but having looked

at a lot of submissions it is not the

case the tip here is make a functional

UI it does not have to be beautiful it

does not have to be incredible but you

should make something here's a quote

from Armani our guy from backpack again

it doesn't have to be perfect or

complete but a working UI is much more

digestible pitchable for judges than

just an API or often just a dick

or just a deck exactly having something

that they can look at feel maybe play

around with makes a gigantic difference

all the judges were talking about this

right if you don't have much of a design

sense that's fine if you just have like

a little bit just use a landing page

template go buy some template off of

envato or wherever else colors.co for a

logo mid Journey can design your

graphics or logo it's really simple

right and if you have no design sense

whatsoever the good news is then you can

either sponsor a bounty on super team if

you have some funds or use the free find

a team feature on the grizzlython

website uh which will be right here JD

will show it to you right here you just

say hey here are my skills here's what

I'm looking to do whatever else and then

you can request intros to other people

and they can come talk to you as well so

it's a great way to like find other

teams but if you don't have a functional

UI your life is going to be much harder

here's another example from switchboard

this was their UI all due respect to uh

to mention the Gang not the most

beautiful thing right and that's

completely fine it just has something

there that you can see because going

back to our guys check having something

people can see is very important and we

just had a lot to show versus telling

Edward tell when they won right so make

sure that you do something I would say a

solid 50 of projects that we saw did not

do this and so it just made it nearly

impossible for them to win last tip here

is around the story the advice I would

give is spend more than 20 of your time

on your presentation there's another

thing that most people do not like to do

right it feels at least talking to a lot

of people who've submitted in the past

and looking a lot of submissions it is

clear that people leave the submission

for the last day that's the first time

that they think about it and they put it

all together inside of like two or three

hours right at the end that is a

terrible idea do not do that here's

another thing from our guy based sharker

if you don't get best presentation

judging pit stage no one will ever even

see or code wow that's really sad it is

it is a sad thing but it's an important

thing to understand about how these

hackathons work here's the alpha right

people do not look at your code first

the judges look at all the presentations

they shortlist the best presentations

and then on the back of that they then

go look at your code and see does it

actually deliver what you're saying it

delivers right so if you only have a

good presentation you're not going to

win because they are going to look at

your code in depth right it's not it's

not only about how good is your

PowerPoint deck but if you don't have

that good piece you're never going to

get to the more important piece second

they use that as a filtering mechanism

because they have to right there are

hundreds and hundreds of submissions

they can't look at all of the code in

depth to start so here's the advice as

you're packaging your submission make a

demo video very clearly it should be two

to four minutes absolutely nothing

longer than five minutes we saw like 10

15 20 minute demo videos that's

outrageous don't do that less than five

minutes write a script do not freestyle

it in the way that me and actually are

freestyling this video right now make

sure that you have actually like put it

down use chat GPT for help this is a new

thing right you can just tell it about

your project ask it to write a script

you'll have something pretty good that

you can work on and edit that sounds

like a terrible idea

it's actually is that how you're doing

this pitch

here's the bigger point right is if you

watch these videos and again we have

watched the videos they are worse than

you could expect because people are

clearly just making it up as they go

along

um you know kind of whole minutes of

silence or they'd have to go backtrack

and stuff it's just don't do that right

basic hygiene is going to be taking you

a long way here well isn't it ideal if

they just made like a Sizzle video like

that's not even like uh hey here's how

this thing works under the hood and

here's all the things it can do versus

just like a 60 second hype video of all

the features like a product launch

actually no so you want to see people

going through and actually seeing the

real product if you can do both though

then you're in a really good spot so let

me actually show you this example uh

check this out this is Zeta markets uh

which is a very popular D5 this is their

submission video right

that looks like Z news from India do you

see what they did there right it's you

just go on Fiverr you get a little I

assume they went on five or something

get a nice little Motion Graphics

animation intro made but the rest of the

time should be spent going through your

projects because the people want to hear

it in your voice see if you believe it

see if it is uh believable right because

again a lot of grifters and web3 do you

sound confident do you understand what

you're talking about in the video also

going to be important so production

value helps but I would say do not go

all the way overboard on production

value you still have to show what you're

doing uh is a real thing the second big

tip here uh for use a pitch deck to make

your life easier we have a pitch deck

for you surprise bonus Alpha you can

just customize our template as a base

and then start to add in your own

content and then the link will be in the

description down below as well it'll

take you like 20 minutes or 30 minutes

to do the first draft of it and then you

can start to edit it over time but just

use it it's a bit easier that way what's

so funny do you like the little here

yeah if you really trying to be a

YouTuber do you see that it's going to

be somewhere are here you'll just love

doing saying that because it makes you

feel like you have superpowers

I like to make JD work as well you know

so that that's the other like nice part

JD Lily put it on the far end of the

screen like put it away from wherever

he's saying yeah put it like up here

that's funny because it's going to make

JD look down inside of me anyway keep

this part

and then lastly be smart on your GitHub

obviously uh here's another tip from uh

okay Maddie head of growth at Salon

Foundation okay one thing we look at why

are you and your team well suited to

continue developing the product

fundamentally unlike some other

hackathons the Solana Global hackathons

are closer to Startup competitions right

so it's not just about the thing that

you've made it's also How likely are you

to continue this into the future it's a

business competition of sorts as you are

packaging your submission really

important to keep this in mind right the

more kind of founder problem fit that

you have or that you're able to convey

in your pitch perhaps in your demo video

or in your pitch deck the more likely

you are to go further in the competition

uh here's another quote from uh from our

guy chunker uh since a global hackathon

is essentially a startup competition

having a business model will massively

increase your chances for VC investment

you don't have to go all the way right

like you don't need to have like Tam Sam

sat like slides you don't need all of

that you don't need like five year

Revenue projections the point is the

more you can think of it like a business

and present it like a functional

business the more likely you are to win

some of the major prizes and get that VC

funding here's an example of a really

good deck from a few years ago you can

see the design is not like anything

special but the The Narrative of it is

very clear this is from stolen which is

the largest viral land product on our

protocol on Solana with soland you can

one two three four these are the

benefits what Solan unlocks all of these

additional benefits right these are like

the functional use cases that you can do

here's what it unlocks one slide two

side super easy for anyone to understand

and I'm showing this because they won

the D5 track entirely this is not like a

deck that they paid somebody thousands

of dollars to make right this is just

like a basic template adding some text

but it helps make things clear we

already looked at the Zeta markets like

example video this is a great demo video

you can go and find this as well in a

resource I'll tell you about in a second

four minutes long they're just going

through it uh pretty basic and here by

the way you can see another UI that is

not great but a good enough to help them

win the award uh the grand prize yeah by

the way we're a good link to build.super

team hold on

we got some slides for that coming up

it's like literally the next thing yeah

this is the thing and then actually do

you want to intro the next thing you

want to say that but more as a question

what you want me to set you up for your

next slide I thought you were going to

make an organic just do your hard

job bro

coast of the year I don't get paid

enough for this yeah

all right anyway so you're looking at

this you're like wow these tips are so

great gosh thank you so much actually

you guys are geniuses you've made my

life so much better but I still don't

know what to build you might be saying

you're new to crypto whatever else don't

worry we got you covered right there's a

website called super team build that

contains just tons of ideas I think it's

like 85 ideas of things to build during

one of these hackathons right now it's

just

build.superteam.fun it's entirely free

it's organized into a bunch of these

different categories you can see here

are the problems to solve here's a

possible solution right a lot of the

problems are where you're going to want

to focus your time on as opposed to the

exact solution you could build it of

course but you can use it as inspiration

to come up with your own creative

solution as well if that's not enough

you're greedy you want even more uh

don't worry we got you covered with a

past winners list as I said we did a

bunch of research for this video looked

at more than 200 Prize winners we put

all that together in a super easy to

digest resource for everyone watching

this is entirely free just go to

build.super team.fun you'll find it on

the website or you can go directly to

this URL it's all the different

categories broken down with all of the

winners across all of the hackathons of

the last I think three years are in here

you can click on them you can find links

to their presentations to their githubs

to their active websites if they're

still there you can see what tracks they

won you wouldn't start a real business

without doing some competitive research

you should probably not start a

hackathon project without doing the same

so take 15 20 minutes look through here

to see what others have done in the past

yeah this is an awesome resource

especially because you know this goes

back what three years of hackathons and

so the there's it's an invaluable

Treasure Trove of like past

presentations demo videos things like

this you can look at every winner of the

previous hackathon and see what they did

well and what they didn't and you know

big props to srijini and you for sort of

like uh putting this together yeah put

it on his face right here JD or put it

right here here all right let's go uh so

after all this you have the ideas ready

you're feeling pretty hopeful you think

you're ready to get started here's some

even better news for you we got you

covered in many countries around the

world not all of them we have build

stations live actually do you want to

explain what the build stations are yeah

build stations are physical locations

where you can find uh and meet other

people who are also participating in the

hackathon so you can be motivated uh and

have some peer-to-peer interactions get

meet mentors who may resolve doubts and

things like this that you may have while

you're building so you can

um you can successfully submit your

project before uh the submission date

which is March 14th

get there in on more March 14th very

nice very nicely there's that is me

doing cash danda

that's your cash impression here's my

action impression allegedly allegedly

allegedly what a stupid idea bro all

right

all right super team's even doing a

remote uh build station so if you don't

live in any of these countries and

you're not close to them hit up our

Discord that link will be somewhere down

below uh and you can come hang out get

remote sessions from mentors get advice

get feedback we will personally help you

on all of your different work here um so

the only question left is like what are

you waiting for go get started there's

five million dollars in prizes available

right now at chrisleython there's gonna

be more at Future hackathons get

involved can't believe you wasted one

slide on a rhetorical question

is that it are we ready to end the video

we are ready to end the video at long

last all right uh links to

participate in the hackathon are in or

in description links to uh find the

inspiration for your hackathon idea are

also in the description go check out the

past hackathon winners uh and uh I hope

we never have to do a video with cash

only with that ladies

come back best of luck and have a

wonderful week

thank you