Iress : The hack is back

AMIR ANSARI, GLOBAL HEAD OF PRODUCT DESIGN

'This isn't about winning. It's about picking up new skills.'

I've been involved in too many hackathons to count on one hand (including the awesome Random Hacks of Kindness) as a participant, facilitator and judge. But, the best thing about hackathons is the cross-pollination of ideas, diversity of thought and people coming together; all that excitement, energy and mojo.

Prize-winning and building technology is just a side benefit. If you get an idea that works, fantastic, but, for me, the measure of success is: who did you work with that was new, what did you learn that was new, and what skills did you pick up?

You don't have to code or deliver working software to be part of a hackathon (I look at code and get cross-eyed), but you need to deliver a great pitch showing the problem you're trying to solve.

Challenges should be kept small and manageable. It's 24 hours, and often people will exhaust themselves and burn the midnight candle, which goes against the point of being energised. Pick a problem that's doable in that 24 hours.

Ultimately have fun and, referencing a quote I came across recently, 'be brave enough to suck at something new'.