A hackathon involves much more than planning the event itself. From defining the challenge and recruiting participants to managing submissions, judging, and post-event follow-up, each stage plays a role in the event's success. As hackathons become larger or more ambitious, many organizations find that managing everything internally is no longer practical.
This is where a hackathon management partner can help. Depending on your needs, a partner may provide a software platform, event support, or end-to-end program management. The right choice depends on the type of hackathon you're running and the level of support your organization requires.
Understanding the different types of support available, what to look for, and the questions to ask can make choosing the right partner much easier.
A hackathon management partner helps organizations plan, run, and support hackathon programs. The level of support varies, ranging from software that manages the event to partners that handle the entire program from planning through post-event follow-up.
Most partners fall into one of three categories:
Provide the technology needed to run a hackathon, including registration, submissions, judging, communications, and analytics. Best suited for organizations with an experienced internal team.
Manage the event's planning and logistics, including scheduling, participant communications, and coordination. A good option for organizations that already have a strategy but need help with execution.
Support every stage of the program, from planning and participant recruitment to event delivery and post-event reporting. Best suited for organizations looking for both strategic guidance and execution.
Before comparing specific partners, it's worth determining the level of support your organization actually needs. That answer shapes everything that follows.
A successful partner selection starts with a clear understanding of your organization's needs. Take the time to work through these four steps. They provide a clear framework for identifying the type of support your organization needs.
Start by identifying where your organization needs support. Larger hackathons, multiple stakeholders, limited internal resources, or ambitious program goals often benefit from outside expertise.
For smaller hackathons with a clear scope and an experienced internal team, organizing the event in-house may be a practical option.
Once you've identified your needs, the next step is defining what you want your hackathon to achieve.
The right partner depends on the purpose of your hackathon. Some organizations want to grow their developer community, while others focus on innovation, recruiting, or gathering product feedback.
Different objectives require different experience, so it's important to choose a partner whose strengths align with your goals.
Once your goals are clear, the next step is deciding which type of partner is the best fit.
Hackathon management partners generally fall into three categories: software or platform providers, event agencies, and end-to-end management partners. Each offers a different level of support, from providing technology to managing the entire program.
Compare each option against the needs and goals you've already identified rather than choosing based on services alone.
With your needs, goals, and preferred level of support defined, the final step is planning the selection process.
Start your search early, especially for larger public hackathons. Many organizations begin evaluating partners 3 to 5 months before the event to allow enough time for planning, recruitment, and program setup.
As you compare providers, shortlist two to four partners and request detailed proposals. Looking at services, timelines, technology, and previous experience side by side will make it easier to identify the right fit.
Since you’ll be evaluating potential partners, look for experience, capabilities, and support that align with the type of hackathon you're planning.
Experience matters, but relevance matters even more. A partner with a strong background in public hackathons may not be the best fit for an internal innovation program or a customer-focused event. Look for experience running hackathons similar to yours, whether they're public, internal, customer, or hybrid.
Some partners only provide a platform or manage the event itself, while others support the entire process. If you need help with planning, participant recruitment, communications, judging, reporting, and post-event follow-up, make sure those services are included from the start.
The platform should make the experience easier for both organizers and participants. Look for features such as registration, project submissions, judging, participant communications, and analytics that help manage the program efficiently.
A successful hackathon depends on attracting the right participants. If your goal is developer engagement, API adoption, or recruiting, consider whether the partner has access to relevant technical communities and an effective participant recruitment strategy.
Every organization has different objectives, branding, and ways of working. Look for a partner that can provide a white-labeled experience and adapt the program to fit your requirements rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach.
These criteria become much easier to evaluate when you know the right questions to ask.
A service list only tells part of the story. These questions can help you understand how each partner works, what support they provide, and whether they're the right fit for your organization.
Clarify which responsibilities are included. Some partners only provide technology, while others manage planning, recruitment, communications, judging, reporting, and post-event follow-up.
Success looks different for every organization. Ask how the partner measures results and whether they track outcomes that align with your goals, such as participation, engagement, innovation, or recruitment.
If maintaining your organization's branding is important, confirm whether the participant experience can be customized to reflect your identity throughout the program.
The quality of a hackathon often depends on who takes part. Ask how participants are recruited and whether the partner has experience reaching the audience you're trying to engage.
Understand how participants and organizers receive support throughout the hackathon. This may include technical assistance, moderator support, mentor coordination, or issue resolution.
The strongest programs don't end when judging is complete. Ask how the partner supports reporting, follow-up, participant engagement, or the next steps for promising projects.
Previous work can provide valuable insight into a partner's experience. Request examples that match your goals, audience, or hackathon format whenever possible.
The answers to these questions can help you compare partners more confidently. They can also highlight potential issues before you make a decision.
Even with a clear plan, mistakes can happen during the partner selection process. Here are some of the most common ones to avoid.
Cost is an important consideration, but it shouldn't be the only one. A lower-priced proposal may not include the level of support, expertise, or technology your program requires, which can lead to higher costs later.
A platform is only one part of a successful hackathon. Consider whether the partner can also provide strategic guidance, participant engagement, and program management that align with your objectives.
The participant experience directly impacts engagement and overall program success. Look for a partner that provides clear communication, technical support, and resources throughout the event.
A hackathon starts long before participants begin building and continues after the winners are announced. Planning, recruitment, communications, and reporting all play an important role in the program's success.
The most valuable ideas often emerge after the event ends. Without a plan to review outcomes, engage participants, or explore promising projects, valuable momentum can be lost.
What happens after the hackathon is often just as important as the event itself.
Treating a hackathon as a single, isolated event tends to undersell what the format can do. A longer-term partnership makes it possible to:
That kind of ongoing relationship is easier to build with a partner set up for it from the start.
Every program looks different, built around whatever a client's actually trying to get out of it. What stays the same is how BeMyApp runs it.
Internal hackathons scale further than most companies expect. When Epsilon set out to prove that innovation could come from inside the building, they launched Hackcelerate the MAYhem with BeMyApp, a global internal hackathon run both virtually and across their offices. Teams took on three challenges tied directly to company strategy.
Epsilon's Hackcelerate the MAYhem drew 870+ employees across global offices, both virtual and in-person, and produced 204 project submissions tackling operational efficiency, product functionality, and new market opportunities.
IBM took the opposite approach to Epsilon; instead of looking inward, they opened the doors. The Build-a-Bot Challenge: Automation for the Common Good ran fully virtually from December 15 to January 31, inviting developers to push past the usual view of Robotic Process Automation and combine it with AI, data sources, business rules, and workflow automation. Every participant got a free trial of IBM Robotic Process Automation to build with, and a $20,000 prize pool across three challenge tracks: social good, client solutions, and workplace problems.
This event proved an external, fully virtual hackathon can reach an audience an internal one never will. IBM's Build-a-Bot Challenge pulled in 2,400+ registrants who submitted 71 projects.
"Having done a Hackathon "in-house" previously, I can say with confidence that our partnership with [BeMyApp] offered our participants a better experience... and raised the quality of submissions." - DAVID JENNESS, IBM
T-Mobile's Datapalooza V showed what happens when you stop treating a hackathon as a standalone event. The three-day hybrid program paired a full AI Summit with a dual-track hackathon, so employees learned from experts and then immediately applied what they'd heard to real business problems like churn prediction and personalization.
Deliberately, the program was aimed at technical and non-technical teams alike. The summit drew in 800+ virtual viewers and the hackathon that followed pulled 820 registrants, of whom 725 actually built something, and ultimately published 61 projects.
Choosing the right hackathon management partner goes beyond evaluating event logistics and operational support. A successful partnership requires alignment with an organization’s goals, audience, and desired outcomes to create an experience that delivers meaningful value.
The right approach considers every stage of the hackathon journey, from designing the participant experience to creating opportunities for collaboration and innovation. When these elements are aligned, hackathons can become more than one-time events and serve as a foundation for ongoing growth and problem-solving.
Ultimately, the success of a hackathon depends on how well the strategy, execution, and goals come together. Organizations that take the time to identify the right fit are better positioned to create impactful experiences that support both immediate objectives and long-term innovation efforts.
BeMyApp has run 800+ hackathons in 35+ countries since 2010. If you're ready to put that experience behind your own program, tell us your goals, and we'll help you build a program around them, from the first conversation to the final presentation.
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