This was the presentation I did at my local hackathon where I talked about how to prepare and stay focused at a hackathon.

1. Cereal Hackathon 411 and Prototyping

2. Topics to be covered
1. Who the heck are you?
2. Getting Pumped!
3. It's my first time...
4. How to prepare for the hackathon
5. Thinking of an idea
6. You are not the boss of me!
7. But I am not a programmer!
8. I am freaking out man, it's too hard!
9. Baby steps...
10. Test, test, and then do more testing
11. So the hackathon is over... Now what?
12. No ones perfect...
13. Questions?

3. Who the heck are you?
1. Freelance web developer
2. Indie game developer
3. Organizer of game dev meetups and Game Jams
4. Podcaster
5. Entrepreneur

4. Getting Pumped!

5. It's my first time...
I am nervous... Will it hurt? How do I get prepared? What if I am not good enough?
How do I know if I am doing it right? I am only good at doing one thing... Can I just look like I am trying?

6. How to prepare for the hackathon
1. All tools setup and ready to go, super
important!
2. Come with an idea
3. Expect to work alone
4. Low expectations
5. Motivated
6. Clear mind (don't over think)
7. Well rested
8. No huge ego's (get over yourself bro)
9. Willingness to try and do anything
10. socialize and come out of your shell!
11. Having contact info ready to go

7. Thinking of an idea
1. Follow a theme
2. Try and solve a personal problem
3. Try and solve a friend's problem
4. Try and solve an existing problem
5. Go outside and take a walk...
6. Search google for ideas (startup ideas)
7. Go with the first thing that comes to mind!
8. Write down your dreams
9. Use evernote!

8. You are not the boss of me!
1. Without order there is chaos!
2. Pick a leader, my god pick a leader!
3. Yay for democracy!
4. Divide and conquer!

9. But I am not a programmer!
1. Product design
2. Business model
3. Marketing strategy
4. Distribution model
5. Landing page
6. Leadership
7. Etc...

10. I am freaking out man, it's too hard!
1. Are you following the theme?
2. Focus on the core mechanic
3. Quality is not important
4. Don't think, just do
5. If the idea doesn't work then pivot
6. Stop setting up your tools!
7. Don't spend entire time socializing
8. Is your team focused?
9. KISS

11. Baby steps...
1. Slow down bro... You are going to
fast!
2. Milestones are the key to success
3. Start extremely small and iterate like
no ones business!!!
4. Fail fast.
5. Rome wasn't built in a day...

12. Test, test, and then do more testing
Test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test,
test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test
, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test,
test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test,
test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test
, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test,
test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test,
test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test,
test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test, test,
test, test, test, test, and then more testing!

13. So the hackathon is over... Now what?

14. Links to check out!
1. Techcrunch.com
2. pandodaily.com
3. inc.com
4. techcocktail.com
5. gigaom.com
6. mashable.com
7. entrepreneur.com/
8. news.ycombinator.com/
9. readwriteweb.com
10. venturebeat.com
11. reddit.com/r/startups/

15. No ones perfect...

16. Questions?

17. MY CONTACT INFO
Twitter: @retrogamer4ever
G+: Joseph Burchett
Meetup: meetup.com/gamedeveloper
Podcast: gamedevradio.net
Startup: pummelhead.com (IT'S IN ALPHA STILL
AND MOBILE VERSION COMING SOON!)