Hackathons, including our Hacker Games series, are the foremost place to implement your idea with a talented team that has the skills you require for your project. But how should one build a great team at the beginning of a hackathon? By delivering a killer pitch, obviously!

Participants of Hacker Games series that want to present their ideas on stage usually have one minute for their pitches at the beginning of the event. We have seen both great pitches and good ideas that were not ideally pitched in the past year. For this reason, we have prepared a quick guide with best practices that could help you to sharpen your pitch – this, in turn, should translate into greater interest in your project by people you need and, consequently, a stronger team that you work with.

1. Have one slide prepared. You will be pitching for a 200-strong audience, so expect some noise, distractions and anxiety. However, having one slide behind your back that displays at least your idea in one sentence, team members you seek, your name and your phone number will be of huge help in case something goes wrong.

2. Describe your idea in 1-3 sentences. While on the stage, say what you want to build this weekend – “a marketplace for vets”, “a smart charger”, “a smart meter reader”, “a 2D puzzle game”, etc. Then, say what problem will your product solve in a sentence or two. For instance: “Vet shops pay exorbitant amounts for pet medicine and food to the middlemen, there is no marketplace that connects the shops to the manufacturers, so I wish to build one”. This will help your prospective teammates to get an idea of what kind of project shall they join.

3. Clearly, state who you need in your team. “I am looking for an Android developer, a back end developer, and a marketer, and yet everyone should feel free to join the talks and my team at the “poster” area”. As simple as that. Just be flexible and do not automatically reject enthusiasts that are interested in your project.

4. Use Facebook before the event. You can start doing it now at the Hacker Games event page – participants will see ideas worth considering even before the pitches.

5. Be friendly and open at the “poster” area. You shall receive a huge sheet of paper to write the name of your team/idea and to attach it to the wall where the teams will be built after the pitches. We suggest adding your phone number or other contact information to the sheet so participants can easily find you in case of distractions. Be open, informative, talkative, and friendly.