Hackathons rule. They are such an awesome (and very much needed in the technology world) way to get developers excited about making cool new technology. Just participating in one is rad- there is a certain adrenaline rush and thrill one gets from racing towards a deadline- hacking together a bunch code for some neat idea you've been scheming on in your head for weeks or months or years. However, winning a hackathon is a different thing- the rush is even higher, there are really cool rewards and valuable connections & publicity for your new project and often fantabulous prizes you can win. While there are there are certainly recipes that make for winning- I wouldn't say I am absolutely certain I could articulate those well enough for a blog post. So, instead I am going to write about the things that I know will surely "lose" you a hackathon.

1.) Pick a project that is too large to pull off in an allotted time period

2.) Decide to use a new framework or platform you don't know

3.) Focusing on creating all the least important parts of your app first

4.) Eating wrong, not sleeping, drinking too much coffee, drinking yourself past the Ballmer Peak 

5.) Worrying, stressing, and obsessing over details

In all honesty I believe these basic principles apply to doing a technology startup or a even a generic small business venture.