There was a great turnout and pure excitement about mbed at the AT&T Developer Summit 2014 Hackathon in January, so we decided to attend again. This time is the AT&T Hackathon @ Super Mobility Week – Code for Car & Home in Las Vegas, September 6-7, 2014. We have teamed up with Freescale Semiconductor, Multi-Tech Systems, Nordic Semiconductor, ST Microelectronics and u-blox to form ‘Team mbed.’ Team mbed brings a variety of hardware platforms for developers to choose from based on I/O and connectivity needs (Bluetooth®, cellular, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi®). Not to mention the 35+ sensors and actuators that we'll be bringing.

Hackathon finalists are invited to pitch their project at the VIP ceremony:AT&T connected home & party where the winners will be announced. First place winners receive $10,000, second place with $6,000, and third place with $4,000! There are tons of other prizes for technology specific categories too!

Team mbed is also hosting a Bootstrap webinar on Aug 26, 2014 at 9am PDT to help give you a leading edge prior the event. In the webinar you will get a live walk through of the mbed platform, development boards, sensors and actuator shields that will be at the event. Don’t miss it!

Last but certainly not least, I came across this blog by Quinton Wall that has some great pointers for ‘How to deliver a winning pitch at hackathons’ it is a must read for all those attending! Here are the highlights:

1. Assign a speaker, and a demo driver
   Since pitches are typically short, assign only one speaker and a demo driver.
2. Restate your vision and business opportunity
   Structure your pitch. State your vision, why your approach is unique and what business opportunity is.
3. Do not call out challenges or problems
   Let the judges ask about the challenges, there is no need to point them out.
4. Keep slides to a minimum
   Use slides to enhance your pitch, whether it’s to tell a story, add humor or describe your design…keep it short and memorable.
5. Maximum demo stage time
   The speaker and demo persons should practice together. Ensure that the narrative and demo align and it is clear to the audience what makes your design unique.
6. Q&A is part of your pitch
   Prepare some responses to potential questions prior to your pitch. Here is Quinton’s list of common questions at Hackathons:
   1. What were the challenges you faced?
   2. If you had more time, what would you focus on?
   3. What’s the business value / opportunity of this app?
   4. What is your plan for the app/idea post hackathon?
   5. What was the inspiration of the idea?
   6. Who are your target users?
   7. App abc is very similar. What makes yours unique?

Look forward to seeing everyone in Las Vegas! If you haven’t registered yet, you can do so here.