Another great hackathon is coming up and you’re dying to attend, but there’s another battle you need to win first: convincing your manager! ⚔️

That’s why we created this guide. With its help, you can create your own game plan to make sure you attend the next hackathon.

By the way, these steps are not limited to hackathons, so you can use them for other events too 😊

Introducing the opportunity 💬

This is all about how you introduce the hackathon opportunity. Pitch it in an engaging way. Instead of “I would like to attend this event”, say something like “I have been invited to this great opportunity”, “Spryker is organizing this special tech event that we can participate in”.

Additional arguments you can use to communicate the value of a hackathon include:

• Face-to-face learning experience - Teaming up with others and facing a challenge is an experience that can’t be replicated in a virtual meeting.
• Spryker experts at your fingertips - attending a hackathon is a great opportunity to interact directly with key technology stakeholders.
• Engage with your peers - there are few event formats that give you access to your peers when it comes to the technology you use. Networking with them is a great source of inspiration.
• The chance to make a difference - hackathons feed Spryker’s innovation pipeline, meaning your ideas can become part of our technology.
• Spotlight on you and your company - the icing on the cake: the best ideas have the chance to be promoted and showcased at Spryker Excite.

Remove doubts & fears ❌😱

Participating in an event can create a sense of risk in your manager, as your valuable time will be allocated to the hackathon, which could negatively impact open to-do’s. Here’s how you can combat these doubts and fears and ensure that everyone, including your manager, can sleep at night while you enjoy a slice of pizza while coding with other developers.

• Check if there are any clashing dates around the time of the hackathon. If so, find ways to make sure they don’t interfere with each other.
• Ask your colleagues & team if there’s a chance that some of your tasks could be done by someone else.
• See if some of your activities could be done in advance to create the opportunity to participate in the hackathon without compromising.
• Illustrate how spending a few days at the hackathon will have a long-term impact that’s worth pursuing.

Landing the eagle 🦅

Your initial pitch was great, and being aware of the consequences shows a great deal of self-awareness. Now it’s time to take it home by going the extra mile and demonstrating the value of the hackathon to your manager and team.

Suggest to your manager that you would be happy to give everyone a quick summary of the hackathon in the following stand-up. Explain that, as a delegate, you can act as a multiplier internally, sharing the knowledge and passing on your new-found insights to everyone else.

You can also offer to do a bit of employer branding at the event: share your experience on LinkedIn, for example, while wearing your company T-shirt.

And there you have it: a guide to help you persuade your manager to let you attend the next hackathon 😁

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Ready-made template

Below is a copy-paste template suggestion that you can use. Of course the more you can personalize it and relate it to your company goals and challenges, the better!

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Dear [Manager’s Name],

I hope this message finds you well. I am writing to discuss an exciting opportunity that has come up, which I believe aligns well with our goals and presents an invaluable learning experience for our team.

Spryker is organizing a hackathon, an event that promises to be both enriching and impactful for our team and our company. This hackathon provides a unique chance for us to engage directly with Spryker experts, collaborate with peers in the industry, and work on our innovation pipeline.

Here are some key points to consider:

• Face-to-face Learning Experience: Hackathons offer a hands-on learning experience that cannot be replicated in virtual settings. By teaming up with others and facing real challenges, we can enhance our skills and bring back valuable insights to our work.
• Access to Spryker Experts: Attending the hackathon allows us direct access to key technology stakeholders at Spryker. This presents an invaluable opportunity to deepen our understanding of Spryker’s technology and roadmap.
• Networking Opportunities: Engaging with peers who share our interest in Spryker technology is a rare and valuable opportunity. Networking at the hackathon can spark new ideas, collaborations, and inspiration for our own future projects.
• Innovation and Recognition: Participating in the hackathon allows us to contribute to Spryker’s innovation pipeline. We can bring in ideas and solutions that could improve Spryker specifically in ways that benefits our own Spryker project.

To be able to attend the event, I need to:

• Travel/loding for the following days: [dat-range] for a total of [cost]
• Ticket fee for the event itself: [Price, most Spryker hackathon events are free!]

To address any concerns you may have about allocating time to the hackathon, I have proactively considered the following:

• Ensuring there are no conflicting dates with other commitments.
• Exploring options to delegate tasks or complete them in advance.
• Illustrating the long-term impact and value of participating in the hackathon.

Furthermore, I am committed to maximizing the benefits of attending the hackathon by:

• Providing a summary of the event during our stand-up meetings to share insights with the team.
• Engaging in employer branding activities by sharing my experience on LinkedIn and representing our company at the event.

I firmly believe that attending this hackathon will not only benefit me personally but also contribute to our team’s growth and success. I am eager to discuss this opportunity further and address any questions or concerns you may have.

Thank you for considering my proposal. I look forward to your feedback.

Warm regards, [Your Name]