We built a credential in 30 hrs that can give us more recognition for our startup than we potentially would have gotten for months or more of normal work. We're not celebrity founders, we don't have press connections, and we don't know investors. We came in as nobodies on Saturday, and pitched to Dave McClure, Naval, et al on Monday. Now, we have a great hook we can use to start any conversation about our company.
As far as health, yeah – kind of sucks to be taken out of commission for a few days, but a very small sacrifice and completely worth it in our minds.
> We built a credential in 30 hrs that can give us more recognition for our startup than we potentially would have gotten for months or more of normal work
The importance of this can't be stressed enough. Winning the Facebook Hackathon within a month of starting university was the catalyst to applying to and being accepted at a YC company for the summer as well as a ticket through the interview processes at Google, et al.
More importantly, it also forged connections with local investors and angels that would have taken years to create had I gone through the normal routes, and that wasn't even a large event, so I can only imagine what an AngelHack placing would do
Hehe, this is really true: I got an internship immediately from one of the companies sponsoring a hackathon I got second place at. People at other companies I talked to also liked it.
And, beyond that, it was some of the most fun I've had, for the longest time in a single go. Even if I didn't place, it would have been great.
As far as health, yeah – kind of sucks to be taken out of commission for a few days, but a very small sacrifice and completely worth it in our minds.